The Empire Makers: A Romance of Adventure and War in South Africa

In Short

Published in 1900 during the South African War, The Empire Makers by Hume Nesbit is an imperial adventure novel following three young British men—Edward "Ned" Romer, Clarence Raybold, and Fred—who journey to the Transvaal. Framed by patriotic zeal and strong anti-Boer sentiment, the story plunges them into secret reform societies, imprisonment by President Paul Kruger’s government, a daring escape into the interior, and the discovery of a matriarchal ancient civilization before they return to fight for the British Empire. It survives as a vivid period artifact reflecting late-Victorian geopolitical attitudes and popular adventure fiction.

The Story

The narrative opens in England with Edward "Ned" Romer, an orphaned young man, learning from his lawyer, Mr. Jabez Raymond, that his ancestral inheritance has been drastically reduced due to longstanding estate mortgages. Seeking fortune and purpose, Ned sets off for South Africa alongside his friends Clarence Raybold and Fred. Upon arriving and traveling overland toward Johannesburg, the young men encounter the local Boer population. Though hosted with traditional hospitality, they are struck by what they perceive as deep anti-British prejudice and backwardness among their hosts.

In Johannesburg, the trio stays at the opulent suburban mansion of Clarence’s father, a wealthy citizen who warns them about the oppressive surveillance of President Paul Kruger’s regime. Despite these warnings, the boys join the "Three Ace Club," a clandestine organization of British Outlanders (Uitlanders) drilling in secret to overthrow the Transvaal Republic. Their involvement quickly draws the ire of the authorities. Arrested and subjected to a rigged trial where defense witnesses are silenced and false testimony is presented, Ned, Clarence, and Fred are sentenced to seven years of hard labour, heavy fines, and periodic floggings.

Sent north to a road-making prison camp in Nylstroom, the trio resolves to break free before their scheduled whippings. With the aid of Philip Martin and a heavily armed rescue party disguised as burghers, they execute a swift, desperate escape on horseback across the border into Rhodesia. Fearing that the British government might extradite them to appease Kruger, the fugitives press deeper into unexplored African territory.

Their journey becomes an expedition through wild landscapes, marked by encounters with indigenous wildlife—including lions and tsetse flies—and a dramatic plague of locusts that strips the earth bare. Eventually, the party stumbles upon a hidden, ancient mountain domain called Karnadama. This strange, matriarchal civilization is ruled by women and defended by two hundred mail-clad amazons who ride chariots pulled by trained leopards. The boys observe the society's harsh laws, including the systematic execution of weak infants and unwanted husbands. Guided by the amazon Pylea, Ned and his companions escape Karnadama following a tense struggle and return to civilization.

Rejoining the British war effort as the Anglo-Boer War erupts, the young men take up arms for the Union Jack. Ned avoids personal vengeance against his former persecutors, and the narrative concludes with the heroes fighting for British victory, having secured both fortune and honor in the service of the Empire.

How It Unfolds

The voyage begins After learning that his father’s estate is encumbered by old debts, Ned Romer decides to seek his fortune in South Africa alongside his friends Clarence and Fred.

In the land of the Boers Traveling overland through the Cape, the young men experience the hospitality of Dutch Africanders while taking mental note of their hosts' deep-seated prejudice against the British nation.

The secret club Reaching Johannesburg, the trio is introduced to the "Three Ace Club," a secret society of Uitlanders who drill nightly in hidden halls to prepare for a revolt against Paul Kruger's government.

Trial and imprisonment Arrested following a clash, the youths are subjected to a biased trial in Pretoria, given seven-year prison sentences with hard labor and floggings, and transferred to a work camp at Nylstroom.

A perilous escape With the assistance of Philip Martin and twenty-six armed rescuers disguised as burghers, the trio escapes on horseback across the frontier into the safety of Rhodesian territory.

Into the unknown wilderness Fearing extradition, the group treks into unexplored regions, enduring attacks by wild beasts, navigating hazardous cliffs, and marching through a massive, devastating swarm of locusts.

