92-694: The City of London Imperial Volunteers (CIV) was a British corps of volunteers during the Second Boer War . After the outbreak of the Second Boer War in October 1899, volunteer corps were established in most counties of the United Kingdom to provide officers and men for service in South Africa . In December a proposal was put forward that the City of London should sponsor a volunteer troop of soldiers to take part in
184-677: A diamond rush and a massive influx of foreigners to the borders of the Orange Free State. Then, in June 1884, gold was discovered in the Witwatersrand area of the South African Republic by Jan Gerrit Bantjes . Gold made the Transvaal the richest nation in southern Africa; however, the country had neither the manpower nor the industrial base to develop the resource on its own. As a result,
276-631: A shanty town . Uitlanders (foreigners, white outsiders) poured in and settled around the mines. The influx was so rapid that uitlanders quickly outnumbered the Boers in Johannesburg and along the Rand, although they remained a minority in the Transvaal. The Boers, nervous and resentful of the uitlanders' growing presence, sought to contain their influence through requiring lengthy residential qualifying periods before voting rights could be obtained; by imposing taxes on
368-548: A Boer and British ultimatum and subsequent Boer irregulars and militia attacks on British colonial settlements in Natal Colony . The Boers placed Ladysmith , Kimberley , and Mafeking under siege, and won victories at Colenso , Magersfontein and Stormberg . Increased numbers of British Army soldiers were brought to Southern Africa and mounted unsuccessful attacks against the Boers. However, British fortunes changed when their commanding officer, General Redvers Buller ,
460-504: A desire for political independence. In 1853, the Cape Colony became a British Crown colony with representative government. In 1854, the Cape of Good Hope elected its first parliament , on the basis of the multi-racial Cape Qualified Franchise . Cape residents qualified as voters based on a universal minimum level of property ownership, regardless of race. Executive power remaining completely in
552-566: A frenzy of jingoism, lionised him and treated him as a hero. Although sentenced to 15 months imprisonment (which he served in Holloway ), Jameson was later rewarded by being named Prime Minister of the Cape Colony (1904–1908) and was ultimately anointed as one of the founders of the Union of South Africa. For conspiring with Jameson, the uitlander members of the Reform Committee (Transvaal) were tried in
644-497: A further two years, the Boers conducted a hard-fought guerrilla war, attacking British troop columns, telegraph sites, railways, and storage depots. To deny supplies to the Boer guerrillas, the British, now under the leadership of Lord Kitchener , adopted a scorched earth policy. They cleared vast areas, destroying Boer farms and moving the civilians into concentration camps. Some parts of
736-453: A guerrilla campaign, becoming known as bittereinders . Led by generals such as Louis Botha , Jan Smuts , Christiaan de Wet , and Koos de la Rey , Boer guerrillas used hit-and-run attacks and ambushes against the British for two years. The guerrilla campaign proved difficult for the British to defeat, due to unfamiliarity with guerrilla tactics and extensive support for the guerrillas among civilians. In response to failures to defeat
828-431: A large ridge some 69 km (43 mi) south of the Boer capital at Pretoria. The ridge was known locally as the "Witwatersrand" (white water ridge, a watershed). A gold rush to the Transvaal brought thousands of British and other prospectors and settlers from around the globe and over the border from the Cape Colony, which had been under British control since 1806. The city of Johannesburg sprang up nearly overnight as
920-644: A number of bitter, genocidal conflicts between the colonists and the Khoe-speaking indigenes , followed by the Xhosa , both of which they perceived as unwanted competitors for prime farmland. VOC traders imported thousands of slaves to the Cape of Good Hope from the Dutch East Indies and other parts of Africa. By the end of the eighteenth century the Cape's population swelled to about 26,000 people of European descent and 30,000 slaves. In 1795, France occupied
1012-738: A plan to take Johannesburg and end the control of the Transvaal government was hatched with the connivance of the Cape Prime Minister Rhodes and Johannesburg gold magnate Alfred Beit . A column of 600 armed men was led over the border from Bechuanaland towards Johannesburg by Jameson, the Administrator in Rhodesia of the British South Africa Company , of which Cecil Rhodes was the chairman. The column, mainly made up of Rhodesian and Bechuanaland British South Africa Policemen ,
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#17328516219621104-489: A pretext for war and a justification for a big military build-up in Cape Colony. The case for war was developed and espoused as far away as the Australian colonies. Cape Colony Governor Sir Alfred Milner ; Rhodes; Chamberlain; and mining syndicate owners such as Beit, Barney Barnato , and Lionel Phillips , favoured annexation of the Boer republics. Confident that the Boers would be quickly defeated, they planned and organised
1196-594: A republic, albeit, temporarily outside the Commonwealth of Nations (1961–94). The British colony was preceded by an earlier corporate colony that became an original Dutch colony of the same name , which was established in 1652 by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) . The Cape was under VOC rule from 1652 to 1795 and under rule of the Napoleonic Batavia Republic from 1803 to 1806. The VOC lost
1288-469: A short war, citing the uitlanders' grievances as the motivation for the conflict. In contrast, the influence of the war party within the British government was limited. UK Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury , despised jingoism and jingoists. He was also uncertain of the abilities of the British Army. Despite both his moral and practical reservations, Salisbury led the United Kingdom to war in order to preserve
1380-744: A sovereign state in 1931 by the Statute of Westminster . In 1961, it became the Republic of South Africa . Following the 1994 creation of the present-day South African provinces , the Cape Province was partitioned into the Eastern Cape , Northern Cape , and Western Cape , with smaller parts in North West province. An expedition of the VOC led by Jan van Riebeeck established a trading post and naval victualing station at
1472-558: Is officially called the South African War . In fact, according to a 2011 BBC report, "most scholars prefer to call the war of 1899–1902 the South African War, thereby acknowledging that all South Africans, white and black, were affected by the war and that many were participants". The origins of the war were complex and stemmed from more than a century of conflict between the Boers and Britain. Of immediate importance, however,
1564-569: The 1820 Settlers . They also began to introduce the first rudimentary rights for the Cape's Black African population and, in 1834, abolished slavery ; however, the government proved unable to rein in settler violence against the San, which continued largely unabated as it had during the Dutch period. The resentment that the Boers felt against this social change, as well as the imposition of English language and culture , caused them to trek inland en masse. This
1656-681: The Boer War , Transvaal War , Anglo–Boer War , or South African War , was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and Orange Free State ) over the Empire's influence in Southern Africa . The Witwatersrand Gold Rush caused a large influx of " foreigners " ( Uitlanders ) to the South African Republic (SAR), mostly British from
1748-648: The Cape , now nominally controlled by the Batavian Republic , was occupied again by the British after their victory in the Battle of Blaauwberg . The temporary peace between the UK and Napoleonic France had crumbled into open hostilities, whilst Napoleon had been strengthening his influence on the Batavian Republic (which Napoleon would subsequently abolish and directly administer later
1840-554: The Cape Colony . As they, for fear of a hostile takeover of the SAR, were permitted to vote only after fourteen years of residence, they protested to the British authorities in the Cape. Negotiations failed at the botched Bloemfontein Conference in June 1899. The conflict broke out in October after the British government decided to send 10,000 troops to South Africa. With a delay, this provoked
1932-500: The Cape of Good Hope in 1652. Van Riebeeck's objective was to secure a harbour of refuge for VOC ships during the long voyages between Europe and Asia. Within about three decades, the Cape had become home to a large community of vrijlieden , also known as vrijburgers ('free citizens'), former VOC employees who settled in the colonies overseas after completing their service contracts. Vrijburgers were mostly married citizens who undertook to spend at least twenty years farming
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#17328516219622024-633: The Enfield . Indeed, when the ammunition for the Mausers ran out, the Boers relied primarily on the captured Lee-Metfords. Regardless of the rifle, few of the Boers used bayonets. The Boers also purchased the best modern European German Krupp artillery. By October 1899, the Transvaal State Artillery had 73 heavy guns, including four 155 mm Creusot fortress guns and 25 of the 37 mm Maxim Nordenfeldt guns . The Boers' Maxim, larger than
2116-661: The First Boer War (December 1880 to March 1881) was a much smaller conflict. Boer (meaning "farmer") is the common name for Afrikaans -speaking white South Africans descended from the Dutch East India Company 's original settlers at the Cape of Good Hope . Among some South Africans, it is known as the (Second) Anglo–Boer War. In Afrikaans , it may be called (in order of frequency) the ' Tweede Vryheidsoorlog ("Second Freedom War"), ' Tweede Boereoorlog ("Second Boer War"), Anglo–Boereoorlog ("Anglo–Boer War") or Engelse oorlog ("English War"). In South Africa , it
