Chain of FireIn the 1880s, Khartoum became the explosive touchstone for a conflict whose scars continue today. For Victorian Britain, control over North Africa was a political minefield into which Prime Minister Gladstone had no intention of stepping until his emissary Charles Gordon was besieged in Khartoum. This was the height of aggressive European colonialism. Hardships were endured, injustices administered, hair raising battles fought and civilians caught in