Boer War
The Boer War (or Anglo-Boer War) was a conflict in which the British Empire
fought the forces of two “Boer Republics” from 1899 to 1902 in southern Africa.
The Boers lost the war, but resistance gained them concessions even in defeat.
One of many conflicts that heightened international tensions before 1914, the
war accelerated patterns of violence that came to mark twentieth-century
warfare, especially violence toward civilians.
The “Boer” population—mostly of Dutch Calvinist background—originated with a
Dutch East India Company colony planted at the Cape of Good Hope in the
seventeenth century. Britain acquired the Cape Colony during the Napoleonic
Wars. After clashes with the British administration, many settlers migrated
northward in the “Great Trek” between 1835 and 1841, establishing two “Boer
republics”: the South African Republic (or the Transvaal) and the Orange Free
State. The term Boer means “farmer” in Dutch and in the related language that
developed among these settlers, which today is called Afrikaans.
The earlier war associated with the terms Boer War and Anglo-Boer War (1880–
1881) was the result of British attempts to establish control over the republics.
The British lost militarily but gained Boer agreement to nominal British rule over
the autonomous republics. The conflict more commonly called the Boer War
began in 1899 and was connected to the discovery of gold in the territory of the
Transvaal in 1886. Europeans poured in to run the mines and recruit African
labor. In the nineties, colonial authorities pushed to gain the vote for resident “
foreigners” (uitlanders), a measure that would have enabled the uitlanders to
vote the republics into dissolution. Transvaal President Paul Kruger (1825–1902)
opposed the plan vehemently. The Jameson Raid of 1895, sponsored by Cecil
Rhodes (1853–1902; Cape Colony premier), was an effort to establish British
control by force. After the defeat of the filibuster, German Emperor Wilhelm II
(1859–1941) sent a telegram congratulating Kruger, to the irritation of the British.
1
, More concretely, the Germans also sent arms to the Boers in an attempt to
counter their imperial rival, Britain.
Assisted by mining interests, in the late 1890s British Colonial Secretary Joseph
Chamberlain (1836–1914) and British High Commissioner Sir Alfred Milner
(1854–1925) pressured the republics to give full citizenship to all resident British
subjects. An attempt at reconciliation at the Bloemfontein Conference in mid-
1899 failed, and the sides exchanged ultimata. The Boers struck first, invading
the Cape Colony and Natal with a force based on the militia-like pattern of Boer
defense, the commando system. The keys to their powerful blows against
professional British units were expert marksmanship, good weapons, and
mobility (mostly on horseback). From October 1899 to February 1900, Boer forces
enjoyed success, defeating larger British units in a series of conventional battles,
climaxed by the Battle of Spioenkop (earlier, Spion Kop), where British troops
failed to carry the Boer lines after assaulting them for two days and losing 1,683
men, compared to 198 on the part of the Boers.
The tide of the war turned in February 1900, when British Field Marshall Lord
Frederick Sleigh Roberts (1832–1914) arrived with reinforcements. Though the
British continued to sustain high losses, they were now able to overpower Boer
forces, which retreated back to the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Roberts
followed and captured the Boer capitals by early June. The largest remaining
Boer force was defeated in August 1900. Yet the Boers had already decided to
move away from conventional warfare and adopt a guerrilla war of raids and
ambush; by June this campaign was in full swing. Several capable commanders
emerged, especially Christiaan de Wet (1854–1922) and Jan Smuts (1870–1950).
The British columns were deadly, but the Boer commandos were frequently
elsewhere by the time the British were ready to strike.
Hence, although they nominally occupied the republics, British forces seemed
stymied. Soon 250,000 British troops were engaged, but this number still
represented a relatively low ratio of troops to area: The territory of the Transvaal
alone (111,196 square miles) almost equaled that of the British Isles. The British
military compensated for this low density of troops with a network of hundreds of
2
The Boer War (or Anglo-Boer War) was a conflict in which the British Empire
fought the forces of two “Boer Republics” from 1899 to 1902 in southern Africa.
The Boers lost the war, but resistance gained them concessions even in defeat.
One of many conflicts that heightened international tensions before 1914, the
war accelerated patterns of violence that came to mark twentieth-century
warfare, especially violence toward civilians.
The “Boer” population—mostly of Dutch Calvinist background—originated with a
Dutch East India Company colony planted at the Cape of Good Hope in the
seventeenth century. Britain acquired the Cape Colony during the Napoleonic
Wars. After clashes with the British administration, many settlers migrated
northward in the “Great Trek” between 1835 and 1841, establishing two “Boer
republics”: the South African Republic (or the Transvaal) and the Orange Free
State. The term Boer means “farmer” in Dutch and in the related language that
developed among these settlers, which today is called Afrikaans.
The earlier war associated with the terms Boer War and Anglo-Boer War (1880–
1881) was the result of British attempts to establish control over the republics.
The British lost militarily but gained Boer agreement to nominal British rule over
the autonomous republics. The conflict more commonly called the Boer War
began in 1899 and was connected to the discovery of gold in the territory of the
Transvaal in 1886. Europeans poured in to run the mines and recruit African
labor. In the nineties, colonial authorities pushed to gain the vote for resident “
foreigners” (uitlanders), a measure that would have enabled the uitlanders to
vote the republics into dissolution. Transvaal President Paul Kruger (1825–1902)
opposed the plan vehemently. The Jameson Raid of 1895, sponsored by Cecil
Rhodes (1853–1902; Cape Colony premier), was an effort to establish British
control by force. After the defeat of the filibuster, German Emperor Wilhelm II
(1859–1941) sent a telegram congratulating Kruger, to the irritation of the British.
1
, More concretely, the Germans also sent arms to the Boers in an attempt to
counter their imperial rival, Britain.
Assisted by mining interests, in the late 1890s British Colonial Secretary Joseph
Chamberlain (1836–1914) and British High Commissioner Sir Alfred Milner
(1854–1925) pressured the republics to give full citizenship to all resident British
subjects. An attempt at reconciliation at the Bloemfontein Conference in mid-
1899 failed, and the sides exchanged ultimata. The Boers struck first, invading
the Cape Colony and Natal with a force based on the militia-like pattern of Boer
defense, the commando system. The keys to their powerful blows against
professional British units were expert marksmanship, good weapons, and
mobility (mostly on horseback). From October 1899 to February 1900, Boer forces
enjoyed success, defeating larger British units in a series of conventional battles,
climaxed by the Battle of Spioenkop (earlier, Spion Kop), where British troops
failed to carry the Boer lines after assaulting them for two days and losing 1,683
men, compared to 198 on the part of the Boers.
The tide of the war turned in February 1900, when British Field Marshall Lord
Frederick Sleigh Roberts (1832–1914) arrived with reinforcements. Though the
British continued to sustain high losses, they were now able to overpower Boer
forces, which retreated back to the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Roberts
followed and captured the Boer capitals by early June. The largest remaining
Boer force was defeated in August 1900. Yet the Boers had already decided to
move away from conventional warfare and adopt a guerrilla war of raids and
ambush; by June this campaign was in full swing. Several capable commanders
emerged, especially Christiaan de Wet (1854–1922) and Jan Smuts (1870–1950).
The British columns were deadly, but the Boer commandos were frequently
elsewhere by the time the British were ready to strike.
Hence, although they nominally occupied the republics, British forces seemed
stymied. Soon 250,000 British troops were engaged, but this number still
represented a relatively low ratio of troops to area: The territory of the Transvaal
alone (111,196 square miles) almost equaled that of the British Isles. The British
military compensated for this low density of troops with a network of hundreds of
2
