Second Boer War

Lore & Background

The Second Boer War, fought between the British Empire and the Boer republics of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, was triggered by the Witwatersrand Gold Rush. This event drew a large influx of British foreigners, known as Uitlanders, into the South African Republic, where they were denied voting rights for 14 years. After failed negotiations at the Bloemfontein Conference in June 1899, the British dispatched 10,000 troops, and hostilities began in October. The war unfolded in three distinct phases. Initially, the Boers launched preemptive strikes into British-held Natal and the Cape Colony, besieging the garrisons at Ladysmith, Mafeking, and Kimberley, and securing victories at Stormberg, Magersfontein, Colenso, and Spion Kop. The second phase saw a British reversal after General Redvers Buller was replaced by Lords Roberts and Kitchener, who led a 180,000-strong expeditionary force to relieve the besieged cities and invade the Boer republics. The Boers, unable to resist such numbers, avoided pitched battles, allowing the British to occupy both republics and their capitals, annexing them in 1900. The third phase was a two-year Boer guerrilla campaign of hit-and-run attacks and ambushes. The British countered with scorched earth policies, forcibly relocating over 100,000 Boer civilians into concentration camps, where 26,000 died from starvation and disease; an additional 20,000 native Africans interned also perished. The war ended with the Treaty of Vereeniging in May 1902, after which the former republics became British colonies, later merging into the Union of South Africa in 1910. The conflict drew colonial forces from the Cape, Natal, and Rhodesia, as well as volunteers from across the British Empire and neutral countries like Germany, the United States, and Russia, while international opinion largely favored the Boers. The war’s duration and British losses led some to question the Empire’s global dominance, and a trial for British war crimes opened in January 1902.

Reader's Guide

The Second Boer War was fought between the British Empire and the Boer republics over British influence in Southern Africa, triggered by the Witwatersrand Gold Rush. The influx of British foreigners, denied voting rights for 14 years, led to failed negotiations and the dispatch of 10,000 British troops. The conflict unfolded in three phases: initial Boer preemptive strikes and sieges of British garrisons; a British counteroffensive under Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener that occupied both republics; and a two-year Boer guerrilla campaign of hit-and-run attacks. The British struggled against guerrilla tactics and civilian support, responding with scorched earth policies that forcibly relocated over 100,000 Boer civilians into concentration camps, where 26,000 died from starvation and disease. Native Africans were also interned, with 20,000 deaths. British mounted infantry tracked guerrillas, but most combatants died from disease. The war ended with the Treaty of Vereeniging in May 1902, after which the republics became British colonies and later merged into the Union of South Africa. Colonial forces from the Cape, Natal, and Rhodesia, along with volunteers from across the Empire, aided the British. International opinion favored the Boers, and volunteers from Germany, the United States, Russia, Australia, and Ireland fought for their cause. The war’s unexpected duration and British losses led some to question the Empire’s global dominance, and a trial for British war crimes opened in 1902.

Did You Know?

• The war is officially called the South African War in South Africa, acknowledging that all South Africans, white and black, were affected.
• International public opinion was sympathetic to the Boers, and volunteers from Germany, the United States, Russia, Australia, and Ireland fought for the Boer cause.

The Great Trek and the Birth of Two Republics

Some groups migrated as far as present-day Mozambique. Yet the peace was fragile; skirmishes and wars against both Boers and African tribes persisted for the rest of the century.

Diamonds, Empire, and the Scramble for Africa

In the 1870s, Britain annexed Griqualand West, the very site of the diamond finds. In the 1880s, the Tswana country became a flashpoint among Germans to the west, Boers to the east, and the British to the south. The underlying drivers were control of trade routes to India via the Cape, the lure of diamond wealth, and the broader race among European powers to claim as much of Africa as possible.

The 1877 Annexation and the Failure of Diplomacy

F. Burgers was in dire straits—financially bankrupt from tax-collection failures and embroiled in a costly war against the Pedi under Sekhukhune in the north-east. Britain saw an opening. Burgers urged the Transvaal government to act decisively, but it failed to grasp the urgency. A delegation including Paul Kruger and E. J. P. Jorrisen travelled to London to plead the Transvaal's case before Carnarvon, but their efforts fell on deaf ears.

The Transvaal War and the Restoration of Sovereignty

The simmering resentment over British rule finally erupted into open conflict. The war was brief but decisive: the Boers emerged victorious, and the South African Republic regained its independence.

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