Kruger evaded capture and went to Europe, where, despite the fact that there was much sympathy for the plight of the Boers, he was unsuccessful in his attempts to gain viable assistance in the fight against the British. The Second Boer War is a part of what are known as the Boer Wars. The second Boer War was also the beginning of types of conflict involving machine guns, shrapnel and observation balloons which were all used extensively in the First World War. The Boers also won several major battles during the early months of the war. After several failed attempts at reaching a compromise, the Boers had their fill and by September of 1899 were preparing for full war with the British Empire. Start studying The Second Boer War: 1899 - 1902. From October 11, 1899, until May 31, 1902, the Second Boer War (also known as the South African War and the Anglo-Boer War) was fought in South Africa between the British and the Boers (Dutch settlers in southern Africa). Opposition to the Second Boer War (1899–1902) was a factor in the war. Despite the British victories, the guerrilla phase would last more than two years. The farms of Boers and Africans alike were destroyed, and the inhabitants of the countryside were rounded up and held in segregated concentration camps, often under horrific conditions; several thousand died during their incarceration. Also, the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand in 1886 allowed the SAR to make progress with modernization efforts and vie with Britain for domination in Southern Africa. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The Second Boer War (11 October 1899 - 31 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Anglo-Boer War, or South African War, was fought between the British Empire and two independent Boer states, the South African Republic (Republic of Transvaal) and the Orange Free State, over the Empire's influence in South Africa.The trigger of the war was the discovery of diamonds and gold in the Boer … The Second Boer War, also known as the South African War, or to some the Second War of Independence, was fought from the 11th of October 1899 until the 31st of May 1902. The British response to the guerrillas was three-fold. They harried the British army bases and communications, and large rural areas of the SAR and the Orange Free State (which the British had annexed as the Crown Colony of the Transvaal and the Orange River Colony, respectively) remained out of British control. Not Only About Impressment: Causes of the War of 1812. In 1884, Transvaal President Paul Kruger successfully renegotiated the original agreement. Most notably these were the battles of Magersfontein, Colesberg, and Stormberg, which all occurred during what became known as “Black Week” between December 10 and 15, 1899. However, the arrival of large numbers of British reinforcements by early 1900 made an eventual Boer defeat inevitable. At the turn of the 18th century, the Cape had become home to settlers from Germany and France; however, it was the Dutch who made up the majority of the settler population. Second Boer War When the Boer War began on October 12, 1899, Australia was still a collection of separate British colonies with a total population of less than 4 million on a land mass nearly as large as the United States. Which Asian Nations Were Never Colonized by Europe? The Battle of Paardeberg, which lasted nearly ten days, saw a major defeat of Boer forces. The British, conversely, distrusted the Boers—viewing them as quarrelsome and thickheaded. Fought between the British Empire and the Boer South African Republic (Transvaal) and its Orange Free State ally, it was the culmination of … Martini-Henry Mark III. There is a small amount of poor quality black and white movie footage, but the programme relies mainly on still photographs. How South African Names of Places Have Changed, The History of the Formation of South Africa. Any burgher between the ages of 16 and 60 was liable to be called up to serve in a commando and each often brought their own rifles and horses. Boer general Piet Cronjé surrendered to the British along with more than 4,000 men. For 15 months, Boer commandos, under the brilliant leadership of generals such as Christiaan Rudolf de Wet and Jacobus Hercules de la Rey, held British troops at bay, using hit-and-run guerrilla tactics. Political freedom and civil rights for South Africa's native population came later. This amounted to roughly 180,000 men—the largest army Britain had ever sent overseas to this point. The concentration camps were severely mismanaged. A commando consisted of anywhere between 200 and 1,000 burghers and was headed by a “Kommandant” who was elected by the commando itself. The Second Boer War had just begun. It would also be when the British first used concentration camps. The Second Boer War 1899-1902, the war between the Afrikaners (Boers) and the British in South Africa. The Second Boer War was a war fought between the British Commonwealth and the Boer republics of South Africa from 11 October 1899 to 31 May 1902, resulting in the United Kingdom's annexation of Transvaal and the Orange Free State into its new colony of South Africa.What should have been a routine imperial victory became a drawn-out affair that revealed the limits of British military … For the article summary, see. "The Boer War." Looting was widespread, and did not stop at the acquisition of bare essentials for men and their horses. Although it was the largest and most costly war in which the British engaged between the Napoleonic Wars and World War I (spending more than £200 million), it was fought