Charles Van Onselen Boeken

Exploring the complex interplay of economic, political, and social factors, this comprehensive three-volume work delves into the intricate history of 20th-century South Africa and its impact on neighboring Mozambique. It reveals previously overlooked narratives that transcend national borders, offering fresh insights into the region's past. The series is available as a boxed set or as individual volumes, making it accessible for those interested in a deeper understanding of South Africa's historical context.

"Johannesburg was - and is - the Frontier of Money. Within months of its founding, the mining camp was host to organised crime: the African 'Regiment of the Hills' and 'Irish Brigade' bandits. Bars, brothels, boarding houses and hotels oozed testosterone and violence, and the use of fists and guns was commonplace. Beyond the chaos were clear signs of another struggle, one to maintain control, honour and order within the emerging male and mining dominated culture. In the underworld, the dictum of 'honour among thieves', as well as a hatred of informers, testified to attempts at self-regulation. A 'real man' did not take advantage of an opponent by employing underhand tactics. It had to be a 'fair fight' if a man was to be respected. This was the world that 'One-armed Jack' McLoughlin - brigand, soldier, sailor, mercenary, burglar, highwayman and safe-cracker - entered in the early 1890s to become Johannesburg's most infamous 'Irish' anti- hero and social bandit. McLoughlin's infatuation with George Stevenson prompted him to recruit the young Englishman into his gang of safe-crackers but 'Stevo' was a man with a past and primed for personal and professional betrayal. It was a deadly mixture. Honour could only be retrieved through a Showdown at the Red Lion." -- Back cover.

Exploring the intricate and often overlooked dynamics of 20th-century South Africa, this comprehensive three-volume set delves into the economic, political, and social factors that shaped the region, particularly in relation to Mozambique. It offers a fresh perspective on historical events, revealing connections that span national borders and uncovering previously unexplored aspects of the recent past. The work is available both as a box set and as individual volumes, making it accessible for deeper study.

Exploring the interconnected economic, political, and social dynamics of 20th-century South Africa, this work reveals how these factors often marginalized neighboring Mozambique. It offers a fresh perspective on historical events, delving into previously unexplored areas of the recent past. Presented in a comprehensive three-volume box set, the series invites readers to uncover the complexities that shaped the region's history beyond conventional state narratives.

Focusing on John Hays Hammond, a key figure in the narratives of Cecil Rhodes and Leander Starr Jameson, this book reexamines the historical context of a significant raid by situating it within American history rather than British. By exploring Hammond's role, the author reveals connections between the American Old West and South Africa's Highveld, prompting a reevaluation of the intertwined histories of three nations over the past 120 years.

For two decades before a railway system linked southern Africa’s principal cities in the mid-1890’s, the world’s richest supplies of diamonds and gold were transported by coach and horses to distant ports for export. For Irish soldiers based at Fort Napier, Pietermaritzburg, the temptation of this fabulous wealth proved irresistible: they deserted by the score and, as members of the ciminal ‘Irish Brigade’, embarked on a spree of bank, safe and highway robberies.Masked Raiders follows the wild exploits of legendary brigands like the McKeone brothers and ‘One Armed Jack’ McLoughlin, who ravaged the subcontinent, from the mining towns of Barberton, Kimberley and Johannesburg, to the borders of Basotholand, Bechuanaland, Mozambique and Rhodesia. With tales of heists, safe-cracking, illegal gold dealings, prison breaks and hidden roadside treasure, the book reveals the potency of the highveld’s ‘criminal heroes’. Startling insights also reveal how the hidden grammar of brigandage informed political actions of the day, such as the Jameson Raid, and how the movement of bandits across the interior helped shape the borders of what was to become modern South Africa.

A bold and innovative social history, The Seed is Mine concerns disenfranchised black people who did so much to shape the destiny of South Africa. After years of interviews with Kas Maine and his neighbours, employers, friends, and family - a rare triumph of collaborative courage and dedication - Charles van Onselen has recreated the entire life of a man who struggled to maintain his family in a world dedicated to enriching whites and impoverishing blacks, while South Africa was tearing them apart.