Introduction to Boer War
Boer War, or South African War (1899–1902), a war between Great Britain and the two Boer republics of Africa, the South African Republic (the Transvaal) and the Orange Free State. The Boers were the white inhabitants of these republics who were predominantly descended from early Dutch colonists.
Background
In the late 19th century, Great Britain extended its commercial interests northeastward from its Cape Colony at the southern tip of Africa. The British constituted a threat to Boer control of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, which had gained their independence from Britain in the 1850's. The two countries were afraid of being dominated by the large numbers of British immigrants settling within their borders. Tension increased when Britain briefly annexed the Transvaal, 1877–81.
In spite of Boer hostility, British settlers continued to move in, especially after the discovery of vast gold deposits in the Transvaal in 1886. Its president, Paul Kruger. wished to develop his country's newfound wealth while staying independent.
Cecil Rhodes, British diamond and gold merchant, led mining companies and other industrial enterprises that were established in the Transvaal. He hoped to create a federation of British, Boer, and possibly native African states. It was to be a self-governing country, but under the sovereignty of Britain. Rhodes helped establish British authority in territories north of the Transvaal and to colonize them with British settlers. In this manner, he hoped to encircle the Transvaal and force it to cooperate with Cape Colony.
Although British settlers rapidly grew in numbers and wealth within the Transvaal, the Boers would not let them participate in the government. These uitlanders (outlanders, or foreigners), as the Boers referred to them, were denied citizenship and taxed heavily.
In 1895 the resulting friction led to an attempt, organized by Rhodes, to start an uprising against the Transvaal government. Dr. Leander Starr Jameson, administrator of Rhodesia, crossed the western Transvaal border with some 500 men, but was quickly surrounded by Boer troops and had to surrender. ( War threatened for four years after that, but did not break out until 1899, after a change in British colonial administration. In that year Sir Alfred Milner, high commissioner for British South Africa, urged Britain to demand citizenship for the uitlanders. Provocative diplomatic and military maneuvering followed. By October, British and Boer troops had mobilized near the Transvaal borders with Cape Colony and with Natal, another British colony. Milner rejected a Boer ultimatum demanding withdrawal of British troops from the borders, and the war began on October 11, 1899.
Events of the War
On October 11, Boer forces crossed into Cape Colony and Natal. The Boers attacked the town of Dundee, or Glencoe, in Natal. They did not capture the town but eventually forced the British to evacuate it and to retreat to nearby Ladysmith. In this battle and other early actions, the larger and better-equipped Boer forces had the advantage over the British. Using their superior strength, the Boers put Ladysmith and the Cape Colony cities of Kimberley and Mafeking under siege. The British were defeated at Magersfontein in Cape Colony and Colenso and Stormberg Junction in Natal.
The military reverses brought a swift change in the British army command. Sir Redvers Buller, commander in chief since the beginning of the war, was replaced in 1900. His successor, Lord Frederick Roberts, brought in heavy reinforcements, with the total number of British troops in the war eventually reaching 400,000 to the Boers' total of 60,000 to 75,000. Roberts appointed as his chief of staff Lord Herbert Kitchener.
In February, 1900, the British army pushed inside Boer lines for the first time. Kimberly received aid and Ladysmith was able to repulse its attackers. By March Lord Roberts had entered Bloemfontcin, capital of the Orange Free State. Mafeking, which had withstood a 217-day siege, was relieved in May. In June Roberts moved into the Transvaal and occupied its capital, Pretoria. President Kruger fled as organized Boer resistance ended.
In September, 1900, the Transvaal was claimed as a part of the British Empire. Lord Roberts, seeing the Boer forces apparently crushed, returned to England. However, the Boers continued fighting, resorting to guerrilla warfare. Their raids were so effective that Kitchener was forced to erect chains of blockhouses, sectioning off guerrilla-infested territory. His forces then moved through each section, defeating the guerrilla bands and putting women and children into concentration camps. Boer resistance finally collapsed, and on May 31, 1902, the Boer War was ended by the Treaty of Vereeniging (also called the Treaty of Pretoria).
Results
The Orange Free State and the Transvaal became colonies of the British Empire. They were granted indemnity for war damages by Britain and were promised parliamentary government (granted in 1906–07). The Boers were permitted to retain the Dutch language in schools and courts. When the Union of South Africa came into existence in 1910, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State were given equal status with Natal and Cape Colony.