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The Boers
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Further Reading
The Boers were Dutch settlers who had
come to South Africa to make a home for themselves where
they could farm and live under their own rule and away
from European powers and politics. They co-existed with
other settlers including the English but soon fount the
encroachment of European control was becoming
restrictive. They eventually migrated deeper into The
south African interior into areas known as the Orange
State and the Transvaal and established their own
governments and lands.
British imperialism
eventually caught up with them and after the first Boer
War they were given self-government in the Transvaal but
with the enormous deposits of gold and diamonds, the
British were eventually drawn into conflict with the
Boers and their refusal to grant any non-Boers rights in
their states.
The Boers were led by Paul Kruger and with supplies from
Germany were able to score a series of success against
the Cape Colony and Natal from October 1899 to January
1900. They raised over 88,000 troops and commanders such
as Jan Smits, (South African leaders during WWII) and
Louis Botha helped them to shake the British Empire to
it's foundations.
Although initially
successful against the British, the eventually weight of
the Empire wore them down and in the last phase of the
war they had to resort to a guerrilla war against the
occupying British forces. They were taken prisoner and
placed in concentration camps in order for the British
to control the country side. Many died of malnutrition
and dieses in the camps and the British were severally
criticized for these camps.
The war ended in May
of 1902 with the signing of the treaty of Vereeniging
which saw an end to the Orange Free State and the
Transvaal but also included the payment by the British
to the Boers of over 3 million lbs for reconstruction.
They were also promised self government within the
British Empire and this was granted in 1907.
The Boers retained their spirit of
independence, individualism and that spirit of
frontierism which may them self reliant, resourceful
people as they had spread out into the wild lands of
South Africa and fought the blacks, the British, the
Empire and all who challenge them. Although they lost
the Boer war they did not lose their identity and today
form an important component of South African society. |
