Best The Conventional Sniper Podcasts (2024)

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Episode 195 - Mpande’s Mswati beef, a bit about Reserves and Bantustans and a Lashing of Self Government 25:30

22m ago25:30

25:30

A quick note to the SA Podcaster’s Guild, thank you for the History podcast of the year silver award — I shared the honour with the 30 Years of Democracy Podcast, part of the TimesLive stable. It’s heart warming to receive some sort of recognition, and thanks mainly to you the listener. With that it’s back to episode 195 and we’re swinging back to …

1
Elite Sniper's Relentless Pursuit of Mastery: Navy SEAL Mark Greene 1:59:25

1h ago1:59:25

1:59:25

In this episode of The Alpha Human Podcast, host Lawrence Rosenberg interviews retired Navy SEAL Mark Green, delving into his impressive 20-year career in the SEAL Teams. Mark shares insights from his journey as an elite SEAL sniper, sniper instructor, and officer, leading deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. The conversation covers Mark's mindset …

1
Episode 194 - The Battle of Berea leads to an Anglo-Basotho Mutual Admiration Society 21:23

4d ago21:23

21:23

This is episode 194 and we’re marching towards Thaba Bosiu with Lieutenant General George Cathcart. Or sitting on horseback among King Moshoeshoe’s Basotho warriors, armed with a musket. Take your pick. We’re going to hear about the Battle of Berea, and the outcome would underline the Basotho mastery of their land, leading to Lesotho’s independence…

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Episode 193: Guthrie’s 1852 Four-Colour Problem, Sports Schedules, Mobile Frequencies, AI, and the Battle of Berea 23:28

10d ago23:28

23:28

First off, congratulations to Gcina Mhlophe who is DStv’s content Creator podcaster of the year — I was so happy to shortlisted and incredibly happy for her. Gcina’s African Storytelling podcast is ground breaking please look out for it on all podcast platforms. And a big shout out to all the other finalists, I was amazed at just how many people in…

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Episode 192 - The Sand River Convention, the Transvaal slash Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek dot co dot za 22:24

18d ago22:24

22:24

This is episode 192 and what a packed episode it is! The Sand River Convention and the Battle of the Berea await. The former created a new state called the Zuid Afrikaans Republiek and the latter reinforced the Basotho power under Moshoeshoe which would ultimately lead to the kingdom of Lesotho being born. Two events that too place at the book ends…

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Episode 191 - Trekkers' Bob-and-Weave Politics , Meneer Van Der Kolff forges a signature and a library burns 23:48

25d ago23:48

23:48

First off, some news! This series has been selected as one of the five finalists for the DStv Content Creators podcast of the year awards which is taking place on October 12th 2024. I feel completely out of place folks - a kind of imposter syndrome - finalists include the hugely successful series called True Crime South Africa with the glorious Nic…

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How Green Berets Accomplish The Impossible: Lt. Col. Scott Mann, Army Special Forces 1:56:24

29d ago1:56:24

1:56:24

In this episode of the Alpha Human Podcast, host Lawrence Rosenberg engages in a compelling conversation with retired U.S. Army Green Beret Lieutenant Colonel Scott Mann. Beyond his 23-year military career in combat operations across Colombia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, he is an accomplished playwright and actor who created the stage play "Last Out: El…

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Episode 190 - The Birkenhead Drill 'Women and Children First’ tragedy and amaXhosa messages moving at the speed of light 21:49

1M ago21:49

21:49

Episode 190 is about the ocean, and a staggering event. The sinking of the HMS Birkenhead off Gansbaai, south of Cape Town - and event which led to the famous phrase women and children first in maritime lore. All of course also linked to the fierce 8th Frontier War of South Africa because there were hundreds of troops on board this ship when it wen…

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Episode 189 - Karl Marx at the Great Exhibition, Eyre's Great Cattle Patrol and Smith gets the boot 20:32

1M ago20:32

20:32

1851 it is, and the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition took place in Hyde Park, London, from 1 May to 15 October 1851. It was the first in a series of World's Fairs, exhibitions of culture and industry that became popular in the 19th century. Famous people of…

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Episode 188 - Hymns echo in the Waterkloof ravines as Khoekhoe snipers take aim at British officers 24:28

2M ago24:28

24:28

We’re into an extremely tough time in our past, 1851, and about to hear about the struggle for control of an area of the Amatolas that the Boers had named Waterkloof - better known by local amaXhosa as Mtontsi. It was a case of jungle warfare as you’re going to hear. The area of operation was only 40 square kilometers and yet it remained out of Bri…

