Misplaced Pages

#211788

51-686: The First Boer War broke out in December 1880 with the Boer Commando's in the Transvaal besieging British garrisons there. The Governor of Natal Sir George Pomeroy Colley raised the Natal Field Force which took part in the actions at Laing's Nek , Schuinshoogte and Majuba Hill . It was composed of: After Schuinshoogte the NFF was reinforced by 6 companies of the 92nd (Gordon) Highlanders and two squadrons of

102-597: A constituency in rural and urban seats. All three objectives were eventually finalised with South Africa to become a union which was the wish of both the Liberal British government and Jan Smuts. On the question of black enfranchisement, the British government was prepared to accept the final wishes of the National Convention. The colonies of the Transvaal, Orange River and Natal wanted no black enfranchisement while

153-880: A half Battalions. 2nd Infantry Brigade commanded by General Sir Henry Hildyard 4th Infantry Brigade initially commanded by General The Hon. Neville Lyttelton and later by Colonel Charles Norcott . 5th Infantry Brigade commanded by General Arthur Fitzroy Hart 6th Infantry Brigade commanded by General Geoffrey Barton The (ad hoc) Cavalry Division commanded by Colonel Douglas Cochrane, 12th Earl of Dundonald Artillery commanded by Lieutenant-colonel Charles James Long, RA 1st Brigade Royal Artillery commanded by Lieutenant-colonel Henry Vaughan Hunt, RA 2nd Brigade Royal Artillery commanded by Lieutenant-colonel Lawrence Worthington Parsons, RA Naval Artillery Brigade commanded by Captain Edward Pitcairn Jones, RN ( HMS  Forte ) Misc unit's that joined after

204-565: A new policy for the two former Boer colonies, one of self-rule. Jan Smuts visited London and managed to persuade the new government to formulate a system that would favour the Boers and Het Volk in a new political assembly. More than a year later in February 1907 an election was held with Het Volk running on two issues; Chinese labour needing to be ended when new labour sources were found and reconciliation with Britain with which they hoped would attract

255-522: A rural seat while an urban seat would have fifteen percent more constituents. This system for the constituencies would ensure that the Afrikaner would dominate politics in years to come and would be one of the many reasons why Jan Smuts would lose the 1948 South African general election , sweeping D.F. Malan to power and the beginning of Apartheid . The results of the negotiations at the Convention became

306-559: A united country in the form of a National Convention. The objective of the convention was to find a solution to the political, racial and economic problems encountered by these colonies and find common ground between the Boers and the English. On 12 October 1908, the thirty delegates of the four colonies met in Durban under the Chairmanship of Sir Henry de Villiers . Twelve delegates came from

357-517: A way through the pass. The battle began at around about half past nine with a heavy bombardment with the four 9-pounder guns and two 7-pound guns of the British Naval Brigade pounding the Boer positions on Table Hill. Ten minutes later, the main British force, made up of the 58th Regiment, went forward and had difficulty advancing over the broken ground towards the summit. Further down the line,

408-407: A year. Families would receive a token grant irrespective of their ability to pay it back and additional material and equipment required were obtained via interest-free loans with small cash loans also attracting no interest, with larger loans attracting four percent interest by a mortgage. The loan scheme was never going to compensate a person for the actual loss experienced by the war. Damage and

459-534: The 15th (The King's) Hussars . At the outbreak of the Second Boer War General Sir George White was appointed Governor in Chief of Natal, superseding General Sir Penn Symons . Symons had already split his forces chiefly into two garrisons at Ladysmith and Dundee . At Pietermaritzburg: At Escourt: At Colenso: After the battles at Talana Hill and Elandslaagte General White recalled

510-510: The Cape Colony , eight from the Transvaal and five each from the Orange River and Natal Colonies representing a gathering of sixteen from an English background with the remaining fourteen of Boer origin. The main issues discussed were whether the four colonies would become a country made up of a union or a federation , who would be allowed to vote, and the number of voters who would make up

561-577: The Colonial Secretary in London. In 1903, three seats in the Transvaal Legislative council were offered to Louis Botha , Jan Smuts and Koos de la Rey , but they turned the British down. Due to a lack of a hearing given to the opinions of the Boer generals by the English administrators concerning Chinese mine labour, due to a belief that they did not represent the Boer population, and due to

SECTION 10

#1732844503212

612-559: The First Boer War on 28 January 1881. Following the Boer declaration of independence for the Transvaal in 1880 the British suffered a series of disastrous defeats in attempting to regain the territory. On 20 December 1880, Lieutenant-Colonel Philip Robert Anstruther and elements of his regiment, the 94th, marched from Lydenburg to Pretoria , the regiment’s band leading the column playing

