This pioneer economic and social history brings together specialised research in the form of twelve essays dealing with closely intermeshed themes: harbour and railway development, the ecology of Natal, ruthless exploitation of its human and natural resources, and the consequences of Indian immigration and Black enterprise. The clashes of interest between the dominant White society and the Black and Indian communities, and their political repercussions, are explored together with the economic environment which gave rise to them. As the title suggests, this title charts the socio-economic history of a particular Victorian colony, but scholars exploring similar themes in other colonial contexts will discover valuable parallels here. Anyone with an interest in Natal history will find much new information and many fresh insights in this work.