The Beginning of Colonisation.
The red shows the British Empire at the end of the Boer War (1905)
British Colonisation
The British began to establish overseas colonies at the beginning of the 16th century. Britain and the countries ruled by them were known as the British Empire. The red countries on the map show countries that are a part of the British Empire in 1905.
The Dutch first came to Africa in the 16th century after breaking away from Spain, they were drawn to Africa by what was known as the lucrative ‘Gold Coast.’ In a way they too were colonialists, looking for wealth and enslaving the native population, they just arrived a hundred years before the British. The Dutch fought off the Portuguese for control of the coastal trading posts and set up trade with passing ships leaving the inland areas for the Africans. King James I became interested in Africa’s gold trade and sent convoys to set up their own coastal trading posts. However the Dutch were unwilling to let the English have free reign of trade on land that they owned. They tried to prevent and control British trade, creating the conflict that led to the first war between the British and Dutch, the Anglo-Dutch war 1652-1657. The Dutch won and retained control of most of the trade to and from Africa. The British however, continued to set up independent trading companies and during the Napoleonic wars in 1806 seized Cape town from the Dutch and then looked to expand further into Africa. The expansion of the British Empire was the first British influenced cause of the Boer war.
The colonisation of Africa by the British was the first contact they had with the Dutch Boers and from the beginning there were conflicts over who would control the land and capitalise from its many natural resources.
This source is of a map of Africa in 1891 and shows the boundaries of areas that are owned by different European powers. They are european countries that include the french, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Belgian, and the British who owned Cape Colony. The South African Republic in the south was independently owned by Boers and the uncolonised areas in the North and East where the native Africans occupied.
Conflict.
Before 1886 the area known today as Johannesburg was Transvaal farming land occupied by Boers in poor rural settlements. At this point British settlers occupied the Cape Colony but had little interest in the inland Transvaal areas as the small goldfields already found in the area did not produce much money and would have had no economic benefit for the British. The discovery of the largest known gold ore in 1886 brought interest from all around the world. The British seized this opportunity for trade, setting up large mining companies for British profit. Englishman Cecil John Rhodes brought the first gold produced there for 3,000 pounds. The Boer territory was invaded and numbers of foreigners surpassed the Boer population within a few years. The british influx created concern among the Boer population and the President of the South African Republic, Paul Kruger started heavily taxing miners in the hope of controlling numbers. This only allowed large British companies to buy out the smaller independent mines leaving the Boer people unhappy.
Many of the miners in these gold mines were African slaves, owned by both British and Boer mining companies. However after the large British Companies started buying the smaller Boer owned mines, British companies employed Boer miners to work along-side the Africans as they had no other income. This happened a few years into the mining when all the accessible gold had been mined and people had to start using more advanced technology to reach the gold. This sort of technology came from Britain's industrial revolution and was only accessible to the British Companies, putting smaller industries out of business. The conditions in the mines were dangerous and the Boers believed they were entitled to more of the gold mining wealth than what they received. They did own the land as it was part of the independently run South African Republic. The British had most of the control over the gold mines and this created reasons for discontent among the Boer people who wanted to capitalise on land they thought was theirs.
Gold mining became incredibly important to the economy of South Africa. Just over half of all the gold produced in the world in 1930 came from the Transvaal, more than the United States, Canada, Russia, Mexico and all other gold producing countries together. In 1925 the Transvaal produced 50.4% of the worlds gold. The gold rush changed Africa’s economic wealth over the space of a very short time. Gold became their number one export and the area became the richest gold-mining land in the world. In just 10 years the area where the gold was found went from a rural Boer town to the largest city in Africa surpassing in size all the British colonised Cape Colony cities. The City, known as Johannesburg was the centre of the majority of production and trade in Africa and the gold trade became the single biggest contributor to the South African economy at the time. Many people were worried that if the miners went on strike and gold production stopped even for a short time, it would greatly affect the economy of South Africa.