663-562: The Mounted Squadron , a party of Royal Navy sailors with two 7-pound guns , and finally a unit of men from the Royal Artillery with four 9-pound guns . The Boers , under the command of Commandant-General Joubert had about 2,000 men in the area, with at least 400 fortifying the heights around Laing's Nek. They had little difficulty in repulsing General Colley's inadequate force. On the morning of 28 January, Colley tried to force

714-456: The Natal , Orange River and Transvaal colonies, but under British influence there was the need now to unite the country under one government. In May 1908, Jan Smuts, Transvaal Colonial Secretary proposed a gathering of representatives from all four colonies and decide on a customs and railways agreement and also included a proposal that the colonies appoint delegates to discuss a constitution for

765-609: The Orange Free State were defeated in the Anglo-Boer War and surrendered to the UK. The peace treaty ( Treaty of Vereeniging ) contained the following terms: In 1902, with peace following the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging , the new Transvaal colony was faced with intertwined economic and political issues that needed to be resolved. The economic issues faced included the restoration of

816-764: The Second Boer War in 1902 when the South African Republic was dissolved, and the establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1910. The borders of the Transvaal Colony were larger than the defeated South African Republic (which had existed from 1856 to 1902). In 1910 the entire territory became the Transvaal Province of the Union of South Africa. Both the Boer republics, the South African Republic (ZAR) and

867-549: The British and mining appointed Transvaal Legislative Council it outlined extremely restrictive employment contracts for the Chinese workers and the idea had been sold via a fear campaign aimed at white miners about the need for this labour or face the possibility of loss of mining and their jobs. By 1906, the gold mines of the Witwatersrand were in full production and by 1907, South African gold mines represented thirty-two percent of

918-477: The British camp at Mount Prospect. Return rifle fire from the British kept the Boers back. By 11:10, two companies of the 3/60th Rifles had moved up Table Hill to cover the retreat of the 58th Regiment and by noon, the battle was over. The British lost 84 killed, 113 wounded, and 2 captured during what was perceived as a fiasco. Most of the casualties were from the 58th Regiment, with 74 killed and 101 wounded, around 35% of their total strength. Among those killed in

969-421: The British followed a scorched earth policy in the Transvaal, Boer lands, stock and farms had been destroyed. At the conclusion of the war, it was necessary to reconstruct a "government" for the new colony and this was begun with the appointment of a Resident Magistrate in every district of the colony who became District Commissioners while an Assistant Magistrate carried out the legal and magisterial duties of

1020-466: The Cape Colony wished to keep what limited enfranchisement it had for all other races. A compromise was reached and all the colonies' wishes concerning their racial make-up for enfranchisement were accepted, though subject to a repeal by a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament. As to the objective of rural and urban constituencies, it was decided to allow fifteen percent fewer constituents for

1071-623: The Colony and indeed all the South African dominion without offending the English. You have only to sacrifice ‘the nigger’ and the game is easy. Any attempt to secure fair play for them makes the Dutch fractious and almost unmanageable." Prior to the grant of responsible self-government on 6 December 1906, the Colony was administered by an Executive Council appointed by the Governor. The first elected Cabinet of

SECTION 20

#1732844503212

1122-467: The Dundee garrison and concentrated his forces in defence of Ladysmith. During the Second Boer War relief operation of the besieged town of Ladysmith, the NFF comprised: General Cornelius Francis Clery 's (2nd & 3rd) Division although temporarily commanded by Lyttelton for a time due to illness. The 3rd division was General Gatacre's command but most was diverted to Natal leaving him with only two and

1173-485: The English labourer vote as well as selling themselves as an alternative to the mining capitalistic Progressive Party . The election was held on 20 February 1907 and Het Volk won the election gathering 37 of 69 seats. It stood 43 candidates and won 34 seats outright, all the country seats were gained except Barberton , three seats in Pretoria and four on the Witwatersrand with three independents aligning themselves with

1224-512: The English-speaking population of the Transvaal and the other by teaching the Boer children in English with very little Dutch used, followed by self-rule. The Transvaal Boers' political objectives were the restoration of self-rule in the colony and the political environment to be dominated by the Boers. As the war ended the British were faced with a large proportion of Boer men as prisoners of war and their families in concentration camps. As

1275-474: The Mounted Squadron made a charge against the Boer positions on nearby Brownlow's Kop. But, on reaching the summit, the British cavalry were fired upon by a line of entrenched Boers on the reverse slope, suffering many casualties, forcing them to withdraw. By 10:30, with their threat to their flank removed, the Boers moved to attack the 58th Regiment still advancing on Table Hill where at 11:00, at reaching

