Boer War Flashcards
What was the Great Trek?
When Britain tried to gain control of the Cape Colony, the Boers tried to get away from the British by moving towards the Transvaal and the OFS
- Britain were initially quite happy for Boers to move that way
- discovery of gold in Transvaal meant the British wanted to get into this area now
When was the First Boer War?
1880-81
What happened in the first Boer War?
Britain were defeated, lost 400 troops at Majuba hill
Why is it a bit of an exaggeration to call the first Boer war a war?
The defeat was only small (only 400 British troops defeated)
What were the consequences of the First Boer War?
. Left a sour taste on behalf of the British as they felt they had to get back at the Boers for the defeat
. Uneasy truce between Britain and the Boers after this (slight tension)
Who does John Bull represent?
The typical British person, always wanting to fight
What did a cartoon of John Bull say that was directed towards the Boers and what does it show?
‘As you will fight, you shall have it. This time it’s a fight to the finish.’
- shows British believed Boers started the second Boer War, ‘let’s have it’
- shows Britain wanted to properly end the battle as the rivalry had been tense since the first war
- shows British view of lust for fighting
Why were both Boer Republic’s overpopulated?
As they were agriculturally poor
When had the Transvaal people been given political rights?
1852
When was the Jameson Raid?
New Year Weekend of 1895/96
What happened in the Jameson raid and how was it a failure?
. Force of 6000 men in hopes of starting an uprising in the Transvaal
- British tried to pretend they weren’t behind it
- British failure was a major embarrassment for the British government
- no more than 20 people killed in the resulting skirmish
How did the Boers view the Jameson raid?
Almost as a declaration of war
What was the relationship between Britain and the Boers after the Jameson raid?
Uneasy peace in following years, with political pressure put on the Boers from the British
How did Milner worsen the tension between Britain and Boers following the Jameson raid?
Broke off talks with Kruger in the Bloemfontein Conference (31st May - 5th June 1899)
When were British military reinforcement dispatched to SA and placed on the borders of the Boer republics?
September 1899
How did Kruger and the SA give a final chance for the Boer War not to happen?
9th October 1899: created an ultimatum calling for the removal of imperial troops from the republic’s borders within 48 hours, not listened to
How was it clear that it wasn’t just politicians that felt action needed to be taken in SA?
Writers such as George Bernard saw the war as part of Britain’s burden to ‘civilise’ the world
How did Britain defend their participation in the Boer war?
Claimed they had tried to be reasonable and agreed with the Boers
What was a massive turning point in British interest in SA?
Discovery of Gold in Transvaal in 1886
What did Britain want to happen to SA that Boers didn’t want?
Imperialists sought a unification of the whole of South African under Britain and the Boer Republics were missing pieces of the puzzle
The Boers wanted their independence
Why were the Boers always going to fight for their independence?
They were very territorial and fiercely opposed outside control, especially from the British
Who were Uitlanders?
Mainly British people who wanted wealth from new gold discovery in Transvaal so moved here
How did the Boers feel about the Uitlanders?
They viewed them as a threat to their continuing independence
How was Kruger’s government awful towards the Uitlanders?
Uitlanders didn’t have the right to vote despite having to pay taxes as restrictions on their freedom favoured the Boers
Why did the appointment of Chamberlain to the colonial office and Alfred Milner as British High Commissioner escalate tensions for the Boer War?
They were both ardent imperialists, wanting to press ahead with the unification of SA under Britain
. Encouraged Uitlander discontent, hoping to provoke some kind of revolt from the Uitlander’s so they had an excuse to take some control over Kruger’s government
How did the British justify intervention in the Transvaal?
Claimed the Boers were treating Uitlander’s terribly, slightly over exaggerated
Who did Uitlanders seek help from in 1895 and why?
Cecil Rhodes as he was one of the leading magnates of the Rand Goldfield
- this created an excuse for British intervention
Where did the Jameson raid start?
British Rhodesia, hoping to get an uprising in the Transvaal
How did the Jameson raid affect Britian?
. Political embarrassment
. Britain tried to deny official involvement
How did the Boer victory at the Jameson raid affect things in the Boer republics?
Kruger became the Boer people’s hero
‘Afrikaner bond’ formed: anti-British bond made by Boers still living in Cape Colony to show they were willing to help fellow Boers in the Transvaal
Why was it stupid for Rhodes to force the Jameson Raid to commence?
At the same time, Uitlanders had recently been pulling back from a planned uprising against the Boer Republic, should’ve been more organised
What was the army of the Jameson raid made up of and how long did it last?
500 mounted police
Defeated and surrendered in only 4 days
What happened to the participants of the Jameson raid?
Jameson and 12 companions imprisoned by a British court
Rhodes forced to resign from the Cape premiership
How did Chamberlain feel about entering the Boer war?
Wanted to avoid war but wasn’t going to allow British influence to be weakened
When did Boer and British relationships seriously break down?
1899
How much did Britain spend to turn the Boer war around?
Almost 400k troops around the Empire, costing £250 million
When was the second Boer war?
1899-1902
How did Britain try and justify the Jameson raid?
By saying that they were protecting the rights of Uitlanders
What does Uitlanders translate to in British?
Outlanders
How did Chamberlain use his administration powers to try and overcome the setback of the Jameson raid?
Appointed Sir Alfred Milner (outspoken imperialist) as High Commissioner of SA in 1897
What is Kruger’s government called?
South African republic government
How did the Jameson raid change Kruger’s view of Uitlanders?
He became even more reluctant to give them political freedom as an uprising seemed a possibility
What proposals did the SAR make to try and prevent the Boer war?
1890: SAR offered an extension of the franchise to the Uitlanders (more rights) if the British agreed not to interfere in SAR’s international affairs
Krugers demands:
. Britain drop its claim to rule the SAR
. Britain allow external arbitration of other unresolved disputes between the Boer and British governments
Why did Chamberlain reject Kruger’s proposals to prevent the Boer war?
He saw the Boers as easy to defeat
Who started the Boer War and how?
Boer republics invade Cape Colony and Natal on 12th October 1899 as they see Britain didn’t want peace after rejecting the ultimatum
What towns were sieged by the Boers during Black week?
. Kimberley
. Mafeking
. Ladysmith
Which battles did Britain fail to push the Boers away in December 1899 (Black Week)?
. Battle of Stormberg
. Battle of Magersfontein
. Battle of Colenso
Why was ‘Black week” a massive shock for the British public?
These successive defeats were not ordinary for Britain, British weren’t used to defeat
How did Britain’s normal tactics in December fail?
Used fronted attacks on concealed Boer positions, ineffective as Boers were excellent at guerrilla warfare
How did Boers have much greater tactics in the beginning of the Boer war?
Used modern rifles and smokeless powder to snipe British infantry and then hide away
How was Boer army very skilled at the start of Boer war?
Only had 88,000 soldiers but very good generals such as Louis Botha