The potential wealth associated with the 1886 gold-rush caused the largest conflict between the British and the Boers. The British were not afraid to use violence to take control of the gold-mines and surrounding area. The resistance and opposition from the Boers caused the conflict that was a direct cause of the Boer War.
- The picture is a trade card advertising for Liebig’s meat extract Company, based in Uruguay. It shows the beginnings of a town that was established near the gold mines.
Many of the miners in these gold mines were African slaves, owned by both British and Boer mining companies. However after the large British Companies started buying the smaller Boer owned mines, British companies employed Boer miners to work along-side the Africans as they had no other income. This happened a few years into the mining when all the accessible gold had been mined and people had to start using more advanced technology to reach the gold. This sort of technology came from Britain's industrial revolution and was only accessible to the British Companies, putting smaller industries out of business. The conditions in the mines were dangerous and the Boers believed they were entitled to more of the gold mining wealth than what they received. They did own the land as it was part of the independently run South African Republic. The British had most of the control over the gold mines and this created reasons for discontent among the Boer people who wanted to capitalise on land they thought was theirs.
Gold mining became incredibly important to the economy of South Africa. Just over half of all the gold produced in the world in 1930 came from the Transvaal, more than the United States, Canada, Russia, Mexico and all other gold producing countries together. In 1925 the Transvaal produced 50.4% of the worlds gold. The gold rush changed Africa’s economic wealth over the space of a very short time. Gold became their number one export and the area became the richest gold-mining land in the world. In just 10 years the area where the gold was found went from a rural Boer town to the largest city in Africa surpassing in size all the British colonised Cape Colony cities. The City, known as Johannesburg was the centre of the majority of production and trade in Africa and the gold trade became the single biggest contributor to the South African economy at the time. Many people were worried that if the miners went on strike and gold production stopped even for a short time, it would greatly affect the economy of South Africa.
The potential wealth associated with the 1886 gold-rush caused the largest conflict between the British and the Boers. The British were not afraid to use violence to take control of the gold-mines and surrounding area. The resistance and opposition from the Boers caused the conflict that was a direct cause of the Boer War.
Short Term Causes
Annexation of the Transvaal
The British saw the Boer-owned South African Republic as a struggling country. The South African Republic was the only independently owned Boer state left in Africa and had been independent since 1852. The Republic was self-governed and run by Prime Minister Paul Kruger. The official government document issued called The Annexation of the Transvaal proposed to incorporate the Transvaal into the British Empire so both could benefit.
"YET IT IS QUITE CLEAR THAT THE ANNEXATION OF THE TRANS-VAAL COULD NOT BE AVOIDED."
It documents the British decision to annex or incorporate the Transvaal and Orange Free State into the British Crown. It claims that the Transvaal is unstable, bankrupt and facing an inevitable civil war. In order for it to survive it must be helped and sustained by the crown. The British Annexation of the Transvaal was the main short term cause of the first Boer war in which the Boers declared on the British and then won, gaining back their independent status. The second Boer was a direct lead-on from the first and both were caused directly by actions of the British. The British lost the first Boer war and so tried again to take the Transvaal this time bringing in international help and were successful in claiming the land.
Many Boer sources say that the British were being overly critical and looking for ways to make the Transvaal government look bad, giving them reason to annex it. They even go as far to say that the Jameson Raid’s failure was a purposeful attempt to start a Boer uprising. However biased the source is still very useful as it shows the workings and thinking of the government at the time, they either truly believed they were in the right or were making it look that way.
The Jameson Raid
After the Second Boer War the British were still looking for ways to incorporate the Transvaal into the British Empire. In 1895 the British tried a military conquest, the Jameson Raid, but were unsuccessful. They wanted ti claim the land but had no immediate reason to do so. They believed that conflict and unstable economy would give them a good reason to claim the land as they were 'helping' it to survive.
