Boer Wars
Two Boer Wars were fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Orange Free State and the South African Republic (Transvaal Republic), founded by settlers known as Voortrekkers who made the Great Trek from the Cape Colony.
First Boer War
The First Boer War (1880–1881), also known as the "Transvaal War," was a relatively brief and small-scale conflict in which Boer settlers successfully revolted against a British attempt to annex the Transvaal, and re-established an independent republic.
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War (1899–1902), by contrast, was a lengthy war involving large numbers of troops from many British possessions, which ended with the conversion of the Boer republics into British colonies, with a promise of limited self-government. These colonies later formed part of the Union of South Africa.
The war often called the "Boer War" is the Second Boer War.
The Second Boer War was the first time that Australian and New Zealand troops had fought abroad. Sixty-two percent of the first contingent were New Zealand-born. They were known as the New Zealand mounted rifles and they wore a fern leaf symbol. There was no difficulty in finding volunteers—200 troops set off 10 days after war was declared. Eventually 6495 men and 800 horses were sent (a higher proportion per head of population than Australia or Canada). About 8000 Canadians fought in South Africa, about one-third came from the militia and the rest were paid by government officals.
The British victory in the Second Boer War was secured through the use of "scorched earth" tactics, including the use of concentration camps.
Last surviving veteran
The last veteran was George Frederick Ives (1881-1993), a trooper in the Imperial Yeomanry.
See also
- Military history of South Africa
- Treaty of Vereeniging
Bibliography
- Beck, Roger B. (2000). The History of South Africa. Westport, CT: Greenwood. ISBN 031330730X.
- Davenport, T. R. H., and Christopher Saunders (2000). South Africa: A Modern History, 5th ed. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0312233760.
- Jackson, Tabitha (1999). The Boer War. Basingstoke, U.K.: Channel 4 Books/Macmillan. ISBN 075221702X.
- Judd, Denis, and Keith Surridge (2003). The Boer War. Basingstoke, U.K.: Palgrave Macmillan. ASIN B000OLSIXQ. ISBN 0719561698 (paperback).
- Pakenham, Thomas (1979). The Boer War. New York: Random House. ISBN 0394427424.
- Plaatje, Sol T. (1990). Mafeking Diary: A Black Man’s View of a White Man's War. Ohio University Press. ISBN 0821409441.
- Reitz, Deneys (1930). Commando: A Boer Journal of the Boer War. London: Faber and Faber. ASIN B00165A9Y0. ISBN 1432612239 (2005 reissue).
- van Hartesveldt, Fred R. (2000). The Boer War. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0313306273.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Boer War". Image Credit.