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Episode 187 - The Albany Rangers and Mantsopa the soothsayer emerges amongst the BaSotho 22:26

2M ago22:26

22:26

This is episode 187 - it’s 1851. Time to take stock of what’s going on across southern Africa which as you know was in the throes of the 8th Frontier War. A significant war. After that we’ll return to Thomas Stubbs who had turned himself into a useful night raider and was about to show the British how to fight in the Albany thickets. To the north, …

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Green Beret Nick Lavery: The Cost of Ambition, Conquering the Grind & Weaponizing Curiosity 1:01:53

2M ago1:01:53

1:01:53

In this episode of the Alpha Human Podcast, host Lawrence Rosenberg sits down with Nick Lavery, an extraordinary Green Beret who truly embodies the term 'unstoppable.' In their discussion, Nick, who made history as the first above-knee amputee to return to full combat operations in Special Forces, delves into his book 'Objective Secure' and his pow…

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Episode 186 - Cognate Epistemology, TikTok and Nkosi Sandile assaults Alice 22:20

2M ago22:20

22:20

Episode 186 it is - we’re taking a closer look at theological suppositions, ecclesiastical superstitions, magic and myth. Some housekeeping - first thanks to John for taking the time to send a note regarding ecclesiastical and to Mphuthumi for your message about Nkosi Maqoma - I’ll get hold of your book, The Broken River Tent published in 2017. In …

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Army Ranger Jeff Struecker: The War Within, Fear of Certain Death & The Way 1:25:23

2M ago1:25:23

1:25:23

In this episode of the Alpha Human Podcast, Lawrence Rosenberg welcomes Jeff Struecker, a distinguished US Army Ranger and member of the Ranger Hall of Fame, who served in 17 combat deployments across five US wars, including the infamous Battle of Mogadishu, which was memorialized in the film Black Hawk Down. The discussion explores how Jeff overca…

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Episode 185 - The Kat River Rebellion and the Mistress of Southern Africa is threatened 22:47

2M ago22:47

22:47

Cape Governor Harry Smith had made his escape from Fort Cox to King Williams’ Town, and was now hoping for help in the form of 3000 Zulu warriors. The British had mucked things up on the frontier, and most of their old allies the Khoekhoe of the Kat River Settlement had decided to rise up, along with the amaXhosa. The Boers were also not in any moo…

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Episode 184 - A Fort Hare rout, “Vieux d’Afrique” Somerset and a British rethink about the role of chiefs in Africa 22:41

3M ago22:41

22:41

This is episode 184 and we’re picking up our story on old year’s eve 1850. Last episode, we heard how Cape Governor Harry Smith was holed up in Fort Cox, and the amaXhosa were in control of most of British Kaffraria - the 8th Frontier War was in full flow. There were fears amongst the settlers that the war would spread as far as the Cape Colony, an…

1
Episode 183 - Maqoma lectures lecherous missionary Brown and the pendulating Hermanus Matroos 20:09

3M ago20:09

20:09

Episode 183 it is, and we’re going to take stock as we enter 1851. In war, truth is the first casualty. It’s a military maxim attributed to Aeschylus, the father of Greek tragedy. Aeschylus actually fought in the front lines against the Persians at Marathon in 490 BC. We don’t know much about the rest of his life, but we do know that his work calle…

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Episode 182 - The English Column’s Desperate March to Fort White 19:01

3M ago19:01

19:01

Welcome to the History of South Africa podcast with me your host, Des Latham, this is episode 182. 182 is a triangular number meaning it can be arranged in an equilateral triangle — specifically it is the 13th triangle number because 13x4 Divided by 2 is 182. And it’s a death triangle that the British were facing now - facing amaXhosa prophecy, a b…

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Episode 181 - The amaXhosa ambush Mackinnon’s column and a quick introduction to Tiyo Soga 10:21

3M ago10:21

10:21

Shots fired! We’re with the amaXhosa under Maqoma and Sandile, and the British soldiers under Lieutenanat Colonel George Mackinnon, fighting on the steep cliffs of Boma Pass. When the firing began, one of the companies of 73rd Regiment had just entered the pass and it’s Captain JC Gawler explained later about the confusion. Last episode we heard al…

1
Episode 180 - Missionary Browns’ philanderings and the Redcoats face Christmas armageddon in the Boma Pass 24:03

4M ago24:03

24:03

Episode 180 it is then so let’s get cracking. Or crackling, which was the atmosphere in late 1850 as Xhosaland and British Kaffraria was seized by the exploits of prophet Mlanjeni. He’d combined world views, his messianic emergence shook the land as far away as Cape Town. AS a sickly young man from near King Williams Town, he’d disappeared to work …

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Episode 179 - A messianic prophet emerges in 1850: Mlanjeni the Wardoctor 20:46

4M ago20:46

20:46

This is episode 179 and the prophet Mlanjeni is about to emerge. His story is one of the phenomenal tales of our land, he joined an already fairly long list of colonial era fighters who imbued their struggle against encroaching settlers with a combination of christian salvation ethos and a narrative full of amaXhosa ancient mystery and magic. If yo…

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Episode 178 - A string of forts and Captain Maclean’s amaXhosa police recruits take revenge 22:22

4M ago22:22

22:22

The mid-nineteenth Century was like the calm before the storm with the discovery of diamonds a decade away, and then the wars between the Boers and Brits, and the Brits and amaZulu a glimmer in the imperial eye. Moshoeshoe was gaining power amongst the Basotho, and to the east, Mpande continued to dream of crushing the amaSwazi. But to the South on…

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Episode 177 - The Missionaries position on sex and British administrators refuse to learn 20:04

4M ago20:04

20:04

We’re plunging into the developments of the 1850s now and this is episode 177. In numerology the digits 1 and 7 are significant,1 represents new beginnings and leadership, while 7 is often associated with spirituality and introspection. So it’s no mistake this this episode probes spirituality and introspection - and leadership. Not that I necessari…

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Carnivore's Liver Issues Solved with High-Sugar Diet? Jay Feldman's Energy Balance Insights 1:38:23

4M ago1:38:23

1:38:23

Disclaimer: The content of this podcast, and any information, advice, opinions or statements within it are not intended, and are not to be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition you may have, and you should seek the assist…

1
Episode 176 - Cape Conservatives vs Radicals in 1850, a synopsis of souls and climate dystopia 21:18

4M ago21:18

21:18

This is the period of the utilitarian liberal, not of the democrat, it’s 1850 and in the Cape, a newly ninted constitution had been drafted by the attorney general, William Porter. This was based on a nonracial qualified franchise - all adult males who had occupied property worth at least twenty five pounds for a year were eligible to vote. Porter …

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Episode 175 - A whip around the world in 1849 and a wide-angle view of Cape Society 19:46

5M ago19:46

19:46

This is episode 175 - and we’re back in the Cape circa 1849 and thereabouts. Before we dive into the latest incidents and events, let’s take a look at what was going on globally as everything is connected. In France, citizens are able to use postage stamps for the very first time, a series called Ceres, which is also a place in the Western Cape. Th…

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Episode 174 - The 1848 British defeat of the Boers at the Battle of Boomplaats near Bloemfontein 23:14

5M ago23:14

23:14

This is episode 174. First off, a big thank you to all the folks who’ve supported me and for sharing so many personal stories of your ancestry. Particularly Jane who is a font of knowledge about the Williams family, and John who’s been communicating about the Transkei. Please also sign up for the weekly newsletter by heading off to desmondlatham.bl…

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Episode 173 - Boer women fight off the Bapedi, Mpande interferes in Swazi business and Potgieter’s last trek 25:44

5M ago25:44

25:44

This is episode 173 and we’re in what was called the north eastern transvaal, modern day Mpumalanga and Limpopo. Last we heard how Hendrick Potgieter’s Voortrekkers had camped at a new town they named Ohrigstad in 1845, after leaving the are around Potchefstroom. Potgieter wanted to move further away from the British, and he sought a new port to re…

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Episode 172 - The Republic of Potchefstroom, Potgieter treks into Bapedi country and Mswati faces rebellion 19:58

5M ago19:58

19:58

This is episode 172 and we’re galloping back to cover the effect of the Boers 33 Articles, approved by the Volksraad on April 9th 1844, and thus installing the little Republic of Potchefstroom. Some of the articles and the fledgling laws and rules were going to crop up throughout the history of South Africa, all the way through to the time of apart…

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Episode 171 - Zwangendaba’s exodus from Pongola to Lake Tanganyika and the story of the Ngoni 20:45

6M ago20:45

20:45

This is episode 171 and now its time to swing around southern Africa again, because as Geoffrey Chaucer wrote in Canterbury Tales in 1395, “Time and Tide wait for no man”. It’s from the Prologue to the first story called the Clerk’s Tale and the story is imbued with what modern academics call masculine authoritarianism. It’s about women’s power act…

