The South African War

• Tasks
• Background
• Teachers' notes
• External links
• Connections to curriculum

For more than a century, some form of conflict had existed between Britain and the Boers in southern Africa, mainly over the amount of influence and expansionist ideas the former had in the area. In 1877, Britain had moved to annex the Transvaal Republic, bringing it under its control, and this eventually led to what is known as the First Boer War in 1880-1. After a number of defeats handed to the British, independence was restored but relations never recovered.

Tensions remained for a number of reasons. The immigration of large numbers of uitlanders (foreigners), largely because of a diamond rush, meant that these, mainly English-speaking, individuals soon came close to outnumbering the Boer population. Britain supported the rights of these uilanders and confrontations were common. Britain also continued to be expansionist in its outlook as it looked to control gold mining in the region and continued to attempt to bring the Transvaal and the Orange Free State under British control. This eventually culminated in the failed Jameson Raid in 1895.

Eventually, in 1899, Joseph Chamberlain, the British Colonial Secretary, demanded full voting rights for uilanders living in the Transvaal, and mobilised its military forces near the borders of the Transvaal and Orange Free State. The President of the South African Republic, Paul Kruger, issued an ultimatum which was rejected by the British government, leading to the declaration of war from Kruger and the Orange Free State.

Use this lesson to find out how the British civil and military authorities carried out the South African war in 1899-1902 and how the public responded to the conflict.

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Tasks

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Background

The conflict in South Africa can broadly be split into three phases, the first of which involving initial attacks by Boer forces on British held territory. This resulted in the sieges of the towns of Kimberley, Ladysmith, and Mafeking, and also the battles during, so-called, ‘Black Week’. Here, Boer forces beat British forces in a series of engagements at Stormberg, Magersfontein, Colenso, and Spion Kop. Before this, the British government were confident that a victory could be secured easily, but the defeats caused a drastic change in policy. The government called on able-bodied men to volunteer to serve their country, many answering this call, either joining the regular British Army, or amateur forces such as the Militia, Yeomanry, and Rifle Volunteers in order to demonstrate their patriotism. The change in thinking also resulted in the sacking of Sir Redvers Buller, who had been in charge of British forces during the conflict’s early stages, who was replaced by Lord Roberts.

Naturally, the number of British troops (as well as other troops from across the British Empire) increased and this is when the war entered its second phase. By the middle of 1900, after a series of offensives, the three sieges at Kimberley, Ladysmith, and Mafeking were successfully relieved, the latter resulting in an outpouring of jingoism and celebration in Great Britain. Thereafter, the British Army were also able to capture Natal, Cape Colony, and the Transvaal by the beginning of the summer 1900.

That year marked the high point for popular support for the war in Britain. This was expressed in a variety of ways, including the production of paintings, photographs, music, poetry, plays, and all kinds of ephemera. Soldiers were regularly celebrated as they boarded boats and trains bound for South Africa, and warmly welcomed with parties and banquets when they returned. Figures such as Robert Baden Powell, whose force had been besieged at Mafeking, and Lord Roberts, became national heroes.

The third stage lasted for two more years, and militarily became a guerrilla style war, rather than one fought as pitched battles. Boer Commandos would attack troop columns, ammunition depots, and railways before retreating, in order to frustrate British forces. A ‘scorched earth policy’, one designed to stop supplies from reaching the Boer guerrillas, was adopted by Lord Kitchener, which essentially destroyed much in the path of the British Army.

This policy also included the establishment of concentration camps, where many thousands of women and children would eventually die of malnutrition and disease. Public support for the war soon started to wane in Britain, especially after investigations and reports about the conditions in the camps were published by people like Emily Hobhouse, and when it became apparent that the war could not be won quickly.

Eventually though, Boer forces surrendered in May 1902, and the subsequent Treaty of Vereeniging absorbed the Transvaal and the Orange Free State into the British Empire, with the promise of future self-government. The conflict was Britain’s economically most costly since the Napoleonic Wars and resulted in 150,000 military casualties (killed and wounded) on both sides, as well as the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians, largely as a result of British actions.

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Teachers' notes

This lesson is designed to introduce students to different historical sources relating to the conduct of British military operations during the South African War, as well as to the popular responses to the war in the United Kingdom.

Students are introduced to material produced for and by the civil and military authorities, ephemera created to celebrate British participation on the conflict, and to the work of individuals such as Emily Hobhouse.

