First Anglo Boer War

Causes of the War

The First Anglo-Boer is also known as the First Transvaal War of Independence because the conflict arose between the British colonizers and the Boers from the Transvaal Republic or Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR). The Boers had some help from their neighbours in the Orange Free State.

There were several causes of the First Anglo-Boer War.

• The expansion of the British Empire.

• Problems within the Transvaal government.

• The British annexation of the Transvaal.

• The Boer opposition to British rule in the Transvaal.

Henry Herbert, the 4th Earl of Carnarvon was the British Secretary of State for the Colonies (referred to as Lord Carnarvon) under Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, who was premier from 1868 to 1880. At the time the British government wanted to expand the British Empire.

Lord Carnarvon wanted to form a confederation of all the British colonies, independent Boer republics and independent African groups in South Africa under British control. By 1876 he realised that he would not be able to achieve his goal peacefully. He told Disraeli that: "By acting at once, we may ... acquire ... the whole Transvaal Republic after which the Orange Free State will follow."

He was prepared to use force to make the confederation a reality, a fact that was proved by the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879.

Problems within the Transvaal Government

T. F. Burgers was the president of the Transvaal Republic from 1872 until its annexation in 1877. The Republic was in serious financial trouble, especially as a war had just started between the Boers and the Pedi under their leader, Sekhukhune, in the North Eastern Transvaal, and because the Boer people not paid their taxes.

The Transvaal public was disappointed with their leadership and although Sekhukhune agreed to peace in February 1877, and was willing to pay a fine to the Republic, it was too late. Herbert sent Sir Theophilus Shepstone, the former Secretary for Native Affairs in Natal, to the Transvaal as special commissioner. Shepstone arrived in the Transvaal on 22 January 1877 with 25 men as support. Initially, he was vague about his real purpose. He used the weakness in the Transvaal government by making the Boers aware of the dangers of a bankrupt state and focusing on the government’s lack of control over black people like the Pedi and the Zulu. This demoralised the Boers.

Burgers did very little tried to stop Britain from taking over the Transvaal. Shepstone had told Burgers what his intentions were by the end of January 1877 and Burgers tried to convince the Transvaal government to take the situation seriously, but they refused to see the urgency of the matter.

The British annexation of the Transvaal

Lord Carnarvon thought that annexing the Transvaal would be the first step to confederation. English speaking people in the republic were positive towards the idea and the Boers were disappointed in their own government, which the thought would make it easier to convince them that they could not avoid annexation. Shepstone said that he had more than 3 000 signatures from people who wanted to be part of the British Empire.What he did not tell Carnarvon was that within the Boer population, there were many against the idea and wanted to retain their independence.

On 12 April 1877 a proclamation of annexation was read out in Church Square in Pretoria, the capital of the Transvaal Republic. There was no resistance and the Union Jack replaced the Vierkleur. The Transvaal Republic or Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR) did not exist anymore, but was now the British Colony of the Transvaal Colony.

The Volksraad decided in May 1877 to send a delegation to England to make sure that the British government knew that most of the residents of the Transvaal Republic did not agree with the annexation but this delegation failed.. They also asked citizens not to resort to violence because this would create a negative impression in Britain.

The Boer opposition to British rule in the Transvaal

Former President T. F. Burgers and other people loyal to the former Transvaal Republic objected to the annexation and Paul Kruger and E. J. P. Jorissen went to London, England, in 1877 to present their case to Carnarvon. They failed and in 1878 they took a petition with more than 6 500 signatures from Boers to London, but the British government insisted that the Transvaal remain a British possession.

Sir Theophilus Shepstone was now the administrator of the Transvaal Colony and he realised that running it was going to be much more difficult than annexing it. The British government had made promises to the Boers to allow them some self-government, but Shepstone was slow to initiate this process. The colony remained nearly bankrupt and British plans to build a railroad to Delagoa Bay had to be put on hold.

Shepstone became increasingly unpopular with the Colonial Office in London. British Native commissioners were trying to control the black people in the area, but they could not get Sekhukhune and the Pedi to pay the fine he owed to the Transvaal Republic because they did not have enough soldiers to force him to do so. Shepstone also failed to control the Zulus on the southeastern border of the colony and many farmers had to leave their farms. Sir Owen Lanyon replaced Shepstone as administrator in 1879. In September of the same year Sir Garnet Wolseley was appointed High Commissioner of South East Africa and governor of Natal and Transvaal.

The Anglo-Zulu War in 1879 was supposed to increase British standing in South Africa, but had the opposite effect. The Zulu and Pedi were both defeated by the British in 1879, but non-violent Boer opposition had grown. In January 1878 a large group of Boers gathered in Pretoria to protest against the annexation. Another Boer delegation had gone to London in 1877, but they also returned unsuccessful in 1879, even though they spoke to Sir Michael Hicks Beach, Carnarvon's successor, who was far less committed to confederation.

The Boers had hoped that the election of the Liberal Party in Britain in April 1880 would mean independence for the Transvaal, but the new Prime Minister, W. E. Gladstone, insisted on maintain British control in Pretoria. The Volksraad of the Orange Free State, south of the Vaal River backed the Transvaal Boers in their call for the independence of the Transvaal in May 1879. Even Boers in the Cape Colony gave moral support to their comrades in the north. In October 1880 a newspaper from Paarl in the Cape Colony took the view that: "Passive resistance is now becoming futile."

The War

The first open conflict between the British and Boers began in November 1880 in Potchefstroom. P. L. Bezuidenhout refused to pay extra fees on his wagon saying he already paid his taxes. The British authorities then confiscated the wagon. On 11 November 1880 a commando of 100 men under P. A. Cronje took back the wagon from the British bailiff and returned it to Bezuidenhout.

Following this, between 8 000 and 10 000 Boers gathered at Paardekraal, near Krugersdorp on 8 December 1880. As a result a triumvirate of leaders; Paul Kruger, Piet Joubert and M. W. Pretorius were appointed. On 13 December 1880 the leaders proclaimed the restoration of the Transvaal Republic and three days later raised their Vierkleur flag at Heidelberg, thus rejecting British authority. The events of the 13 December 1880 thus in effect started the war and ended passive resistance.

British Soldiers and their artillery. © Museum Africa

The first shots were fired in Potchefstroom. The Boers had about 7 000 soldiers, and some Free Staters joined their fellow Boers against the British enemy. There were only about 1 800 British soldiers stationed in towns across the Transvaal so British were outnumbered.

Sieges and battles during the First Anglo-Boer War

There were 4 main battles and several sieges during the First Anglo-Boer War. The Battles were at Bronkhorstspruit, Laingsnek, Schuinshoogte (Ingogo) and Majuba. The sieges were at Potchefstroom, Pretoria, Marabastad, Lydenburg, Rustenburg, Standerton and Wakkerstroom.

Early in the war it became clear that the colonisers had underestimated their opponents. They had assumed that the Boers were no match for the superior might of the British military force. The Boers had the advantage of knowing the local terrain. They were skilled with firearms because they hunted often. The red British uniforms made soldiers easy targets while the Boers who simply wore their civilian clothing, had good enemy cover.

At the battles of Laingsnek and Schuinshoogte the British forces suffered heavy losses and had to retreat. Major-General Sir George Pomeroy Colley had to wait for more reinforcements. Sir Evelyn Wood was appointed as his second-in-command, and Colley wanted him to lead in the extra soldiers from Newcastle. On 16 February 1881 Colley agreed to stop fighting on condition that the Boers gave up their hopes of requiring independence of the Transvaal. Negotiations came to nothing. On 26 February 1881 Colley decided to march on Majuba with 554 men, where the Boers had an outpost.

On the same day, General Piet Joubert and the Boer forces took up a position at Laing's Nek to check on the arrival of British reinforcements. Colley’s men reached the top of the mountain in the early hours of the morning and were very tired. From the hill Colley could see the Boer laager of tents and covered wagons, but as he could not bring his heavy guns up the steep slopes, he was unable to fire on their encampment. Joubert, however, immediately ordered his men to climb the steep hill, take cover and shoot down on the British. At 7 a.m., a force of 150 Boers in three divisions under veld-cornets S J Roos, J Ferreira and D J Malan began to climb from ledge to ledge up the mountain, firing steadily and effectively on the British as they climbed. Untrained in guerrilla warfare, the exposed British soldiers made easy marks, and when Colley himself was killed and the Boers were almost at the summit, the British fled.

The magnitude of their defencelessness may be appraised from the fact that they had over 200 casualties killed and wounded, whereas the Boers lost only one man killed and one who died later of his wounds. There are two simple monuments on the battlefield: an obelisk erected by the Boers, and a rectangular column commemorating the British fatalities. The humiliating British defeat at Majuba brought about the end of the First Anglo-Boer War and introduced a short-lived peace. Gladstone's Liberal government abandoned the previous government's federation policy, and, by the signing of the Pretoria Convention in August 1881, the Transvaal was granted 'complete self-government, subject to the suzerainty of Her Majesty Queen Victoria'. Many British, however, assured of the innate power of their imperial status, continued to regard the Boer commandos as inferior adversaries. Looking on the Majuba Hill disaster as a 'freak' victory, they vowed retribution. The Transvaal War (also known as the First Boer War or the First War of Independence) was a 'curtain-raiser' to the far more ruthless Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902. "Remember Majuba!" became a rallying cry of the British during Second Anglo-Boer War.

During the first Anglo-Boer War there were several sieges. Lydenburg, Potchefstroom, Pretoria, Marabastad, Rustenburg, Standerton and Wakkerstroom were all surrounded in by the Boers in order to stop the British forces stationed there from taking part in the fighting.

Prior to the war the British had been building a fort in Potchefstroom. Progress was very slow. On 15 December 1880 a large group of Boers on horses rode up to Potchefstroom. Major Thornhill, who saw them, raced back to the fort to warn his comrades. When a small group of Boers approached the fort shots were fired. Soon afterwards the Boers started firing on the fort from three directions. The fort’s low walls didn’t provide much protection.On 16 December 1880 the Boers replaced the Union Jack at the Landdrost’s office with a white flag. The thatched roof building was also set alight. The Boers demanded the British surrender of the fort but Colonel Winsloe refused. The siege continued and after 95 days the British force inside the fort surrendered as a result of hunger.

The siege of Lydenburg lasted from 6 January 1881 to 30 March 1881. After 5 December 1880 less than a hundred soldiers under 24 year-old Lieutenant Walter Long were left in Lydenburg. Although Long improved the fort's defences the water supply ran low by 23 January 1881. Long rejected a peace offering from the Boers and the siege only came to an end after 84 days.

Marabastad was a military station with about 50 000 British soldiers put in place to control the black population in the area. It was about 165 miles or 265 km north of Pretoria.Two companies of the 94th regiment that had been positioned in Lydenburg arrived at Marabastad in February 1880 and on 29 November 1880 they were ordered to march into Pretoria. This left only 60 men at the fort. On the same day the news of the British defeat at Bronkhorstspruit arrived and Brook was told to protect the fort against any attack. This siege began on 29 December 1880. The local residents supported the British fort and provided food. Captain Brook was told about the armistice on 22 March 1881, but decided to keep on defending the fort. The siege ended on 2 April 1881.

There were very few British soldiers at Rustenburg when the war broke out. When Boers demanded the surrender of the fort on 27 December 1880 the British force refused. The small mud fort provided little protection and the people inside suffered from the lack of food and water and diseases. The Boers issued terms of a truce on 14 March 1881 and on 30 March they received confirmation that it had been accepted.

When the news of the British loss at Bronkhorstspruit reached Pretoria, Colonel W. Bellairs, commander of the soldiers in the Transvaal, declared martial law and moved the whole civil population of Pretoria into 2 military camps. All food was taken and stored within the camps and 5 000 people waited for relief from Natal. There were about 1 340 fighting men and 2 forts were built south of the town.

Boer General Piet Joubert was happy with the effective containment of the British soldiers in Pretoria. This allowed him free movement elsewhere so he did not attack Pretoria. There were very few Boers stationed in the area and the British force tried to attack them on 29 December 1880, but gave up after several efforts.The siege dragged on because the British garrison was not aware of the events in Natal. On 28 March 1880 news of the peace terms reached Pretoria and by 8 August the Boer government took office in Pretoria once again.

The aftermath of the War

In the aftermath of the war the South African Republic (Tranvaal) regained its independence. The Pretoria Convention (1881) and the London Convention (1884) laid down the terms of the peace agreement. We must now look at these terms in more detail.

Peace

President Brand of the Orange Free State had been trying to get both the Transvaal Boers and the British to the negotiation table from the beginning of the conflict. Several peace offerings had been made from both sides with the most important ones being in January 1881, when Paul Kruger offered peace on the condition that the Transvaal independence was guaranteed. Another was made on 21 February 1881, when the British government offered peace if the Boers laid down their weapons.

Major-General Sir George Pomeroy Colley didn’t forward the message from the British government fast enough and because Paul Kruger was not in Natal, the battle of Majuba took place before peace negotiations could begin. On 5 March 1881 Sir Evelyn Wood and Piet Joubert agreed on an armistice in order to start peace negotiations at O’Neill’s cottage, which lay between the British and Boer lines. Negotiations were successful and the war ended on 23 March 1881.

The Pretoria Convention and the Independence of the Transvaal

After peace had been negotiated a British royal commission was appointed to draw up the Transvaal’s status and new borders. These decisions were confirmed and formalised at the Pretoria Convention that took place on 3 August 1881.

The new republic was named the Transvaal and was to be bean independent Republic, but it still had to have its foreign relations and policies regarding black people approved by the British government. The new state was also not allowed to expand towards the West. All these policies meant that the Transvaal was still under British suzerainty or influence. The Boer Triumvirate was worried about some of the requirements, but they took over the rule of the Transvaal on 10 August.

The conditions put forward by the British government were unacceptable from the Transvalers’ point of view and in 1883 a delegation including Paul Kruger, the new President of the Transvaal, left for London to review the agreement.

The London Convention

In 1884 the London Convention was signed. The Transvaal was given a new Western border and adopted the name of the South African Republic (SAR). Although the word suzerainty did not appear in the London Convention, the SAR still had to get permission from the British government for any treaty entered into with any other country other than the Orange Free State. The Boers saw this as a way for the British government to interfere in Transvaal affairs and this led to tension between Britain and SAR. This increased steadily until the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Boer War in 1899.

Second Anglo-Boer War - 1899 - 1902

'South African War ( a.k.a. the Anglo-Boer War) remains the most terrible and destructive modern armed conflict in South Africa’s history. It was an event that in many ways shaped the history of 20th Century South Africa. The end of the war marked the end of the long process of British conquest of South African societies, both Black and White'. - Gilliomee and Mbenga (2007).

The Causes

A number of interrelated factors led to the Second Anglo-Boer War. These include the conflicting political ideologies of imperialism and republicanism, the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand, tension between political leaders, the Jameson Raid and the Uitlander franchise.

Conflicting political ideology

After the First Anglo-Boer War the British government did not give up its ambition for unifying South Africa under Imperial British rule. The two Boer republics of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic or Transvaal still maintained their desire for independence. The Boer republics were a stumbling block for the British Empire.

The discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand

Gold had been mined since the early 1870s but was discovered on the Witwatersrand, in the Transvaal, in 1886. Thousands of white and black South Africans were employed on the mines by 1890. South Africa became the single biggest gold producer in the world and this meant great growth for the independent Boer governments. The Transvaal now also became more prominent in international finance because the importance of gold as an international monetary system. Britain was the centre of industry and trade in the world at the time and needed a steady supply of gold to maintain this position.

Neighbouring independent states like the Orange Free State and British colonies like Natal could also gain from the riches and investment brought to the country. The Cape Colony wasn’t the leading economic state in the country anymore and a Boer republic took its place.

Even though the Transvaal gold mines were the richest in the world they were also the most difficult to mine because the reefs lay so deep under the ground. The gold had to be mined by shafts as opposed to open mines, like diamonds. Mining as an individual was not as efficient as using groups of miners with special skills. Large companies were created with local and international investment and individual miners were soon squeezed out.

Prospectors streamed to South Africa from all over the world, and especially from Europe. The Transvalers saw these foreigners, or Uitlanders, as a threat to their independence. In order to maintain its control of gold mining and the growth of the as they called them immigrant population, the Transvaal government restricted the voting rights of Uitlanders.Only foreigners who had been in the country for 14 years or more could vote. It was called the Uitlander franchise and didn’t really bother most Uitlanders, who had come to South Africa to make their fortunes, but it did cause strain between the Transvaal and British governments.

Tension between political leaders

Paul Kruger. Source: wikipedia.org

There were various political leaders with opposing views in power in different parts of South Africa during the 1890s. Paul Kruger was president of the Transvaal or South African Republic (SAR) and Cecil John Rhodes became the premier of the Cape Colony in 1890. Rhodes was from Britain and had made his fortune in South Africa by mining diamonds. He was also a supporter of the British imperial plan to unite South Africa under British rule. Kruger was a supporter of Boer independence and the two leaders were in direct conflict with each other.

Rhodes believed that if the SAR was left to grow financially it would eventually grow in size and topple Britain from its position of power in South Africa. He specifically did not want the SAR to gain access to a route to the sea, as this would seriously affect the economies of the British colonies. Rhodes and Britain were determined to stop the SAR’s expansion.

The Jameson Raid

By 1895 Britain was getting more confident about taking action in South Africa. Joseph Chamberlain was appointed Colonial Secretary. He joined forces with Rhodes to try to develop and promote the British Empire in South Africa.

In September and October 1895 the Drift Crisis between the Cape Colony and the Transvaal or SAR developed. The Cape had finished building a railway line to Johannesburg and tried to get as much of the Transvaal’s railway traffic by reducing its rates.It was aware that the Transvaal's Delagoa Bay line was al most complete.The Transvaal government increased the rates on the part of the railway that ran through the Transvaal once it had crossed the Vaal River. In answer to this goods, were taken to the Vaal River by train, and then taken further by wagon to avoid paying the higher prices in the Transvaal. Kruger reacted by blocking access to the Transvaal, closing the drifts on the Transvaal side.

The British government demanded that Kruger open the drifts and used the situation to involve itself directly in Transvaal affairs. Rhodes planned an uprising of Uitlanders in Johannesburg. The uprising was timed to coincide with an invasion of the Transvaal from Bechuanaland (present day Botswana), by Dr Leander Starr Jameson. Rhodes wanted to take over the government of the Transvaal and turn it into a British colony that would join all the other colonies in a federation. Chamberlain helped plan the Jameson Raid.

The Jameson Raid which began on on 29th December 1895, was a total failure. Jameson waited on the border, but the Uitlander leaders in Johannesburg argued among themselves about the kind of government to be put into place after the invasion. Many of the Uitlanders had no interest in violent uprising, but preferred to celebrate the New Year. Rhodes decided to stop the raid, but it was too late because Jameson and his party had already crossed into the Transvaal.

Jameson’s troops tried to cut communication lines to Pretoria, but cut the wrong lines. This meant that the Transvaal government knew the raiders were on their way before they reached Johannesburg. On 2 January 1896 Jameson had to surrender at Doornkop near Krugersdorp. The prisoners were handed over to their own government and the Uitlander leaders who had been part of the plot were put to trial in Johannesburg. Some of them were condemned to death, but the sentences were later reduced to large fines.

Rhodes was forced to resign as the premier of the Cape Colony and the political problems between Afrikaans and English-speaking people became worse than ever in the colony. The Orange Free State co-operated more closely with the Transvaal. Transvaal residents felt that they were being threatened and Uitlanders were treated with more suspicion than ever before.

Read a more detailed feature on the Jameson raid

The Uitlander Franchise

The Uitlanders were not only from Britain, but came from all over the world to make money on the goldfields in the Transvaal. Some of them were not interested in the political situation in the republic and were not concerned about the fact that they couldn’t vote. Some Uitlanders felt that they contributed to the exploitation of the riches in the republic and had the right to a say in the way the country was being run.

The Transvaal government realised that this could be a threat to the republic’s independence, but also knew that it couldn’t ignore the Uitlanders’ demands. The foreigners could apply for citizenship or naturalisation after 5 years of living in the Transvaal. A Second Volksraad was created in 1890 and new laws were made. Uitlanders who had been naturalised for two years could now vote. The Second Volksraad only had say in local matters in Johannesburg and on the mines; any bills it put forward could only become laws if the First Volksraad agreed. Only Uitlanders who had been in the country for a full 14 years or longer could vote for the first Volksraad.

Now Uitlanders had a say in political matters, but the First Volksraad still ran the country. Very few Uitlanders used their right to vote, but the Second Volksraad took its responsibilities seriously.After the Jameson Raid Chamberlain wanted to win back some of the respect he had lost because of the raid’s failure. He was more determined to make the South African union a reality and decided to use diplomatic power to do so. He invited Kruger to London for talks about the Uitlander Franchise, but the president would not discuss his country’s internal affairs. He felt that this would create the impression that the SAR could not take care of its own politics independently.

Next Chamberlain called a meeting in London to try to involve Britain directly in Transvaal affairs. His interference caused even more tension between the two countries. He also sent Sir Alfred Milner, another loyal supporter of British expansion, to South Africa as British High Commissioner.Milner hoped that Kruger would not be re-elected, but in 1898 he was. Milner was afraid that the Boer republics wanted to take over the whole country and told Chamberlain that war was the only way to prevent that from happening. In December 1898 Transvaal police shot an Uitlander called Tom Edgar. The officer responsible said that it was in self-defence, but the Uitlander community reacted as if it was a political incident. This made the franchise issue an important factor in the outbreak of the war because political tension between Boers and British subjects in the Transvaal became worse.

Black Concentration Camps during the Anglo-Boer War 2, 1900-1902

While the two main forces in the Anglo-Boer War 2 were White, it was not an exclusively White war. At least 15 000 Blacks were used as combatants by the British, especially as scouts to track down Boer commandoes and armed block house guards, but also in non-combatant roles by both British and Boer forces as wagon drivers, etc. They suffered severely as result of the British "scorched earth policy" during which those who lived on White farms were removed to concentration camps, as were the women and children of their White employers. The rural economy was destroyed as crops were ravaged and livestock butchered. Displaced and captured civilians were forced into 'refugee camps', a total misnomer, because more often they did not seek refuge in the camps, but were rounded up by the British forces and forced into the camps, which soon became known as 'concentration camps'. Field-Marshal Lord Roberts had an ulterior motive in putting Blacks into camps, namely to make them work, either to grow crops for the troops or to dig trenches, be wagon drivers or work as miners once the gold mines became partly operational again. They did not receive rations, hardly any medical support or shelter and were expected to grow their own crops. The able-bodied who could work, could exchange labour for food or buy mealie meal at a cheaper price. The British along racial lines separated the White and Black camps. The inmates of the Black camps, situated along railway lines and on the border, became the eyes and ears of the British army. They formed an early warning system against Boer attacks on the British military's primary logistic artery - the railway lines and acted as scouts for British forces. This strategy alienated Whites and Blacks from each other by furthering distrust between the two population groups and was detrimental to racial harmony in South Africa after the war. Concentration Camps for Blacks. Transvaal Colony: Balmoral; Belfast; Heidelberg; Irene; Klerksdorp; Krugersdorp; Middelburg; Standerton; Vereeniging; Volksrust; Bantjes; Bezuidenhout's Valley; Boksburg; Brakpan; Bronkhorstspruit; Brugspruit; Elandshoek; Elandsrivier; Frederikstad; Greylingstad; Groot Olifants River; Koekemoer; Klipriviersberg; Klip River; Meyerton; Natalspruit; Nelspruit; Nigel; Olifantsfontein; Paardekop; Platrand; Rietfontein West; Springs; Van der Merwe Station; Witkop; Wilgerivier. Free State: Allemans Siding; America Siding; Boschrand; Eensgevonden; Geneva; Harrismith; Heilbron; Holfontein; Honingspruit; Houtenbek; Koppies; Rooiwal; Rietspruit; Smaldeel; Serfontein; Thaba 'Nchu; Taaibosch; Vet River; Virginia; Ventersburg Road; Vredefort Road; Welgelegen; Winburg; Wolwehoek. Cape Colony and British Bechuanaland.(Administered by the O.R.C): Kimberley; Orange River; Taungs; Dryharts.

1900

21 December, The inaugural meeting of the Burgher Peace Committee is held in Pretoria. Lord Kitchener discusses his concentration camp policies with this group, mentioning that stock and Blacks would also be brought in.

1901

22 January, At the Boschhoek concentration camp for Blacks, about 1 700 inmates, mostly Basuto, hold a protest meeting. They state that when they have been brought into the camps they have been promised that they will be paid for all their stock taken by the British, for all grain destroyed and that they will be fed and looked after. They are also unhappy because "... they receive no rations while the Boers who are the cause of the war are fed in the refugee camps free of charge ... they who are the 'Children of the Government' are made to pay'.

23 January, