Boer War

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Boers in combat (1881).

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.

The war most commonly referred to as the "Boer War" is the Second Boer War.

First Boer War

Main article: First Boer War

The First Boer War (1880–1881), also known as the "Transvaal War," was a relatively brief conflict in which Boer settlers successfully resisted a British attempt to annex the Transvaal, and re-established an independent republic. This conflict is remarkable for its British:Boer casualty ratio of 10:1.

Second Boer War

Main article: 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.

Last surviving veteran

The last veteran was George Frederick Ives (1881-1993), a trooper in the Imperial Yeomanry.^{[citation needed]}

Significance

The Boer War was a major turning point in British history, since after the war, much the whole of the world seemed to be anti-British.^{[citation needed]} This led to a change in approach to foreign policy from Britain who now set about looking for more allies. To this end, we can see the 1902 treaty with Japan in particular as a sign that Britain feared attack on its Far Eastern empire and saw this alliance as an opportunity to strengthen their stance in the Far East. This war led to a change from "splendid isolation" policy to a policy that involved looking for allies and improving world relations. Later treaties with France("Entente cordiale") and Russia, caused partially by the controversy surrounding the Boer War, were major factors in dictating how the battle lines were drawn during world war one.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Military history of South Africa
• South African Wars (1879-1915)
• 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.