2208-530: The Great Trek . Around 15,000 trekking Boers departed the Cape Colony and followed the eastern coast towards Natal . After Britain annexed Natal in 1843, they journeyed farther northwards into South Africa's vast eastern interior. There, they established two independent Boer republics: the South African Republic (1852; also known as the Transvaal Republic) and the Orange Free State (1854). Britain recognised
2300-643: The Honourable Artillery Company and the City of London Artillery forming a battery of four 12½ pounder quick-firing guns, manufactured by Messrs Vickers' Sons & Maxim. There was also a cyclist section, which was mainly in charge of despatches. The first volunteers were registered at the Guildhall on 1 January 1900. All the officers and men received the Freedom of the City of London before departure. Most of
2392-517: The Martini-Henry Mark III, because thousands of these had been purchased. Unfortunately, the large puff of white smoke after firing gave away the shooter's position. Roughly 7,000 Guedes 1885 rifles had also been purchased a few years earlier, and these were also used during the hostilities. As the war went on, some commandos relied on captured British rifles, such as the Lee-Metford and
2484-698: The Matabele and Mashona peoples' rising against the British South Africa Company. The rebellion, known as the Second Matabele War , was suppressed only at a great cost. A few days after the raid, the German Kaiser sent a telegram—known to history as "the Kruger telegram "—congratulating President Kruger and the government of the South African Republic on their success. When the text of this telegram
2576-628: The Seven Provinces of the Dutch Republic , the mother country of the Dutch United East India Company . This prompted Great Britain to occupy the Cape Colony in 1795 as a way to better control the seas in order to stop any potential French attempt to reach India . The British sent a fleet of nine warships which anchored at Simon's Town and, following the defeat of the VOC militia at the Battle of Muizenberg , took control of
2668-520: The eastern-western division was largely laid to rest. The system of multi-racial franchise also began a slow and fragile growth in political inclusiveness, and ethnic tensions subsided. In 1877, the state expanded by annexing Griqualand West and Griqualand East – that is, the Mount Currie district ( Kokstad ). The emergence of two Boer mini-republics along the Missionary Road resulted in 1885 in
2760-474: The honorary colonelcy of the corps after they had served under him following the relief of Kimberley, formalized on 10 March 1900. Second Boer War British victory [REDACTED] South African Republic [REDACTED] Orange Free State 1900 1901 1902 The Second Boer War ( Afrikaans : Tweede Vryheidsoorlog , lit. ' Second Freedom War ' , 11 October 1899 – 31 May 1902), also known as
2852-541: The " Missionaries Road " passed through it towards territory farther north. After the Germans annexed Damaraland and Namaqualand (modern Namibia ) in 1884, Britain annexed Bechuanaland in 1885. In the First Boer War of 1880–1881 the Boers of the Transvaal Republic proved skilful fighters in resisting Britain's attempt at annexation, causing a series of British defeats. The British government of William Ewart Gladstone
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2944-714: The African continent was dominated in the 19th century by a set of struggles to create within it a single unified state. In 1868, Britain annexed Basutoland in the Drakensberg Mountains, following an appeal from Moshoeshoe I , the king of the Sotho people , who sought British protection against the Boers. While the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 sought to draw boundaries between the European powers' African possessions, it also set
3036-564: The Boer cause attracted thousands of volunteers from neutral countries , including the German Empire, United States, Russia and even some parts of the British Empire such as Australia and Ireland. Some consider the war the beginning of questioning the British Empire's veneer of impenetrable global dominance, due to the war's surprising duration and the unforeseen losses suffered by the British. A trial for British war crimes committed during
3128-406: The Boers; 20,000 died. British mounted infantry were deployed to track down guerrillas, leading to small-scale skirmishes . Few combatants on either side were killed in action , with most casualties dying from disease. Kitchener offered generous terms of surrender to remaining Boer leaders to end the conflict. Eager to ensure fellow Boers were released from the camps, most Boer commanders accepted
3220-481: The British Empire's prestige and feeling a sense of obligation to British South Africans. Salisbury also detested the Boers treatment of native Africans, referring to the London Convention of 1884 , (following Britain's defeat in the first war), as an agreement "really in the interest of slavery". Salisbury was not alone in this concern. Roger Casement , already well on the way to becoming an Irish Nationalist,