between wholly unequal protagonists. ThoughtCo. Although outnumbered, the Boers were a skilled and determined enemy. The event, known as the Jameson Raid, was a debacle and forced Rhodes to resign as the Cape’s prime minister. In 1814, Holland officially handed the colony over to the British Empire. The British replied that no such conditions could be met and by the evening of October 11, 1899, Boer forces began crossing over the borders into Cape Province and Natal. The British may have faced defeat early on but the tide was about to turn. The guerrilla war that was launched by resistant burghers and led by generals Christiaan de Wet and Jacobus Hercules de la Rey, kept the pressure on British forces throughout the Boer territories. Despite having annexed both Boer republics, the British barely managed to control either one. Please select which sections you would like to print: While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Second Anglo-Boer War - 1899 - 1902 A British mule train stirring up the dust as it toils up a steep incline during Second Anglo-Boer War 1899 - 1902, South Africa 1899 - 1902. Whole towns and thousands of farms were plundered and burned; livestock was killed. The issue of enslavement became another point of contention. Paul Kruger’s election to a fourth term as president of the South African Republic in 1898, finally convinced Cape politicians that the only way to deal with the Boers would be through the use of force. But the British were fighting in a hostile country over difficult terrain, with long lines of communications, while the Boers, mainly on the defensive, were able to use modern rifle fire to good effect at a time when attacking forces had no means of overcoming it. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. The British had offered peace terms in March of 1902, but to no avail. Inside Britain and the British Empire, there was strong opposition to the Boers and a minority in favour of them. In 1899, the conflict between the British and the Boers burgeoned into a full-fledged war that was fought in three stages: a Boer offensive against British command posts and railway lines, a British counteroffensive that brought the two republics under British control, and a Boer guerrilla resistance movement that prompted a widespread scorched-earth campaign by the British and the internment and deaths of thousands of Boer civilians in British concentration camps. "The Boer War." This war would become the most destructive modern armed conflict in the country and shape the history of the nation. Boer leader Paul Kruger escaped capture and went into exile in Europe, where much of the population’s sympathy lay with the Boer cause. In an effort to prevent a conflict between Britain and the SAR, Marthinus Steyn, president of the Orange Free State, hosted the unsuccessful Bloemfontein Conference in May–June 1899 between Milner and Paul Kruger, president of the SAR. Rhodes was a staunch colonialist and thus believed Britain should acquisition the Boer territories (as well as the gold fields there). From 1899 to 1902, the Second Anglo-Boer War was fought in South Africa pitting the British against the two Boer republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Despite this successful initial offensive, the Boers never sought to occupy any of the British-held territories in South Africa; they focused instead on besieging supply lines and ensuring that the British were too undersupplied and disorganized to launch their own offensive. Why Does South Africa Have Three Capital Cities? the Anglo-Boer War) remains the most terrible and destructive modern … The Second Boer War had begun. The British did offer compensation to the Dutch settlers for relinquishing their enslaved people, but this compensation was seen as insufficient and their anger was compounded by the fact that the compensation had to be collected in London, some 6,000 miles away. When this tactic failed, Kitchener decided to adopt a “scorched earth” policy that systematically sought to destroy food supplies and deprive the rebels of shelter. Commando members, furthermore, were allowed to sit as equals in general councils of war to which they often brought their own individual ideas about tactics and strategy. The last, and most destructive, phase of the war was about to begin. Among them was the Cape Colony’s prime minister and diamond magnate Cecil Rhodes. Boer troops lining up in battle against the British during the South African War (1899–1902). From October 11, 1899, until May 31, 1902, the Second Boer War (also known as the South African War and the Anglo-Boer War) was fought in South Africa between the British and the Boers (Dutch settlers in southern Africa). Squabbles erupted within Boer ranks between the bittereinders (“bitter-enders”) who wanted to keep fighting and those hendsoppers (“hands-uppers”) who favored surrender. In the second phase of the war, when the British forces captured the major South African towns, over-extended supply lines and inadequate food caused problems. "Second Freedom War") or the Engelse oorlog (English War). Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Boer resistance was worn down and led to divisions between the bittereinders (“bitter-enders”), who wanted to continue fighting, and the hensoppers (“hands-uppers”), who voluntarily surrendered and, in some cases, worked with the British. The telegram laid out a point-by-point ultimatum. The Boers, realizing war was unavoidable, took the offensive. He entrusted 500 Rhodesian (Rhodesia having been named after him) mounted police to his agent, Dr. Leander Jameson. Tensions between Boers and Uitlanders eventually prompted Kruger to adopt harsh laws that would limit the general freedoms of the Uitlanders and seek to protect Dutch culture in the region. Thinking that this was a mere squabble that would soon be resolved, the British lacked reserves in ammunition and equipment; plus, they had no suitable military maps available for use either. Morant was no stranger to mounted warfare in South Africa. Britain’s Prime Minister William E. Gladstone forged a compromise peace with the Boers that granted the Transvaal self-government while still keeping it as an official colony of Great Britain. Neither the Orange Free State nor the South African Republic commanded large, professional armies. The compromise did little to appease the Boers and tension between the two sides continued. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/the-boer-war-1779180. The 1886 gold rush not only transformed the poor, agrarian South African Republic into an economic powerhouse, it also caused a great deal of turmoil for the young republic. After 1897 Britain—through Alfred Milner, its high commissioner for South Africa—maneuvered to undermine the political independence of the SAR and demanded the modification of the Boer republic’s constitution to grant political rights to the primarily British Uitlanders, thereby providing them with a dominant role in formulating state policy that would presumably be more pro-British than the current policy of the SAR. Kruger’s October 1899 offensive had taken the British by surprise, and it accounts for the early Boer victories. The Boer sieges of the British towns of Ladysmith, Kimberley and Mafeking in 1899 are widely considered as marking the significant escalation of the Second Anglo-Boer War. Outside the situation was reversed and indeed condemnation of Britain was … Rebel Boer commandos relentlessly raided British communication lines and army bases with swift, surprise attacks often conducted at night. British troops wading through the river at the Battle of Modder River, November 28, 1899, during the South African War (1899–1902). South African War, also called Boer War, Second Boer War, or Anglo-Boer War; to Afrikaners, also called Second War of Independence, war fought from October 11, 1899, to May 31, 1902, between Great Britain and the two Boer (Afrikaner) republics—the South African Republic (Transvaal) and the Orange Free State—resulting in British victory. The course of the war can be divided into three periods. By May of that year, however, Boer leaders finally accepted peace conditions and signed the Treaty of Vereenigingon May 31, 1902. Their forces, instead, consisted of militias called “commandos” that consisted of “burghers” (citizens). The causes of the war have provoked intense debates among historians and remain as unresolved today as during the war itself. Although there were many Uitlanders (foreigners; i.e., non-Dutch/Boer and in this case primarily British) working in the Witwatersrand gold-mining industry, the complex itself was beyond direct British control. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Below is the full article. These policies further eroded relations between Great Britain and the Boers as many of those rushing to the gold fields were British sovereigns. Elizabeth van Heyningen. At the end of 1900 the war entered upon its most destructive phase. The total British military strength in Southern Africa reached nearly 500,000 men, whereas the Boers could muster no more than about 88,000. The Boer militias grew weary of fighting and morale was breaking down. Although control of foreign treaties remained with Britain, Britain did, however, drop the Transvaal’s official status as a British colony. A Chronology of Southern African Independence, A Brief History of South African Apartheid, What Is Colonialism? See also: Colonial South Africa All Votes Add Books To This List. It was the largest gold-mining complex in the world at a time when the world’s monetary systems, preeminently the British, were increasingly dependent upon gold. The Boers were leery of the foreign prospectors—whom they dubbed “Uitlanders” (“outlanders”)—pouring into their country from across the world to mine the Witwatersrand fields. Also, the fact that Britain’s Cape Colony had now slipped into the South African Republic’s economic shadow, made Great Britain even more determined to secure its African interests and to bring the Boers to heel. The Second Boer War Begins: The Boer Offensive, Phase Three: Guerrilla Warfare, Scorched Earth, and Concentration Camps. Corrections? Kitchener’s reasoning was that the internment of civilians would not only further deprive the burghers of food, which had been supplied to them by their wives on the homestead, but that it would prompt the Boers to surrender in order to be reunited with their families. The 1852 settlement and another settlement, reached in 1854, brought about the creation of two independent Boer republics—the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. The ultimatum demanded peaceful arbitration, the removal of British troops along their border, British troop reinforcements be recalled, and that British reinforcements who were coming via ship, not land. During the first phase, the British in Southern Africa were unprepared and militarily weak. Kruger’s continued harsh policies against the Uitlanders and his cozy relationship with Britain’s colonial rivals, continued to fuel the empire’s ire towards the Transvaal republic during the waning years of the 1890s. 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