1326-604: The Transvaal Colony was formed on 4 March 1907. The Transvaal Colony lay between Vaal River in the south and the Limpopo River in the north, roughly between 22½ and 27½ S, and 25 and 32 E. To its south it bordered with the Orange Free State and Natal Colony , to its south-west were the Cape Colony , to the west was the Bechuanaland Protectorate (later Botswana ), to its north was Rhodesia , and to its east were Portuguese East Africa and Swaziland . Except in

1377-589: The Transvaal. English political movements included the Transvaal Responsible Government Association, the Transvaal Progressive Association and labour groups under an Industrial Labour Party. The Transvaal Responsible Government Association was formed in late 1904 by E.P Solomon and made up of a loose gathering of ex-colonial and ZAR officials and diamond mining magnates, labour and businessmen. They called for

1428-490: The Tugela Heights and succeeded by Colonel Walter Kitchener . 10th Infantry Brigade commanded by General John Talbot Coke . Royal Engineers commanded by Lieutenant-colonel George Hamilton Sim ( may not have been present ) Battle of Laing%27s Nek 84 killed 113 wounded 2 captured Total : 14 killed 27 wounded Total : The Battle of Laing's Nek was a major battle fought at Laing's Nek during

1479-576: The Witwatersrand after contesting 14, but their leader Frederic Creswell failed to gain a seat. Louis Botha became Prime Minister of the Transvaal and Agriculture minister with Jan Smuts as its colonial secretary. Other new cabinet ministers included J de Villiers, Attorney-General and Mines, Henry Charles Hull , Treasurer, Johann Rissik, Land and Native Affairs, Harry Solomon held Public Works and Edward Rooth as whip . The Progressives in opposition would be led by George Farrar and Abe Bailey as

1530-819: The allowance of the colony to create its own policy and strive for self-government and for the party to be eventually renamed the Nationalists. The Transvaal Progressive Association, formed in November 1904 and active from February 1905, had a similar membership but was linked to the mining industry's opposed self-rule and preferred a legislature nominated by the High Commissioner with strong links to Britain. They were led by George Farrar and Percy Fitzpatrick . The pro-Boer Liberal Party in Britain came to power in January 1906 with

1581-512: The area. Roman-Dutch law was translated into English so the law courts could continue, with some old acts repealed and a considerable amount of new law promulgated by the authorities in Johannesburg. The Resident Magistrate then submitted the names of three members of the district to the Governor for district commission under the magistrate. They would consist of one British subject, and two Boers, one from those who had surrendered early on in

Natal Field Force - Misplaced Pages Continue

1632-491: The army transport requirement to maintain a garrison and civilian requirements to repair the colony. All feed for transport animals had to be brought to the depots as the process started in the winter of 1902. Refugees from the concentration camps and prisoners of war were returned to their districts in a system of drafts. At the depots, they would receive farm equipment, tents and rations to start again and transport to their destinations. Food rations were provided for almost

1683-449: The battle of Spion Kop General Sir Charles Warren 's (5th) Division (later succeeded by Hildyard) joined up with the main body of the force shortly after the Battle of Colenso . 11th Infantry Brigade initially commanded by General Edward Woodgate but he was wounded at Spion Kop and died shortly afterwards. He was succeeded by General Arthur Wynne who was later wounded at the Battle of

1734-413: The battle were many of General Colley's staff including Major Poole and Lieutenants Dolphin, Elwes and Inman. The Boers reported their losses at 14 killed and 27 wounded. One month later, General Colley was killed at the Battle of Majuba Hill , which ended the war, after which Transvaal was recognised as an independent state. The Victoria Cross is the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in

1785-444: The creation of voters' rolls with the registration process explained in English and Dutch. The British administrators set out to place most Boer farmers back on their land by March 1903 with nineteen million pounds spent on war damages, grants and loans. The administrators reformed the state agricultural departments to modernise farming in the colony which resulted in a maize and beef surplus by 1908. They also attempted to solve

1836-518: The draft South Africa Act which was released for viewing on 9 February 1909. By 19 August 1909, the South Africa Act passed through the British Parliament and into law. As to the question of black enfranchisement, Milner saw this is a serious issue when it came to a peace treaty: "If I did not have some conscience about the treatment of blacks I personally could win over the Dutch in

1887-400: The face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Transvaal Colony 25°S 30°E  /  25°S 30°E  / -25; 30 The Transvaal Colony ( Afrikaans pronunciation: [ˈtransfɑːl] ) was the name used to refer to the Transvaal region during the period of direct British rule and military occupation between the end of

1938-425: The lack of self-rule, Louis Botha and others met in 1904 at a Volkskongres . The result of this people congress was the unification of the Boer political movement in the Transvaal into a new party called Het Volk in January 1905 by Louis Botha and Jan Smuts. This new party's objective was to seek reconciliation with Britain, which would be favoured by the British opposition Liberal Party , and Boer self-rule for