3312-470: The British Maxims, was a large calibre, belt-fed, water-cooled "auto cannon" that fired explosive rounds (smokeless ammunition) at 450 rounds per minute. It became known as the "Pom Pom". Aside from weaponry, the tactics used by the Boers were significant. As one modern source states, "Boer soldiers ... were adept at guerrilla warfare—something the British had difficulty countering". The Transvaal army
3404-494: The British colonists and the Boers. Rhodes also brought in the first formal restrictions on the political rights of the Cape of Good Hope's black African citizens. The Cape of Good Hope remained nominally under British rule until the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, when it became the province of the Cape of Good Hope, better known as the Cape Province . The districts of the colony in 1850 were: Population figures for
3496-403: The British press and British government expected the campaign to be over within months, and the protracted war gradually became less popular, especially after revelations about the conditions in the concentration camps (where as many as 26,000 Afrikaner women and children died of disease and malnutrition). The Boer forces finally surrendered on Saturday, 31 May 1902, with 54 of the 60 delegates from
3588-607: The British terms in the Treaty of Vereeniging , surrendering in May 1902. The former republics were transformed into the British colonies of the Transvaal and Orange River , and in 1910 were merged with the Natal and Cape Colonies to form the Union of South Africa , a self-governing dominion within the British Empire. British expeditionary efforts were aided significantly by colonial forces from
3680-453: The Cape Colony, the Natal, Rhodesia , and many volunteers from the British Empire worldwide, particularly Australia , Canada , India and New Zealand . Black African recruits contributed increasingly to the British war effort. International public opinion was sympathetic to the Boers and hostile to the British . Even within the UK, there existed significant opposition to the war . As a result,
3772-831: The Cape during the late 17th and early 18th centuries; however, close to one-fourth of this demographic was of German origin and one-sixth of French Huguenot descent. Cleavages were likelier to occur along socio-economic rather than ethnic lines. Broadly speaking, the colonists included a number of distinct subgroups, including the Boers . The Boers were itinerant farmers who lived on the colony's frontiers, seeking better pastures for their livestock. Many were dissatisfied with aspects of British administration, in particular with Britain's abolition of slavery on 1 December 1834. Boers who used forced labor would have been unable to collect compensation for their slaves. Between 1836 and 1852, many elected to migrate away from British rule in what became known as
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3864-510: The Cape inquiry and the London parliamentary inquiry and was forced to resign as Prime Minister of the Cape and as Chairman of the British South Africa Company, for having sponsored the failed coup d'état . The Boer government handed their prisoners over to the British for trial. Jameson was tried in England, where the British press and London society, inflamed by anti-Boer and anti-German feeling and in
3956-433: The Cape's Prime Minister in 1890, he instigated a rapid expansion of British influence into the hinterland. In particular, he sought to engineer the conquest of the Transvaal, and although his ill-fated Jameson Raid failed and brought down his government, it led to the Second Boer War and British conquest at the turn of the century. The politics of the colony consequently came to be increasingly dominated by tensions between
4048-408: The Dutch language. Many of the colonists who settled directly on the frontier became increasingly independent and localised in their loyalties. Known as Boers , they migrated beyond the Cape Colony's initial borders and had soon penetrated almost a thousand kilometres inland. Some Boers even adopted a nomadic lifestyle permanently and were denoted as trekboers . The VOC colonial period had
4140-556: The Netherlands upon the Edict of Fontainebleau . This so-called "Huguenot experiment" was deemed a failure by the colonial authorities a decade later, as many of the Huguenot arrivals had little experience with agriculture and had become a net burden on the colonial government. There was a degree of cultural assimilation due to Dutch cultural hegemony that included the almost universal adoption of
4232-404: The Orange Free State to join him and mobilising their forces, Kruger issued an ultimatum giving Britain 48 hours to withdraw all their troops from the border of Transvaal (despite the fact that the only regular British army troops anywhere near the border of either republic were 4 companies of the Loyal North Lancs , who had been deployed to defend Kimberley. ) Otherwise, the Transvaal, allied with
