Expansion into South Africa 1857-1890 Flashcards
expansion into the cape colony 1806
deep water port
temperate climate
last point before india, protected sea route
led to great treck in 1830s as boers moved away from british and towards orange free state and griqualand west
discovery of diamonds 1867
discovery of diamonds near kimberly in griqualand west led to the diamond rush and increased tensions between boers and british
caused british annexation of basutoland claiming that the indigenous africans wre seeking protection from the british against the boers
Carnarvon confederation
colonial secretary 1874-1878
wanted to create a confederation of south africa by joining all the states together but the boers refused
this created greater instability as both tried to exert a greater control in Griqualand East (2000 Khoikhoi tribes had moved here to escape racial prejudice by Britian), led to british victory in the xhosa war and annexed it to the Cape
Transvaal
1876 boers at war with Pedi tribe which the Pedi won, this scared the Boers that the zulu would then attack the Transvaal
the boers asked British for help - shepstone offered to annex Transvaal and the Boers were forced to accept as they were so worried about the Zulu threat
Britain annexed the Transvaal in 1877
Zululand
Frere invaded in January 1879, disobeying government orders
eventually defeated the Zulus and it became incorporated into Natal
reasons: diamond rush increased competition, internal threars as Zulus violated borders, did not see British as an ally anymore as they annexed the Transvaal, british government were distracted by situation in Balkans and the new colonial secretary, Hinks, was in experienced as so supported everything Frere said
Griqualand West
in 1871, Britain annexed Griqualand west - mix of Boers and Khoikhoi tribes
this gave the British better access to the diamonds
Bechuanaland
arrival of the Germans in 1884 raised British fears of an alliance between Germany and the Boers
this led to the annexation of Bechuanaland to prevent the two becoming a threat
Discovery of Gold
1886, Transvaal
increased interest in Boer territory
this gold was eagerly sought by trading companies and brought a mass of Uitlanders to the area
led to Cecil Rhodes influence and chartered companies
Bartle Frere
convinced british empire was vulnerable to russian attack due to industrial advances - naval revolution threatened South Africa
chosen by Lord Carnavon to carry out planned confederation to merge British South Africa with Boer territory but they wanted their independence
deliberately provoked a war with the Zulus in December 1878 and although this ended in a victory, british forced were defeated in January 1879
Frere was withdrawn from South Africa in 1880
Anglo-Zulu War
While the Boers were at war with the Pedi, the British saw this as an opportunity to annex Transvaal, claiming European settlers (boers were dutch) needed to be defended against the Pedi but also the Zulus (most powerful tribe)
British launched an invasion of Zululand in 1879 despite government saying no as they were too busy in the Balkans
Britain had to beg passing naval ships for guns to create a temporary defence. Zulu army decisively defeated the British, forcing a retreat. Reinforcements sent by the British and the army defeated the Zulus at their capital, Ulundi, Zululand then became incorporated into the Natal.
Once the Zulus had been defeated, the Boers declared their total independence from the British in 1880
First Boer War 1881
Boer rebellion led by Paul Kruger 1880 rejecting British rule
Boers fight British garrison using Guerilla Warfare in the Transvaal
in Feb 1881, the british force was defeated as their fighting technique was not suited against the brutality of the Boers and over 150 Britons were killed
Pretoria Convention - recognised the Transvaal as independent but British still claimed a right to control over external affairs
british-boer relations
competition over land especially after discovery of gold and diamond rush
claimed indigenous people seeked protection from Boers - Basutoland
blame for British: annexed land that encroached Boer territory and had little regard for Boers
blame for Boers: rejected British proposal of a federation of British and Boers in 1875 but relied on British aid to then declare independence as soon as threat had gone
treatment of the Bantu
little thought was given to the Bantu whose land had been increasingly eroded by settlers
discovery of gold and diamonds increased wealth of the region but the profits were mostly held by white settlers
laws ere passed by mining companies that limited the rights of black Africans to have any claim over the mines and the trade of their products and so were therefore relegated to performing manual labour while the white people got the skilled jobs
black workers were forbidden from living where they wanted and forced to stay in segregated neighbourhoods
