many native forces held their own until the coming of modern artillery, machine guns and rifles. The 19th century also cannot be seen simply in terms of European plans or schemes, some historians maintain. Instead, African states were executing their own agendas, based on whatever internal factors they thought relevant. Such internal factors and actors (Shaka for example) sparked a number of significant conflicts on the continent. The European powers sometimes had to react to these internal developments rather than implement neat, pre-planned schemes. Thus Britain initially had little interest in the Sudan, but the sweeping conquests of the Mahdi forced it to take action to safeguard in part, its position in Egypt and the strategic Red Sea route to other parts of the empire. In the case of the Zulu War, some historians have called it "an unauthorized aggression conducted for reasons of geopolitical strategy" and argue that Britain's main interest was safeguarding the Cape of Good Hope as a strategic base and route to India. This meant control of the region's ports – Cape Town, Simonstown, and Durban – and the liquidation of potential threats from further inland like the Zulu kingdom. This strategy backfired in part when the Zulu chose to go to war rather than be annexed. In short, rather than being mere passive actors awaiting colonization, controllers of indigenous military systems were evolving new forms of organization, refining existing ones, or adapting old ones to fit changing opportunities and advanced technology. Their successes, failures, methods, and styles form part of the complex pattern of the military arts on the continent. See also African military systems to 1800 African military systems after 1900 Military history of Africa Ashanti Empire Impi Mali Empire Military history of the Mali Empire Kingdom of Ndongo Kingdom of Matamba Kingdom of Kongo Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba Battle of Mbwila Battle of Zama Battle of Isandlwana References Bibliography Morris, Donald The Washing of the Spears, Touchstone, 1965 Vandervort, Bruce Wars of Imperial Conquest in Africa: 1830–1914, Indiana University Press: 1998 Military history of Africa Wars involving the states and peoples of Africa 19th century in Africa 19th-century military history