In my historical biography book, Lost Inheritance, you will encounter great stories told to me by my grandmother, uMcibo. The story relates to how Mzilikazi killed his sons, uBuhlelo and uNkulumane, and several of his indunas at Ntabazinduna. I have titled the article Prince Nkulumane’s Attempted Coup. It is a historical biography of Mhabahaba Mkwananzi. He was my paternal grandmother’s great-grandfather.
My maternal grandmother inspired me to write the historical political memoir which I titled Lost Inheritance. As a young boy I lived with my paternal grandmother, UMsoli (a.k.a. uMcibo.) She often recounted stories relating to how her great grandfather, Mhabahaba Mkwananzi, left his homeland of Zululand. The story that impressed me most is that of how he met and became friends with Mzilikazi. This was the rise of Mzilikazi, the Bull Elephant.
Khumalo Kingdom
This historical political memoir begins in Zululand in 1818. Zwide, Mzilikazi’s maternal grandfather and chief of the Ndwandwe clan. Zwide decapitated Mashobane, the father of Mzilikazi. As a result, Mzilikazi ascended the throne of the Northern Khumalo kingdom. Mzilikazi is ill at ease and in constant dread of an attack from the Ndwandwe.
Pat Holl and his bicycle in this historical biographical memoir.
Introduction
This is a historical biographical memoir of Harry Patrick Holl, my grandfather, and his Remarkable Journey. He was born in St. Pancras, London on 17 March 1868. He was the Youngest of a family of nine children; two of whom had died in infancy.
Pat was a keen sportsman, a long-distance runner, a champion at putting-the-shot and pole-vaulting, and a top marathon cyclist. His one great love was an outdoor life. His wish was to become a proficient mixed farmer, all part of the historical biographical memoir journey.
Farming
Pat came to South Africa from England in 1890 as a young man of about twenty-two years of age. His intention was to learn mixed farming. He rode his bicycle from Cape Town to the Eastern Cape. On arrival in the Ladysmith area, he met a Boer farmer. The farmer was only too happy to take on an energetic and eager young man. He taught Pat everything he knew about mixed farming. Pat worked for and lived with the Boer family. He learned to converse with them. and there was mutual respect, understanding, and enjoyment in all they did together.
The Boer farmer had a lovely daughter, and inevitably, a gradual romance as outlined in my historical biographical memoir, blossomed between the two young people. The romance progressed over a period of two to three years. The time arrived that Pat decided to ask the parents for their daughter’s hand in marriage which they fully approved.
The Cape Colony administration called all the Englishmen to take up arms. The conflict between the Boer Nation and England escalated, and the situation became difficult for Pat and his fiancé. He was in a dreadful dilemma. As an Englishman, he could not be dishonourable to his country. He vowed that he would never fight against the Boer people. After much heartbreak, and understanding on the family’s part, the young couple tearfully terminated their engagement. This heartbreaking moment became a crucial part of his historical biographical memoir.
Matabele Rebellion
In this fascinating historical biography memoir of my grandfather, HARRY PATRICK HOLL, it bears notice that he was one of the pioneers of Bulawayo, who rode his way into town from Ladysmith in Natal in 1894, a remarkable journey. With the engagement terminated, Pat took his bicycle and cycled north to follow his mother to Bulawayo.
This is a lost inheritance historical biography of my forebears and great, great paternal grandfather William Holl the Elder. He was born in 1771. William was a liberal and political radical and was of German origin.. He held Liberal views in politics.
Benjamin Smith the engraver, worked in the stipple method. He was an exponent of “chalk manner” engraving. This was based on the simulation of chalk lines on paper.
Lost Inheritance historical biography reveals that William Holl was first employed in Camden Town, London. as an Engraver, by Benjamin Smith. Thomas Unwin was his unwilling pupil. Holl was a pioneer in using steel plates for banknotes. Holl lived in Bayham Street, Camden Town.
Noted for his engraved portraits, some of which were for Edmund Lodge’s Portraits of Illustrious Personages of Great Britain. His focus was on engraving Henry Corbould’s drawings of the antique marbles in the British Museum. Amongst some of his works, he engraved, ‘The Boar that killed Adonis.’
In the 1820s, Holl was one of the early adopters of the steel plate engraving technique pioneered by Charles Warren; others in the field were William Thomas Fry and Charles Marr.
Holl married Mary Ravenscroft and they had four sons. His sons William (the Younger), Benjamin, Charles, and Francis – all Engravers taught and trained by himself. His second son Benjamin, a Portrait and Figure engraver, went to the USA.
Economic Decline
Lost Inheritance historical biography describes the Economic Decline in Britain. The ending of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 led to a sharp decline in the British economy, bringing mass unemployment and distress. In London, the Radical leaders called upon Parliament to relieve distress. The Spenceans, who were followers of Thomas Spence, an English radical and advocate for the common ownership of land, thought that more extreme action was necessary. They called a mass public meeting at Spa Fields on 15 November 1816, with the object of marching to the Prince Regent’s house to deliver their demands, which included universal (male) suffrage, annual parliaments, secret ballots, and redistribution of land.
They invited several leading radical speakers to attend. Hunt (Henry “Orator” Hunt), a British radical speaker and political agitator was the only one willing to attend the meeting. He discouraged the organizers from marching to the Houses of Parliament and to moderate their demands by dropping land reform.
Hunt was a very popular speaker. The attendance at the meeting was around 10,000 people. He prevented any departure from the agreed plan. The meeting passed without incident. They passed a Resolution to appoint Hunt and Sir Francis Burdett, an English reformist politician, as honoured guests. James Watson Jr. arranged for the meeting to take place on December 2nd, 1816. Young Watson, Thistlewood and some of the other Spenceans had only reluctantly agreed to Hunt’s terms for the first meeting and wanted the second to end in riots.
Spar Fields Riots
Lost Inheritance Historical Biography gives a clear narration of the Spa Fields Riots. The Spa Fields riots were incidents of public disorder arising out of the second of two mass meetings at Spa Fields, Islington, England on 15 November and 2 December 1816.
They invited the popular radical speaker, Henry Hunt, to address the crowd. The revolutionaries expected the December meeting to trigger riots enabling their seizure of the government via the Tower of London and the Bank of England.
The first meeting ended peacefully with Hunt and Francis elected to deliver a petition to the Prince Regent. In the petition, the petitioners requested electoral reform and relief from hardship and distress. At the second meeting, some of the Spenceans led away a section of it. The rioters raided a gunsmith’s shop and exchanged gunfire with troops at the Royal Exchange. Many other incidents of riots took place at Snow Hill. which was a site of one of the City of London’s conduits which, on days of celebrations, ran with red and white wine. .
The Arrest
Lost Inheritance Historical Biography reports on how William Holl exposed himself. John Hooper, Thomas Preston, Arthur Thistlewood, and James Watson Sr. were all charged with high treason. The Court tried Watson Sr. first. The chief prosecution witness was John Castle, a government spy who had infiltrated the Spenceans. Defence counsel discredited Castle’s evidence and the court acquitted Watson. The prosecution presented no evidence against the other defendants, and the court released all four.
The riots ended William Holl deliberately exposed himself to a significant risk by taking one of the radicals to his house at the end of the meeting. He hid the ring leader, James Watson J., in his loft and smuggled him aboard a ship headed to the United States.