Diamonds, Gold and War — Martin Meredith

Meredith traces how the discovery of diamonds and gold in southern Africa transformed the region's political landscape in the final decades of the nineteenth century, attracting capital, migrants, and imperial ambition in quantities that the existing Boer republics could not manage. The book follows the story through to the Boer War, examining how Rhodes, Milner, and the mining magnates drove a conflict that killed tens of thousands and established the foundations of twentieth-century South Africa.