British Involvement In South Africa Flashcards
What were the Dutch settlers reaction to British taking over in 1796
The Boers ignored their new governors and moved away from the administration centres.
They were fiercely independent
Where did the Boers move to and what was their journey called
The Boers began to move away from the cape colony
Established themselves in orange free state and Transvaal
It was called the great Trek
What happened in 1852
British allowed the Boers self government and republic of Transvaal was born, followed by orange free state
Why did British change their mind on allowing the Boers self government in their states
after the discovery of diamonds in 1867 British views unsurprisingly changed.
Who are the Bantu people
Label for the number of groups of ethnic people in Africa who speak Bantu languages
Includes Zulu people
What year were diamonds discovered
1867
What year did British propose a federation with the Boers and what was their response
1875 - Boers reject probably as they feared being controlled
Result of the first Boer war
Boers inflicted a humiliating defeat on 400 British troops in February 1881
What was the effect on the Bantu people during all this expansion
Little thought given to them
Increased wealth of the region kept in hands of the settlers
Limited to living in segregated areas
Who were the Uitlander’s
European foreigner living in Transvaal
What was the Jameson raid (1895-96) and it’s outcome?
Led by Cecil Rhoades , wanted to overthrow Kruger’s republic, wanted to establish pro British government
Resulted in : embarrassment of the British government; the replacement of Cecil Rhodes as prime minister of the Cape Colony; and the strengthening of Boer dominance of the Transvaal and its gold mines.
Who was chamberlain at this time
Colonial Secretary (1895)
Who was Cecil Rhoades ?
Prime Minister of Cape Coloney
Who was Kruger
Boer leader
Who was Alfred Milner?
Became High Commissioner to SA in 1897
Why did Boer war start in 1899
Kruger placed restriction on the Uitlander’s possibly to put people of coming or to drive them out
Josef chamberlain made colonial Secretary in 1895 and Sir Alfred Milner the new British High Commissioner in 1897. Both were high imperialists who wanted to unite SA under British flag
The embarrassing Jameson raid was seen as deceleration of war by Boers
Following years saw uneasiness between them and Boers armed up in following yrs
Finally when Milner broke of talks with Kruger during the Bloemfontein Conference (31 May-5 June 1899), British troops dispatched to SA in September 1899
Why did the boers attack first and what did this allow Britain to do
British reinforcements were on the republics borders and so the Boers launched a preemptive strike by invading Cape province and laying siege to three cities
This allowed Britain to act as if Boers had started it and therefore go to war with public backing
What happens in stage 1 of war (October 1899-January 1900)
Boer offensive
At first, the Boer republican fighters were successful in three major offensives.
• Their commandos invaded northern Natal and besieged the town of Ladysmith, invaded Cape Colony
Stage two of war :
January-June, 1900
With heavy reinforcements and the assumption of overall command by Lord Roberts with Lord Kitchener as his Chief of Staff, the British fought back.
• Imperial troops eventually relieved the besieged towns of Ladysmith (28th February 1900), Kimberley (15 February 1900) and Mafeking (18th May 1900).
The Transvaal was annexed on 1st September 1900.
Guerilla tactics during stage three of Boer war (Nov1900-May1902)
Boers abandoned the British style of warfare and increased their reliance on small and mobile military units.
• The mobility of these units enabled them to capture supplies, disrupt communications and undertake raids on the army of occupation.
• They were very successful in evading capture.
Brtitish frustration towards guerilla tactics during stage three of Boer war (1900-1902) resulted in :
In response, the British embarked on a scorched earth policy to deny supplies to the
fighters. Approximately 30,000 farms were burnt.
Built large barbed wire fencing guarded by 50000 troops
Captured displaced Boer families ,These refugees were sent to concentration camps around South Africa.
Effect of British concentration camps
• A report after the war concluded that 27,927 Boers (of whom 22,074 were children under 16) and 14,154 black Africans had died of starvation, disease and exposure in the concentration camps
British treatment of Boer civilians was widely condemned in Europe
Consequences of Boer war for Britain
Lost sense of invincibility
Exposed British moral and military shortcomings
Shook British confidence
£230m cost
Support for war initially but divided opinion later on.
Concerns over ‘national efficiency’ End of splendid isolation
Consequences of Boer war for South Africa
Peace of Vereeniging was ‘generous’
Transvaal and OFS granted self government in 1907, Union of South Africa in 1910
Black African rights largely ignored
