Kinship and partnership united Elie and Harry Susman when they crossed the Zambezi from the south in 1901 and travelled north to buy cattle from King Lewanika in Barotseland. The result was a remarkable family business that has flourished for over a century in some of the most logistically difficult and politically problematic environments in the world. An African Trading Empire is a unique story set against the backdrop of the great themes of European and African history.