week 12 - relations with indigenous people 1890 - 1914 Flashcards
second boer war:
political causes
uitlander voting rights issue- 50,000 british lived in transvaal and orange free state but could not vote until they had lived there for 14 years.
broader aim of expanding in south africa
fear that germany in south west africa would link up with boers
cecil rhodes vision of a line of colonies from north to south africa.
second boer war:
economic causes
gold (discovered 1886) and diamond mines (discovered from 1867)
boers imposed high tariffs on trade - britain were involved in free trade and couldn’t rapidly grow economy in africa now - 43 gold mines and provided 27.5% of the world’s gold
the mine owner ‘rand millionaires’ supported uitlander rights since they believed it would increase profits if they could recruit more
european skilled workers
second boer war:
aggressive individuals
milner - may 1899 bloemfontein conference, demanded full voting rights within 5 years for uitlanders. stopped british loans to transvaal- believed british supremacy in south africa was at stake. very aggressive negotiator with kruger. kruger did offer voting rights for uitlanders in 7 years but milner rejected these suggestions
chamberlain - persuaded conservatives that boers were a threat to britain interests- appointed milner. sent british troops to transvaal hoping to bully kruger in autumn 1899
october 9th 1899 - kruger demanded british troops leave transvaal’s borders- britain did not reply- october 11th boers invaded -took britain by surprise.
second boer war:
military reform issues
army remained small - less than 135,000 men.
the main aim of military reformers was to bring the army to a high level of professionalism.
formidable obstacles in their way:
- government was not ready to spend money on the army.
- army generally performed well in colonial wars in the 1880’s and 1890’s and therefore little pressure to change
second boer war:
british preparedness
wyndham, as secretary of the war office, claimed that the army was more efficient than at any time since “waterloo”
many officers had been hardened in a number of successful colonial wars.
wolseley emphasised the importance of supply and transportation.
once war was declared in 1899, mobilisation went well - admiralty transporting men and supplies over a distance of 6000 miles without any issue.
issues:
shortage of ammunition.
army had plenty of red, white and blue uniforms which were unsuitable for action on the veldt, but an inadequate supply of khaki which was better camouflaged.
several auxiliary departments such as the royal army medical corps, were understaffed.
intelligence and staff work were inadequate.
british officers failed to recognise the impact of fire from trench positions and the mobility of cavalry raids, both of which had been demonstrated in the american civil war.
second boer war:
the boer army
the army looked very weak in comparison to the british:
boers could put fewer than 60,000 men in the field.
total population of the two republics, including men and women, was only 300,000.
boer army apart from a few artillery troops, was a civilian militia.
when danger loomed, all adult male citizens in a district were expected to from a commando which elected officers.
each man brought his own weapon and horse. those who could not afford one were given one by the government.
but the boers were relatively strong:
first boer war suggested that the boers with excellent horsemen and hunters were likely to be tough opponents.
boers armed with europe’s best weapons including smokeless mauser rifles from germany and creusot siege guns from france.
had a greater familiarity with the terrain than british officers.
many Boers in cape colony sympathised with the two republics.
second boer war:
first 5 months
britain were winning
second boer war:
ladysmith
penn-symons whilst establishing his main base at ladysmith, sent a brigade forward to dundee - site of the war’s first battle.
boer guns began shelling the british camp on the 20th october.
penn - symons counterattacked.
men drove the boers from talana hill but at the cost of 446 men.
penn-symons was fatally wounded.
sir george white retreated to ladysmith because of a fear that the boers were going to attack.
ladysmith surrounded by boers who bombarded it with siege guns.
white ordered a major sortie against the artillery.
the result was a disaster:
battle of modderspruit was a british disaster.
140 men killed and 1000 captured.
white trapped in ladysmith.
second boer war:
mafeking
colonel robert baden-powell had raised 1200 local men at mafeking, hoping to lead raids against the enemy.
instead of being the aggressor, powell found himself defender when 7000 Boers, commanded by cronje, attacked mafeking.
town held out but the boers besieged the place, with the intention of starving it into surrender.
second boer war:
boer victories
stromberg
magresfontein
colenso
the british called this ‘black week’
second boer war:
mid 1900
looked like the british were winning but the boers launched a guerrilla war whic lasted until 1902
second boer war:
consequences
war cost britain £230 million
britain abandoned splendid isolation- alliance with japan, dreadnoughts, national efficiency campaign wins liberals 1906 election
115,000 living in camps by end of war- many died 28,000- led to international condemnation and criticism at home
in the peace treaty of 1902 boers were given £3 million compensation- and a degree of self government. afrikaner nationalism grew after the war- taalbond language union
1910 out africa became a dominion - transvaal and orange free state had a great deal of autonomy-
30,000 black africans fought in british army and many more had non- combatant roles, yet, afterwards their land claims were ignored and voting rights were restricted for black africans in transvaal and orange free state.
