The discovery
of the prized metal, gold, in the Transvaal (Zuid-Afrikaansche
Republiek) saw a massive influx of uitlander (foreign)
prospectors, seeking their fortune in 1886. The Boers
subsequently amended the Voting Act, fearing being
overwhelmed by these uitlanders who would threaten their
independence.
Whilst
the principal British interest in the Transvaal was
gold, other factors were used to create grievances.
These included complaints about Uitlanders being taxed
but denied the vote and representation, the behaviour of
the Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek Polisie (ZARP) towards
British subjects, unfair taxes levied by corrupt
officials and the monopoly on the supply of dynamite to
foreign miners.
In
spite of these complaints, however, Paul Kruger,
President of the Republic, stood his ground and told the
British ‘You just want my country,’ realising that
should he give in the demands of the Uitlanders for the
vote, his republic would be no more.
British
aggression was aggravated in 1896 when an armed force of
British Bechuanaland and British South Africa Company
Police, under the command of Leander Starr-Jameson,
transgressed the border from Bechuanaland with the
intent to overthrowing the Volksraad (parliament) of the
Republic, only to be thwarted and routed by Republican
forces. The lines were drawn; it was only a matter of
time as British reinforcements trickled in to bases
adjacent to the Republican Borders.
In
Oct 1899 an ultimatum was given to the British by the
Boers for the British to withdraw their forces from the
frontier after an earlier conference in Bloemfontein
between Milner and Kruger resulted in stalemate.
On 11th Oct
1899, Boer Commando's rallied to the call and invaded
the colonies of the Cape and Natal in a war they could
not possibly win. Thirty months later, with thousands
dead on either side and a devastated land, Britain
finally achieved its objective and had her hands on the
richest gold mines in the world.
Britain
had entered the Anglo-Boer War believing it would be all
over by Christmas. However, as Rudyard Kipling observed,
the comparatively small band of volunteers from the
Republics of Transvaal and the Orange Free State were to
give Queen Victoria's proud British army "no end of a
lesson", and the three year conflict proved to be the
longest, costliest, bloodiest and most humiliating war
Britain had fought since 1815.
During the
Anglo-Boer War, the Boers besieged the British forces in
Ladysmith for 118 days, an event which dominated world
headlines. The largest artillery bombardment in the
southern hemisphere, prior to the Falklands War, took
place at Tugela heights. The Boers demonstrated that by
adopting guerilla tactics, relatively small but highly
mobile mounted commando units were able to confound
British strategists. Tactics learned by the British on
the Natal battlefields were adopted and elaborated upon
by armies in the Great War (1914 - 1918), a notorious
example being the concept of Concentration Camps,
implemented for the first time in history during the
Anglo Boer war.
Significant
historical figures such as Winston Churchill, General
Sir Redvers Buller, Mohandas Ghandi, General Penn
Symons, President Paul Kruger and General Louis Botha
were to punctuate the events in the annals of history,
forming part of the rich tapestry of a war which
reflected triumph and tragedy at engagements such as
Talana, Spioenkop, the Armoured Train Incident, Colenso,
Elandslaagte, Tugela Heights, Vaalkrans and the Siege of
Ladysmith.
Whilst
the principal British interest in the Transvaal was
gold, other factors were used to create grievances.
These included complaints about Uitlanders being taxed
but denied the vote and representation, the behaviour of
the Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek Polisie (ZARP) towards
British subjects, unfair taxes levied by corrupt
officials and the monopoly on the supply of dynamite to
foreign miners.
In
spite of these complaints, however, Paul Kruger,
President of the Republic, stood his ground and told the
British ‘You just want my country,’ realising that
should he give in the demands of the Uitlanders for the
vote, his republic would be no more.
In
Oct 1899 an ultimatum was given to the British by the
Boers for the British to withdraw their forces from the
frontier after an earlier conference in Bloemfontein
between Milner and Kruger resulted in stalemate.
Britain
had entered the Anglo-Boer War believing it would be all
over by Christmas. However, as Rudyard Kipling observed,
the comparatively small band of volunteers from the
Republics of Transvaal and the Orange Free State were to
give Queen Victoria's proud British army "no end of a
lesson", and the three year conflict proved to be the
longest, costliest, bloodiest and most humiliating war
Britain had fought since 1815.
Significant
historical figures such as Winston Churchill, General
Sir Redvers Buller, Mohandas Ghandi, General Penn
Symons, President Paul Kruger and General Louis Botha
were to punctuate the events in the annals of history,
forming part of the rich tapestry of a war which
reflected triumph and tragedy at engagements such as
Talana, Spioenkop, the Armoured Train Incident, Colenso,
Elandslaagte, Tugela Heights, Vaalkrans and the Siege of
Ladysmith.