Students can examine extracts from Hobhouse’s report to the Committee of the Distress for South African Women and Children, which investigated the conditions faced in British run concentration camps, and drew on interviews and witness testimony.

They also examine official military reports, and correspondence sent to and from prominent military figures, such as Sir Redvers Buller and Lord Kitchener, about the conduct of the war, and conditions experienced by British and colonial soldiers during the conflict.

Various photographs and artwork are also used as evidence of reactions to the conflict in the United Kingdom, including to events such as the relief of Ladysmith and Mafeking.

Students can work in pairs or small groups to study each source and report back to the whole class to discuss the answers to the questions. Alternatively, they can work through the tasks independently. Teachers may wish to break this lesson into two or more parts given the large number of sources to examine. All sources are transcribed and difficult language defined in square brackets.

In order to consider the theme of military conflict over time, students could also discuss the following extension questions relating to wider developments:

• How did the nature of the conflict in South Africa differ from that experienced during the First World War?
• What can the response to the South African War tell us about wider attitudes to the British Empire in the later 19th and early 20th centuries?

Sources

Illustration image: Photograph showing Boer War soldiers in Johannesburg, 1900, Catalogue ref: COPY 1/447

Source 1: A report written by General Redvers Buller, Commander of British forces in South Africa, describing their defeat at Colenso during an attempt to cross the Tugela River, 15th December 1899, Catalogue ref: WO 32/7887.

Source 2a: A letter from Colonel Alexander Thorneycroft, who led the first British attack at the Battle of Spion Kop on 23-24 January 1900. The British were also defeated here with many casualties, Catalogue ref: WO 105/5

Source 2b: Photograph of dead soldiers in trenches at Spion Kop, 26 January 1900, Catalogue re: COPY 1/452

Source 3: Art work called ‘Souvenir of Two Heroic Defences’, 1900, Catalogue ref: COPY 1/166.

Source 4a: A photograph with crowds outside Mansion House in London after the siege of Mafeking was lifted in May 1900. In the photograph, left of centre, someone is holding a portrait of Robert Baden-Powell. Catalogue ref: COPY 1/446/304

Source 4b: A photograph of a newspaper seller Catalogue ref: COPY 1/446/306

Source 5a: Photograph of two boys selling papers: Relief of Mafeking’, Catalogue ref: COPY 1/446/320

Source 5b: Described as ‘Pearson’s Great Coloured War Sheet’ this image was created in 1900 and shows different scenes that relate to the war in South Africa. Catalogue ref: COPY 1/170

Source 6: Extracts from a memo to recruit more men into Imperial Yeomanry with details of requirements. Catalogue ref: WO 108/375

Source 7: A monthly report on the political feelings amongst Boer prisoners of war held captive on the island of Bermuda in 1901. Catalogue ref: CO 37/237

Source 8: Extracts 8a-d from a report ‘To the Committee of the Distress for South African Women and Children’ by Emily Hobhouse to investigate the mistreatment of those held in British camps, 1901, Catalogue ref: WO 32/8061

Source 9a: Photograph entitled ‘General view, Springfontein Camp’, 1901, Catalogue ref: CO 1069/215

Source 9b: Photograph entitled ‘Hospital, Springfontein Camp’, 1901, Catalogue ref: CO 1069/215

Source 10: Telegram from Lord Kitchener to the Secretary of State for War, 12 July 1901, WO 32/8061

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External links

History of Black week South Africa – 10th – 17th December 1899
https://historywm.com/films/a-black-week-for-the-british-army

Timeline and Photographs of the Boer War – The National Army Museum
https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/boer-war

Sources and Key Events from South African History Online, including the role of black South Africans in the conflict
https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/second-anglo-boer-war-1899-1902

Connections to curriculum

Key stage 5

AQA A level History
The British Empire, c1857–1967: Imperial consolidation and Liberal rule, c1890–1914: Relations with indigenous peoples; challenges to British rule; the causes and consequences of the Boer War

Edexcel A level GCE History
The British experience of warfare, c1790–1918: The Second Boer War, 1899–1902

Key stage 4

OCR GCSE History SHP
Britain in Peace and War, 1900–1918
Differing attitudes towards the British Empire at the beginning of the twentieth century including responses to the Boer War

Key stage 3
Challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day

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