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SWAT Sniper Sgt. Charlie Eipper: Jesus Will Return As a Man Of War 1:55:49

6M ago1:55:49

1:55:49

On this episode of The Alpha Human Podcast, host Lawrence Rosenberg talks with Sgt. Charlie Eipper, a former U.S. Army helicopter pilot with over 30 years of front-line law enforcement experience. Sgt. Eipper spent 16 years as a member of the Wichita Falls, Texas SWAT team, gaining extensive experience as a SWAT sniper and serving as the head of th…

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Episode 170 - Harry Smith returns as the conquering hero and humiliates Maqoma while translators muddle along 25:04

6M ago25:04

25:04

This is episode 170 and the sound you’re hearing is the cheering and the flaming hot emotion because Sir Harry Smith is back in town! The town is Cape Town — Sir Harry won’t hang around there for too long, he as you know from the previous episode, has returned to South Africa to take up his new position as Governor of the Cape. Sir Harry was the fo…

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Episode 169 - The Kat River Settlement seethes and the inglorious treachery of Sandile’s arrest 23:02

6M ago23:02

23:02

First off, a big thank you to those listeners who’ve been sending me emails, a great deal of useful information emerges from our discussions which always improves the quality of this podcast, specifically thanks to John for sending me your book and to Doctor Nkosi for the contact in eSwatini. When we left off in episode 168, pressure was being exer…

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Episode 168 - Earl Grey and the irascible Sir Henry Pottinger leave their mark on South Africa 23:27

6M ago23:27

23:27

This is episode 168 and the world by the middle of the 19th Century was shifting gear, changing rapidly. Southern Africa was caught in the currents of world history and within a few years with the discovery of Diamonds, was going to be very much in the current of world economics. Not that the Cape had not been crucial since the days of the Dutch Ea…

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Episode 167 - Maitland dithers, Stockenstrom sallies forth into the Transkei and biblical storms change everything 22:27

7M ago22:27

22:27

This is episode 167 and the British army is clumping along towards the Amathola fastnesses, the deep ravines and steep riverine environment not the most ideal for an army that dragged everything around on wagons. Leading this army were officers steeped in the traditions of empire, and marching under their command were men from across Great Britain …

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Episode 166 - Colonel Lindsay lashes a local lad, Fort Peddie attacked and the Battle of Gwangqa River 20:53

7M ago20:53

20:53

The Seventh Frontier war has burst into flame, and across the Ceded Territory and down into the land around Port Elizabeth amaXhosa warriors are on the warpath, the British have been forced into the defensive. If you remember, Sir Peregrine Maitland declared war on the amaXhosa chief Mgolombane Sandile Ngqika on 1st April 1846 — but the eastern Xho…

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Jay Feldman, Host of the Energy Balance Podcast: Is Sugar The Cure? 1:52:49

7M ago1:52:49

1:52:49

In this episode of the Alpha Human Podcast, Lawrence Rosenberg talks with Jay Feldman, host of The Energy Balance Podcast, who offers a deep dive into the bioenergetic perspective on health, challenging prevailing dietary paradigms, particularly the skepticism around high-carbohydrate diets and the necessity of carbohydrates. Feldman methodically d…

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Episode 165 - Sandile ambushes a British column, Captain Bambrick’s skull and Somerset’s humiliation 19:17

7M ago19:17

19:17

This is episode 165 — and the atmosphere in Xhosaland was ablaze with indignation. A Mr Holliday had complained in Fort Beaufort that an imaDange man called Tsili had stolen his axe, and if you recall last episode, Tsili had been arrested then freed while under military escort by Tola a headman who lived nearby. Tola had hacked off a prisoners hand…

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Episode 164 - British sappers cross Block Drift into Xhosaland setting off a chain of events on the eve of war 21:37

7M ago21:37

21:37

This is episode 164. Remember when we left off we’d been hearing about the squad of Royal engineers who’d crossed into amaXhosa territory over the Tyhume River in January 1846. They were led by Lieutenant J Stokes — this small team of five were surveying land for the site of the new fort. Little did they know that their crossing of Block Drift into…

1
Episode 163 - British engineers build forts and semaphores while disabled chief Mgolombane Sandile signs a treaty 23:05

7M ago23:05

23:05

This is episode 163, the year, 1845. New Cape Governor Sir Peregrine Maitland had shown he was a man of action — as a veteran of the Peninsular Campaign against Napoleon you’d expect that, particularly as he fought at Waterloo. This new man of action governor had some doubts about a few things here in sunny South Africa. He doubted the effectivenes…

