Scapegoats of the Empire (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. A Boer War Memoir of Court Martial, Colonial Injustice, and the Bushveldt Carbineers TrialBy George Witton
Length7h 16m
About this audiobook
Scapegoats of the Empire is George Witton's forceful memoir of the Boer War and the notorious court-martial of the Bushveldt Carbineers, in which Harry "Breaker" Morant and Peter Handcock were executed while Witton's own death sentence was commuted. Written in a plain, urgent, and polemical style, the book blends eyewitness testimony, military narrative, legal protest, and imperial critique. Its literary context lies within early twentieth-century war memoirs that contest official histories, exposing the brutal ambiguities of guerrilla warfare and the moral evasions of empire. Witton was an Australian trooper whose service in South Africa placed him at the centre of one of the most controversial episodes in British imperial military justice. Imprisoned after conviction for murder, he wrote the book after his release in 1904 to vindicate himself and his comrades, arguing that colonial soldiers were punished for practices tolerated, encouraged, or ignored by higher command. His personal ordeal gives the work its intensity and its unmistakable defensive purpose. This book is recommended to readers interested in military history, colonial politics, legal injustice, and the literature of testimony. Though partisan, it remains an indispensable primary source: troubling, vivid, and essential for understanding how empires protect themselves by sacrificing inconvenient men.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
GenreBiography and Memoir
Length7 hrs 16 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateDec 8, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
2INTRODUCTION.
3CHAPTER I.—VOLUNTEERING TO FIGHT "FOR THE EMPIRE."
4CHAPTER II.—THE VOYAGE TO AFRICA.
5CHAPTER III.—ROUND ABOUT BEIRA.
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6CHAPTER IV.—ON THE SICK LIST.
7CHAPTER V.—THE AUSTRALIANS IN CAPETOWN.
8CHAPTER VI.—COMMISSIONED IN THE BUSHVELDT. CARBINEERS.
9CHAPTER VII.—THE ORIGIN OF THE CARBINEERS.
10CHAPTER VIII.—WHAT LED TO THE TROUBLE.
11CHAPTER IX.—DEATH OF CAPTAIN HUNT.—MORANT'S. REPRISALS.
12CHAPTER X.—BY ORDER—"NO QUARTER!"
13CHAPTER XI.—MORANT'S CREDITABLE EXPLOIT.
14CHAPTER XII.—ORDERED FOR COURT-MARTIAL.
15CHAPTER XIII.—BEYERS—AND THE FLAG HE SLEPT ON.
16CHAPTER XIV.—FURTHER PROCEEDINGS OF COURT-MARTIAL.
17CHAPTER XV.—CLOSE OF THE VISSER CASE.
18CHAPTER XVI.—THE EIGHT BOERS CASE.
19CHAPTER XVII.—THE SECOND COURT-MARTIAL (Continued) .
20CHAPTER XVIII.—IN THE NAME OF JUSTICE!
21CHAPTER XIX.—THE GERMAN MISSIONARY CASE.
22CHAPTER XX.—EXECUTION OF MORANT AND HANDCOCK.
23CHAPTER XXI.—"IMPRISONMENT FOR LIFE!"
24CHAPTER XXII.—GAOL DISCIPLINE AND PRISON BLUNDERS.
25CHAPTER XXIII.—THE PETITION FOR RELEASE.
26CHAPTER XXIV.—THE LONG SUSPENSE.
27CHAPTER XXV.—FREEDOM AT LAST!
28THE END
29Memorable Quotes
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