wat was "boer war" in africa all about?

Answer 1

Causes of the Boer War.






The main cause for the Boer war was the difference in political ideologies between the British and the Boers. The British imperialist sought a unification of the whole of South Africa under the British flag. The Boers who existed in two main republics namely the South African Republic and the Orange Free State sought to maintain their nationality. The presence of these two states therefore served as a stumbling block for the British idea of unification.

This problem of difference in political ideology was further compounded by the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand in the South African Republic.This discovery lured thousands prospectors and miners from all over the world to the goldfields with one purpose in mind - to seek their fortune. The inhabitants of the South African Republic saw the newcomers (Uitlanders) as a threat to their continuing independence.The Kruger government (of the South African Republic) therefore placed restrictions on the Uitlander's franchise for presidential and Volksraad elections ( legislative assembly/ parliament of the Boers) to naturalized citizens who had been in the country for fourteen years. Eventhough relatively few Uitanders were genuinely concerned about the franchise question, this became a central issue between the British government and the government of the South African Republic.

This strain in the relations between the British government and the Kruger government was further stretched with the appointment of Joseph Chamberlain to the Colonial Office in 1895 and Sir Alfred Milner, the new British High Commissioner. Both men were ardent imperialists, who wanted to press ahead with federating South Africa under a British flag. Their (Sir Alfred Milner's in particular) actions led to the strengthening of the loyalty and political cohesion of the English-speaking South Africans and channeling Uitlander discontent and opposition to Kruger's government. They also prepared public opinion as to the seriousness of the grievances of the Utilanders and to the possibility of war if a satisfactory settlement was not reached.

In 1899 the situation became even more agravated when Milner broke off talks with Kruger about the franchise question during the Bloemfontein Conference (31 May-5 June 1899). Then British military reinforcements were dispatched to South Africa in September 1899. It was then that the governments of the two republics decided that Britain intended to destroy their independence by force. The government of the South African Republic, wishing to seize the military initiative, issued an ultimatum to Britain on 9 October 1899 calling for the removal of all imperial troops from the republic's borders within forty-eight hours with the alternative of formal war. This warning went unheeded and therefore in October of 1899 the Boers, started the war with the maxim 'the key to a good defense is a good offense', by invading Natal and Cape Province and quickly invested in three towns: Ladysmith, Mafeking, and Kimberley. This forced the British to abandon their original offensive plans in order to lift the sieges. Thus the famous Boer war starts. The war was predicted by the British to be over by Christmas of 1899 but the lasted for two and a half years ending in May 1902.

Answer 2

the first white people to colonise the southern tip of africa were dutch. they established the Cape Colony. after some time the british decided to annex the Cape Colony and make it part of the british empire. "Boer" is actually an Afrikaans word for "Farmer", so the Boers were just ordinary farmers that organised themselves into a resistance force against british occupation. Innitially they did quite well and repulsed the british soldiers but eventually the might of the british empire was just too much and all the sepperate boer "republics" were merged into the Union of South Africa - a part of the English Empire. in 1961 the Union achieved independance and became the Republic of South Africa of today.

Answer 3

difference in political ideologies between the British and the Boers

Answer 4

The British trying to hold on to their empire, rather expand it. They encountered resistance from the natives. Only difference was they were well outfitted units fighting tribesmen with bows and arrows and spears. That took place in, what is now, South Africa.

Answer 5

The boar war was a fight b/w the brittish and the afrikaans ( dutch and germans in south africa ) over wild pigs called boars, henced the name 'Boar War'