4324-471: The Orange Free State, would declare war. Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( Dutch : Kaapkolonie ), also known as the Cape of Good Hope , was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope . It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa , then became the Cape Province , which existed even after 1961, when South Africa had become
4416-421: The Second Boer War was the longest, the most expensive (£211 million, £19.9 billion at 2022 prices), and the bloodiest conflict between 1815 and 1914, lasting three months longer and resulting in more British combat casualties than the Crimean War (1853–1856). Disease took a greater toll in the Crimean War, claiming 17,580 British. The conflict is commonly referred to simply as "the Boer War" because
4508-410: The South African Republic Paul Kruger , either fled or went into hiding; the British Empire officially annexed the two republics in 1900. In Britain, the Conservative ministry led by Lord Salisbury attempted to capitalise on British military successes by calling an early general election , dubbed by contemporary observers as a " khaki election ". However, Boer fighters took to the hills and launched
4600-489: The Transvaal Boers behind President Kruger and his government. It also had the effect of drawing the Transvaal and the Orange Free State (led by President Martinus Theunis Steyn ) together in opposition to British imperialism. In 1897, the two republics concluded a military pact. In earlier conflicts, the Boers' most common weapon was the British Westley Richards falling-block breech-loader. In his book The First Boer War , Joseph Lehmann offers this comment: "Employing chiefly
4692-443: The Transvaal and Orange Free State voting to accept the terms of the peace treaty. This was known as the Treaty of Vereeniging , and under its provisions, the two republics were absorbed into the British Empire, with the promise of self-government in the future. This promise was fulfilled with the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910. The war had a lasting effect on the region and on British domestic politics. For Britain,
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#17328516219624784-427: The Transvaal courts and found guilty of high treason. The four leaders were sentenced to death by hanging, but the next day this sentence was commuted to 15 years' imprisonment. In June 1896, the other members of the committee were released on payment of £2,000 each in fines, all of which were paid by Cecil Rhodes. One Reform Committee member, Frederick Gray, committed suicide while in Pretoria gaol , on 16 May. His death
4876-527: The Transvaal reluctantly acquiesced to the immigration of uitlanders (foreigners), mainly English-speaking men from Britain, who came to the Boer region in search of fortune and employment. As a result, the number of uitlanders in the Transvaal threatened to exceed the number of Boers, precipitating confrontations between the Boer settlers and the newer, non-Boer arrivals. Britain's expansionist ideas (notably propagated by Cecil Rhodes ) as well as disputes over uitlander political and economic rights led to
4968-451: The Warren Expedition, sent to annex the republics of Stellaland and Goshen (lands annexed to British Bechuanaland ). Major-General Charles Warren annexed the land south of the Molopo River as the colony of British Bechuanaland and proclaimed a protectorate over the land lying to the North of the river. Vryburg , the capital of Stellaland, became capital of British Bechuanaland, while Mafeking (now Mahikeng ), although situated south of
5060-450: The authority of the British governor did not relieve tensions in the colony between its eastern and western sections. In 1872, after a long political battle, the Cape of Good Hope achieved responsible government under its first Prime Minister, John Molteno . Henceforth, an elected Prime Minister and his cabinet had total responsibility for the affairs of the country. A period of strong economic growth and social development ensued, and
5152-423: The border. Four days later, the weary and dispirited column was surrounded near Krugersdorp , within sight of Johannesburg. After a brief skirmish in which the column lost 65 killed and wounded—while the Boers lost but one man—Jameson's men surrendered and were arrested by the Boers. The botched raid had repercussions throughout southern Africa and in Europe. In Rhodesia, the departure of so many policemen enabled
5244-495: The borders of both the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, failing which the Transvaal, allied to the Orange Free State, would declare war on the British government . (In fact, Kruger had ordered commandos to the Natal border in early September, and Britain had only troops in garrison towns far from the border.) The British government rejected the South African Republic's ultimatum, and the South African Republic and Orange Free State declared war on Britain. The southern part of