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Navy SEAL Bill Rapier: Getting Right With Christ, Dying Well & The AMTAC Mindset 1:54:19

8M ago1:54:19

1:54:19

In this episode of the Alpha Human Podcast, host Lawrence Rosenberg talks with Bill Rapier, a former Navy SEAL who spent 14 years as an elite operator with the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU) and who is now dedicated to leveraging his vast experience in special operations to train civilians in self-defense through AMTAC Shooting an…

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Episode 162 - The 1845 Battle of Swartkoppies, Divide and Rule and a Bloemfontein origin story 23:29

8M ago23:29

23:29

This is episode 162. First, some housekeeping. A huge thank you to all my supporters, the podcast just passed 1.3 million listens, so there’s a large number of folks out there who’ve found this series useful. I’m so delighted that our crazy tale here on the southern tip of Africa has resonated with so many people. The response has utterly stunned m…

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Episode 161 - Moshoeshoe signs a Treaty then collects gunpowder and horses 21:44

8M ago21:44

21:44

This is episode 161 — and what’s this I hear? The sound of wind whipping and howling through the mountain recesses, snow-capped mountains, where the rivers have torn deep ravines in the geography, terraphysics scraping rocks, rushing waters plunging from the escarpment into the eastern cape and free state, foaming and roiling. It must be the home o…

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Episode 160 - A tour of Philippolis, an 1844 update, the Great Guano discovery and the Merino sheep miracle 23:19

8M ago23:19

23:19

This is episode 160 and we’re breathing the spicy smells of the semi-desert, and taking in the exotic and wonderous scenary of the Richtersveld, Namaqualand, and the stunning area around south westn Free State in the 840s. Last episode we heard about the period 1840-1843 in the southern Caledon River valley, and how the Voortrekkers like Jan Mocke …

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Episode 159 - Boer women as handmaidens to history and the swirling social dust storms in TransOrangia circa 1843 22:35

8M ago22:35

22:35

This is episode 159. If we take out a map of south Africa and reconsider the regions, it will become quite apparent that the main demarcation is geographical, geological, the main points of reference are the rivers and the mountains, the desert and semi-desert, the good soils and the bad. Take a look at a map of the region to the south west of the …

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Delta Force's Jeff Tiegs: YHWH, Jesus & The Thin Space between War, the Bible & Redemption 2:15:17

9M ago2:15:17

2:15:17

In this episode of the Alpha Human Podcast, Lawrence Rosenberg talks with Jeff Tiegs, a distinguished combat veteran with over 25 years of experience across elite units within U.S. Special Operations. Tiegs's military journey took him from serving as an Army Ranger and Green Beret to leadership roles as an assault force commander and Lieutenant Col…

1
Episode 158 - Venda kingdoms and the Lemba Yemeni enigma 19:43

9M ago19:43

19:43

This is episode 158 and we’re taking an epic regional tour into the along the Limpopo River to meet with the Venda and other groups of folks who hail from the province we now call Limpopo. Thanks to listener Mushe for the suggestion. By the mid-fifteenth century Shona-speaking immigrants from Zimbabwe settled across the Limpopo River and interacted…

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Episode 157 - Dick King and Ndongeni Ka Xoki’s epic ride leads another d’Urban to Durban 23:12

9M ago23:12

23:12

This is episode 157 - where Dick King and Ndongeni ka Xoki ride to out of Durban carrying a dispatch from besieged British commander, Captain Smith, surrounded by Boers, in real danger. On the 24th May 1842 King and ka Xoki snuck out of the Port Natal region heading to Grahamstown in the south. That was a thousand kilometre journey which was going …

1
Episode 156 - The Battle of Congella leaves 34 British soldiers dead on a moonlit Durban beach 21:19

9M ago21:19

21:19

When we left off last episode, Captain Thomas Smith and two companies of the 27th Inniskilling Regiment, an 18 pounder that had just arrived by ship, two six pounder field guns, a small section of the Royal Artillery, a hand full of Royal Engineers, Sappers and miners, along with a company of Cape Mountain Rifles had formed their laager at level ar…

1
Episode 155 - The Eastern Cape economy surges and the Americans visit Port Natal as tension rises 21:50

9M ago21:50

21:50

Welcome back to the History of South Africa podcast with me your host, Des Latham - it’s episode 155 and the Cape economy is growing in leaps and bounds. The years between 1840 and 1843 were a fascinating mix of economic development and military endeavour. We will be returning to the arrival in Port Natal aka Durban of Captain Smith and his 263 men…

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