The South African War 1899-1902 is no longer treated as 'a white man's war' by historians. Black South Africans were drawn into service by both sides, and the war affected the black communities in a variety of complex ways. Dr Nasson has written a closely focused regional study of the conflict in the Cape Colony, describing the dramatic participation of black people in the conduct of the war, and their subsequent exclusion from the fruits of peace. (The Abraham Esau, of the title, a patriotic coloured artisan, was murdered by Boer guerrillas.) Dr Nasson sets the conflict in the context of Cape political culture and social life at the turn of the century. This is a major contribution to South African and Imperial history.

Acknowledgement; Preface; Abbreviations; Illustrations and maps; 1. Introduction: perspectives and place; 2. Colonial state, imperial army and peace-keeping; 3. The politics of patriotism; 4. Arms and patriotism: town guards and district militia; 5. Moving Lord Kitchener: military transport and supply work; 6. The Republican guerrilla war in the countryside; 7. Martyrdom, myth and memory: Abraham Esau's war; 8. Treason offenders and their antagonists; 9. Peace and reconquest; Bibliography.