5336-424: The boundary for some time, although some land between the river and the southern boundary of Botswana was later added to it. From 1878, the colony also included the enclave of Walvis Bay and the Penguin Islands , both in what is now Namibia . It united with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa in 1910, and was accordingly renamed the Province of the Cape of Good Hope . South Africa became
5428-414: The colony to Great Britain following the 1795 Battle of Muizenberg , but it was ceded to the Batavia Republic following the 1802 Treaty of Amiens . It was re-occupied by the British following the Battle of Blaauwberg in 1806, and British possession affirmed with the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 . The Cape of Good Hope then remained in the British Empire , becoming self-governing in 1872. The colony
5520-401: The conflict. The Lord Mayor, Alfred James Newton was approached by Colonel Boxall on the subject and within days he had reached agreement with various City livery companies, bankers, merchants and the Court of Common Council to support and fund the venture. A corps of Imperial volunteers to be raised and equipped by the City of London was authorized by Royal Warrant dated 24 December 1899 with
5612-428: The failed Jameson Raid of 1895. Dr. Leander Starr Jameson , who led the raid, intended to encourage an uprising of the uitlanders in Johannesburg . However, the uitlanders did not take up arms in support, and Transvaal government forces surrounded the column and captured Jameson's men before they could reach Johannesburg. As tensions escalated, political manoeuvrings and negotiations attempted to reach compromise on
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#17328516219625704-494: The gold industry; and by introducing controls through licensing, tariffs and administrative requirements. Among the issues giving rise to tension between the Transvaal government on the one hand and the uitlanders and British interests on the other, were: British imperial interests were alarmed when in 1894–1895 Kruger proposed building a railway through Portuguese East Africa to Delagoa Bay , bypassing British-controlled ports in Natal and Cape Town and avoiding British tariffs. At
5796-408: The government of the Cape Colony as well as Boer settlers finally died down when the Xhosa took part in a mass destruction of their own crops and cattle , in the belief that this would cause their ancestors to wake from the dead. The resulting famine crippled Xhosa country and ushered in a long period of stability on the border. Peace and prosperity, in addition to the Convict crisis of 1849, led to
5888-527: The guerrillas, British high command ordered scorched earth policies as part of a large scale and multi-pronged counterinsurgency campaign; a network of nets , blockhouses , strongpoints and barbed wire fences was constructed, virtually partitioning the occupied republics. Over 100,000 Boer civilians, mostly women and children, were forcibly relocated into concentration camps , where 26,000 died, mostly by starvation and disease. Black Africans were interned in concentration camps to prevent them from supplying
5980-436: The issues of uitlanders' rights within the South African Republic, control of the gold mining industry, and Britain's desire to incorporate the Transvaal and the Orange Free State into a federation under British control. Given the British origins of the majority of uitlanders and the ongoing influx of new uitlanders into Johannesburg, the Boers recognised that granting full voting rights to the uitlanders would eventually result in
6072-413: The land within the fledgling colony's borders; in exchange they received tax exempt status and were loaned tools and seeds . Reflecting the multi-national nature of the early trading companies, the VOC granted vrijburger status to Dutch, Swiss, Scandinavian and German employees, among others. In 1688 they also sponsored the immigration of nearly two hundred French Huguenot refugees who had fled to
6164-454: The loss of ethnic Boer control in the South African Republic. The June 1899 negotiations in Bloemfontein failed, and in September 1899 British Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain demanded full voting rights and representation for the uitlanders residing in the Transvaal. Paul Kruger , the President of the South African Republic, issued an ultimatum on 9 October 1899, giving the British government 48 hours to withdraw all their troops from
6256-431: The men proceeded to South Africa in January and February 1900, returned in October the same year, and the corps was disbanded on 1 December 1900. The January 1900 contingent sailed aboard the SS Garth Castle of Castle Line. The later contingent, comprising the HAC battery of four guns, sailed (with other territorial units from Oxford and Ireland) in the SS Montfort of Canadian Pacific Line on 3 February 1900. The corps
6348-403: The name City of London Imperial Volunteers - CIV for short. The corps included an infantry division, a mounted infantry division, and a field battery (artillery) division. The infantry and mounted infantry divisions were composed of about 1,400 men recruited mainly from existing volunteer regiments in London and Middlesex , while the artillery division was composed of about 150 men recruited from
6440-451: The protectorate border, became the protectorate's administrative centre. The border between the protectorate and the colony ran along the Molopo and Nossob rivers. In 1895, British Bechuanaland became part of the Cape Colony. However, the discovery of diamonds around Kimberley and gold in the Transvaal led to a return to instability, particularly because they fuelled the rise to power of the ambitious imperialist Cecil Rhodes . On becoming
6532-480: The region it would strike too aggressive a posture and possibly derail a negotiated settlement—or even encourage a Boer attack. Steyn of the Orange Free State invited Milner and Kruger to attend a conference in Bloemfontein . The conference started on 30 May 1899, but negotiations quickly broke down, as Kruger had no intention of granting meaningful concessions, and Milner had no intention of accepting his normal delaying tactics. On 9 October 1899, after convincing
6624-514: The same year). The British , who set up a colony on 8 January 1806, hoped to keep Napoleon out of the Cape, and to control the Far East trade routes. The Cape Colony at the time of British occupation was three months' sailing distance from London . The White colonial population was small, no more than 25,000 in all, scattered across a territory of 100,000 square miles. Most lived in Cape Town and
6716-496: The second phase, after the number of British troops greatly increased under the command of Lord Roberts , the British launched another offensive in 1900 to relieve the sieges, this time achieving success. After Natal and the Cape Colony were secure, the British army was able to invade the Transvaal, and the republic's capital, Pretoria , was ultimately captured in June 1900. In the third and final phase, beginning in March 1900 and lasting
6808-402: The stage for further scrambles. Britain attempted to annex first the South African Republic in 1880, and then, in 1899, both the South African Republic and the Orange Free State. In the 1880s, Bechuanaland (modern Botswana ) became the object of a dispute between the Germans to the west, the Boers to the east, and Britain's Cape Colony to the south. Although Bechuanaland had no economic value,
6900-589: The surrounding farming districts of the Boland , an area favoured with rich soils, a Mediterranean Climate and reliable rainfall. Cape Town had a population of 16,000 people. In 1814 the Dutch government formally ceded sovereignty over the Cape to the British , under the terms of the Convention of London . The British started to settle the eastern border of the Cape Colony, with the arrival in Port Elizabeth of
6992-549: The territory. The United East India Company transferred its territories and claims to the Batavian Republic (the Revolutionary period Dutch state) in 1798, and went bankrupt in 1799. Improving relations between Britain and Napoleonic France , and its vassal state the Batavian Republic , led the British to hand the Cape of Good Hope over to the Batavian Republic in 1803, under the terms of the Treaty of Amiens . In 1806,
7084-465: The time, the Prime Minister of the Cape Colony was Cecil Rhodes, a man driven by a vision of a British-controlled Africa extending from the Cape to Cairo . Certain self-appointed uitlanders' representatives and British mine owners became increasingly frustrated and angered by their dealings with the Transvaal government. A Reform Committee (Transvaal) was formed to represent the uitlanders. In 1895,
7176-459: The two Boer republics in 1852 and 1854 but attempted British annexation of the Transvaal in 1877 led to the First Boer War in 1880–1881. After Britain suffered defeats, particularly at the Battle of Majuba Hill (1881), the independence of the two republics was restored, subject to certain conditions. However, relations remained uneasy. In 1866, diamonds were discovered at Kimberley , prompting
7268-418: The very fine breech-loading Westley Richards – calibre 45; paper cartridge; percussion-cap replaced on the nipple manually—they made it exceedingly dangerous for the British to expose themselves on the skyline". Kruger re-equipped the Transvaal army, importing 37,000 of the latest 7x57 mm Mauser Model 1895 rifles supplied by Germany, and some 40 to 50 million rounds of ammunition. Some commandos used
7360-474: The war, including the killings of civilians and prisoners, was opened in January 1901. The war had three phases. In the first phase, the Boers mounted preemptive strikes into British-held territory in Natal and the Cape Colony , besieging the British garrisons of Ladysmith , Mafeking , and Kimberley . The Boers then won a series of tactical victories at Stormberg , Magersfontein , Colenso and Spion Kop . In
7452-466: Was a factor in softening the Transvaal government's attitude to the surviving prisoners. Jan C. Smuts wrote, in 1906: The Jameson Raid was the real declaration of war ... And that is so in spite of the four years of truce that followed ... [the] aggressors consolidated their alliance ... the defenders on the other hand silently and grimly prepared for the inevitable". The Jameson Raid alienated many Cape Afrikaners from Britain and united
7544-620: Was coextensive with the later Cape Province , stretching from the Atlantic coast inland and eastward along the southern coast, constituting about half of modern South Africa: the final eastern boundary, after several wars against the Xhosa , stood at the Fish River . In the north, the Orange River , natively known as the ǂNūǃarib (Black River) and subsequently called the Gariep River, served as
7636-419: Was disclosed in the British press, it generated a storm of anti-German feeling. In the baggage of the raiding column, to the great embarrassment of Britain, the Boers found telegrams from Cecil Rhodes and the other plotters in Johannesburg. Chamberlain had approved Rhodes' plans to send armed assistance in the case of a Johannesburg uprising, but he quickly moved to condemn the raid. Rhodes was severely censured at
7728-576: Was equipped with Maxim machine guns and some artillery pieces. The plan was to make a three-day dash to Johannesburg and trigger an uprising by the primarily British expatriate uitlanders, organised by the Johannesburg Reform Committee , before the Boer commandos could mobilise. However, the Transvaal authorities had advance warning of the Jameson Raid and tracked it from the moment it crossed
7820-575: Was known as the Great Trek , and the migrating Boers settled inland, eventually forming the Boer Republics . British Immigration continued in the Cape, even as many of the Boers continued to trek inland, and the ending of the British East India Company 's monopoly on trade led to economic growth. At the same time, the long series of Xhosa Wars fought between the Xhosa people in the east and
7912-436: Was nevertheless happy to gather intelligence for the British against the Boers because of their cruelty to Africans. The British government went against the advice of its generals (including Wolseley) and declined to send substantial reinforcements to South Africa before war broke out. Secretary of State for War Lansdowne did not believe the Boers were preparing for war and that if Britain were to send large numbers of troops to
8004-482: Was part of the huge force assembled to relieve Kimberley on 15 February 1900, and came under fire for the first time during actions at Jacobsdal the following day. Colonel Henry Mackinnon served as colonel commandant of the corps, with Major Gilbert McMicking in charge of the field battery, Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh Cecil Cholmondeley in charge of mounted infantry, and Arnold Keppel, Earl of Albemarle in charge of infantry. Field Marshal Lord Roberts accepted
8096-432: Was replaced by Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener , who relieved the besieged cities and invaded the Boer republics in early 1900 at the head of a 180,000-strong expeditionary force. The Boers, aware they were unable to resist such a large force, refrained from fighting pitched battles , allowing the British to occupy both republics and their capitals, Pretoria and Bloemfontein . Boer politicians, including President of
8188-600: Was the question of who would control and benefit most from the very lucrative Witwatersrand gold mines discovered by Jan Gerrit Bantjes in June 1884. The first European settlement in South Africa was founded at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652, and thereafter administered as part of the Dutch Cape Colony . The Cape was governed by the Dutch East India Company, until its bankruptcy in the late 18th century, and
8280-554: Was thereafter governed directly by the Netherlands . As a result of political turmoil in the Netherlands, the British occupied the Cape three times during the Napoleonic Wars , and the occupation became permanent after British forces defeated the Dutch at the Battle of Blaauwberg in 1806. At the time, the colony was home to about 26,000 colonists settled under Dutch rule. A relative majority represented old Dutch families brought to
8372-433: Was transformed: Approximately 25,000 men equipped with modern rifles and artillery could mobilise within two weeks. However, President Kruger's victory in the Jameson Raid incident did nothing to resolve the fundamental problem of finding a formula to conciliate the uitlanders, without surrendering the independence of the Transvaal. The failure to gain improved rights for uitlanders (notably the goldfields dynamite tax) became
8464-534: Was unwilling to become mired in a distant war, requiring substantial troop reinforcement and expense, for what was perceived at the time to be a minimal return. An armistice ended the war, and subsequently a peace treaty was signed with the Transvaal President Paul Kruger. In June 1884, British imperial interests were ignited in the discovery by Jan Gerrit Bantjes of what would prove to be the world's largest deposit of gold-bearing ore at an outcrop on
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