- £350.00
BAMBATA REBELLION. 1906 cover to Pietermaritzburg endorsed ‘O. A. S.’ and cancelled KRANTZKOP 8 JY 06. The cover has been counter signed by an officer at the lower left corner. A Pietermaritzburg JY 9 arrival c.d.s. is on the back. After the Boer War the colonial authorities introduced a poll tax £1 in addition to the existing hut tax to pressure Zulu men to enter the labour market. Bambata gathered together a small force of supporters and began launching a series of guerilla attacks, using the Nkandla forest as a base. A force of 4316 soldiers had been raised by the British who surrounding the rebels at Mome Gorge. In the ensuing ‘massacre’ between 3000 and 4000 Zulu warriors were killed and more than 7000 imprisoned. It was in this campaign that Mahatma Gandhi's offer to let a detachment of Indians volunteer as a stretcher bearers corps to treat wounded English soldiers. This corps of 21 was commanded by Gandhi. A fine cover from this campaign.