The realm of Karnadama The explorers discover a hidden, ancient city carved into cliffs, populated by a matriarchal society of leopard-chariot-driving amazons who enforce brutal social laws.

Fleeing the ancient city Assisted by the warrior Pylea, Ned and his native follower Cocoeni defeat an amazon pursuer and race their chariots back out to the open desert.

Return to the war The heroes rejoin British military operations in South Africa, using disguises and military service to help bring down the Transvaal Republic under the banner of the Union Jack.

The People

• Edward "Ned" Romer is a generous, high-principled young Englishman left with little inheritance. He seeks adventure and justice in South Africa, leading his friends through prison, wilderness exploration, and military duty, while striving to rise above personal revenge.
• Clarence Raybold is Ned's loyal companion, whose father is a wealthy Johannesburg capitalist living in a luxurious mansion under the watchful eye of Kruger's government.
• Fred is the third member of the trio of friends, sharing in their target practice, imprisonment, wilderness trekking, and eventual military service.
• Paul Kruger (Oom Paul) is the President of the Transvaal Republic, portrayed as an oppressive, calculating tyrant whose secret police and corrupt legal system serve as the primary political obstacle for the protagonists.
• Philip Martin is an organized leader among the Johannesburg Uitlanders who helps run the secret Three Ace Club and coordinates the heavily armed rescue mission that breaks Ned and his friends out of prison.
• Cocoeni is a native follower and ally whose strength and quick actions repeatedly save Ned from danger, including wild animals and hostile amazon warriors.
• Pylea is an amazon warrior in the lost city of Karnadama who assists the young men in understanding her matriarchal society and ultimately helps them escape its borders.

In Its Own Voice

"Africa must be a free country, as Australia, New Zealand, and Canada are."

Written in the author's preface, this line frames the ideological foundation of the novel, asserting that South Africa's future lies entirely within the fold of the British Empire.

"The Boers gave their opinions good-naturedly, and exhibited such an utter want of knowledge in their statements, the lads could not help laughing also as they listened."

Contextualizing the boys' early travels, this sentence illustrates their perception of the Dutch settlers as hospitable yet deeply biased and misinformed about British culture.

"The air was reverberating with their loud chirping, the rustling of their crisp wings, and the shrieking cries of the birds who devoured them wholesale..."

Describing the swarm of locusts encountered in the wilderness, this passage highlights the sensory intensity of the African landscape traversed by the heroes.

What It's Really About

The Empire Makers is a unabashed piece of period political advocacy wrapped in an adventure story. Beneath its plot of secret clubs, prison breaks, and lost cities lies an argument for the moral superiority and inevitable triumph of the British Empire over the Transvaal Republic. The book contrasts what it presents as British ideals of liberty, progress, and justice against the perceived corruption, bigotry, and backwardness of Paul Kruger's regime. Furthermore, through its journey into the lost matriarchal kingdom of Karnadama, the narrative explores Victorian anxieties regarding non-traditional gender roles, portraying a society governed entirely by women as cold, unnatural, and tyrannical. Ultimately, the novel seeks to justify imperial expansion as a benevolent force for civilization.

Why Read It Today

The Empire Makers offers modern readers an unfiltered window into the popular propaganda and cultural attitudes of Great Britain at the height of the Anglo-Boer War in 1900. It will appeal primarily to readers interested in late-Victorian imperial literature, historical adventure fiction, and the history of colonial South Africa.

Reading the novel today requires an understanding of its historical context. The text is dense with heavy-handed political polemic, extreme anti-Boer rhetoric, and racial attitudes characteristic of 19th-century colonial writing. The plot shifts abruptly from realistic political drama and prison-break suspense to fantastical lost-world romance before returning to military melodrama.

What lingers after reading is not merely the fast-paced narrative of escape and exploration, but the striking intensity of the author's ideological conviction. It stands as a vivid historical artifact showcasing how adventure fiction was used to rally public enthusiasm for imperial warfare.