1989-538: The march lay some 4 miles short of Laing’s Nek, a ridge in the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains that blocked the road between Newcastle and Standerton in Natal and Transvaal respectively. The British Natal Field Force , commanded by General Colley, numbered around 1,216 officers and men, including 5 companies of the 58th Regiment , 5 companies of the 3rd Battalion, the 60th Rifles , about 150 cavalrymen of

2040-402: The mining industry to pre-war levels, then growing it further with the need for extra labour, the restoration of the Boers to their lands and increasing the agricultural output of those farms. The political issue faced depended on what side of politics one stood on. The existing British administrators under Alfred Milner wished to anglicise the population through two main means. One by increasing

2091-433: The mining magnates and the British administrators, there was a need to restart the industry but labour was required. Just prior to the war, white miners wages were high and magnates weren't keen to increase the wages and since black miners wages had been reduced before the war and not increased, so black labourers weren't interested in working the mines. Unskilled white labour was ruled out as their wages would be too high for

Natal Field Force - Misplaced Pages Continue

2142-470: The opposition whip. They all assembled for the first time in March 1907. After the 1907 election, the issue of Chinese mining labour was revisited with Het Volk believing there was enough labour in the form of black and white miners. Taking into account the economic interests of the Transvaal, Botha ensured a gradual policy of repatriation of Chinese labour. By 1908, the Boers had won control, in elections, of

2193-434: The party. The Progressive Party stood 34 candidates and won 21 seats, twenty on the Witwatersrand and one in Pretoria with five Randlords winning seats. Other parties included the Nationalists (old Transvaal Responsible Government Association) that won 6 seats, four on the Witwatersrand and two in Pretoria but their leader Richard Solomon failed to win his seat. The Transvaal Independent Labour Party won three seats in

2244-517: The poor white problem by settling them as tenant farmers on state land, but the lack of capital and labour caused the scheme to fail. An attempt was made to place English settlers on farmland so as to anglicise the Transvaal and increase the English-speaking population but this failed, too, as the policy attracted too few settlers. By the end of 1901, gold mining finally resumed on the Rand around Johannesburg , having virtually stopped since 1899. Backed by

2295-429: The popular song "Kiss Me, Mother Darling". At Bronkhorstspruit the force was stopped by Boers, who courteously required the "Red Soldiers" to turn back. Anstruther equally courteously refused, at which point the column was devastated by rifle fire from the surrounding Boer ambush. Of the 259 in the column, 155 officers and men became casualties, as did some of the women accompanying the regiment. Instead of waiting for

2346-488: The reconstruction required varied from district to district. In the larger towns, municipal or health boards were "appointed" to manage them under the Resident Magistrate. They had limited functions and the only rates they levied were for sanitary functions. Within fifteen months of the end of the war, the municipal government was introduced with preparations made for fair elections based on property valuation and

2397-491: The reinforcements, the British High Commissioner for South East Africa, Major General Sir George Pomeroy Colley , assembled what troops he could and rushed forward, claiming to be moving to relieve the British garrisons in the Transvaal . Colley gathered his force at Newcastle in Natal , dispatched an ultimatum to the Boers and, on its rejection, advanced towards the Transvaal border. The first British camp on

2448-462: The top of the summit, the British were fired upon by concealed Boers in trenches just 160 yards (150 m) away and suffered even more casualties, including both commanding officers, Major Hingeston and Colonel Deane being killed. While this was happening, a small party of Boers actually advanced from their positions on the lower slopes of nearby Majuba Hill and engaged the Naval Brigade near

2499-539: The war and one who had fought until the end. The commission would have two functions, one to provide assistance and issuing of rations, equipment, transport and plough animals to those affected by the war, and the second to investigate claims for compensation for actual damages sustained during the war. Repatriation depots were established in the districts and they were stocked with food, seed, agricultural equipment, transport, plough animals, stone and building material. The rail transport network struggled to compete with

2550-509: The work done, so the mining magnates and their Chamber of Mines in 1903 sought alternative labour in the form of cheap Chinese workers. The legislation to import Chinese labour was introduced to the Transvaal Legislative Council on 28 December 1903 by George Farrar and was debated for 30 hours and successfully voted on after its three readings on 30 December 1903, coming into law in February 1904. Having been rubber-stamped by

2601-484: The worlds gold output. By 1910, Chinese labour ended on the Witwatersrand and the restrictive job reservation laws preventing Chinese miners doing certain jobs was replicated for Black miners. From the end of the war in 1902, the political administration of the Transvaal colony was controlled by members of a legislative and executive council, all appointed by the British Administrators under Alfred Milner and

SECTION 50

#1732844503212
#211788