The Jameson Raid led directly to the start of the second Boer War, which was declared by the British as they didn’t get the outcome they wanted in the first Boer War. In the cartoon it says that the British were protesting against Paul Kruger, the President of the South African Republic, and his 14 year franchise law which was giving foreigners full citizenship after only 14 years residence. Paul Kruger was a South African who promoted South African rights and became well known for keeping the independence of the SA Republic for so many years. Another source quotes him saying, “Born under the English Flag, I wish not to die underneath,” showing his strong perspective towards the British Government. In the Jameson Raid Cecil Rhodes, a leading figure in British politics, planned to start a Boer revolt by starting a conflict between the Boers and the Uitlanders. He is quoted saying “the great object of present humanity should be to take as much of the world as it possibly could.” The British government would then rush in to Johannesburg to save the day and ‘restore order’ while using the conflict as an excuse to annex the Transvaal for the second time and taking control of the gold mines but the Boers never attacked the Uitlanders only defended and so the raid was a failure. This attack on their last small piece of land was the last straw for the Boer People and they began to actively resist attempts at British rule, cumulating in the start of the Second Boer war.
British initiated events like the Annexation of the Transvaal and the Jameson Raid were the catalysts that caused the first and second Boer War. ...
The British saw the Boer-owned South African Republic as a struggling country. The South African Republic was the only independently owned Boer state left in Africa and had been independent since 1852. The Republic was self-governed and run by Prime Minister Paul Kruger. The official government document issued called The Annexation of the Transvaal proposed to incorporate the Transvaal into the British Empire so both could benefit.
"YET IT IS QUITE CLEAR THAT THE ANNEXATION OF THE TRANS-VAAL COULD NOT BE AVOIDED."
It documents the British decision to annex or incorporate the Transvaal and Orange Free State into the British Crown. It claims that the Transvaal is unstable, bankrupt and facing an inevitable civil war. In order for it to survive it must be helped and sustained by the crown. The British Annexation of the Transvaal was the main short term cause of the first Boer war in which the Boers declared on the British and then won, gaining back their independent status. The second Boer was a direct lead-on from the first and both were caused directly by actions of the British. The British lost the first Boer war and so tried again to take the Transvaal this time bringing in international help and were successful in claiming the land.
Many Boer sources say that the British were being overly critical and looking for ways to make the Transvaal government look bad, giving them reason to annex it. They even go as far to say that the Jameson Raid’s failure was a purposeful attempt to start a Boer uprising. However biased the source is still very useful as it shows the workings and thinking of the government at the time, they either truly believed they were in the right or were making it look that way.
The Jameson Raid
After the Second Boer War the British were still looking for ways to incorporate the Transvaal into the British Empire. In 1895 the British tried a military conquest, the Jameson Raid, but were unsuccessful. They wanted ti claim the land but had no immediate reason to do so. They believed that conflict and unstable economy would give them a good reason to claim the land as they were 'helping' it to survive.
The Jameson Raid led directly to the start of the second Boer War, which was declared by the British as they didn’t get the outcome they wanted in the first Boer War. In the cartoon it says that the British were protesting against Paul Kruger, the President of the South African Republic, and his 14 year franchise law which was giving foreigners full citizenship after only 14 years residence. Paul Kruger was a South African who promoted South African rights and became well known for keeping the independence of the SA Republic for so many years. Another source quotes him saying, “Born under the English Flag, I wish not to die underneath,” showing his strong perspective towards the British Government. In the Jameson Raid Cecil Rhodes, a leading figure in British politics, planned to start a Boer revolt by starting a conflict between the Boers and the Uitlanders. He is quoted saying “the great object of present humanity should be to take as much of the world as it possibly could.” The British government would then rush in to Johannesburg to save the day and ‘restore order’ while using the conflict as an excuse to annex the Transvaal for the second time and taking control of the gold mines but the Boers never attacked the Uitlanders only defended and so the raid was a failure. This attack on their last small piece of land was the last straw for the Boer People and they began to actively resist attempts at British rule, cumulating in the start of the Second Boer war.
British initiated events like the Annexation of the Transvaal and the Jameson Raid were the catalysts that caused the first and second Boer War. ...
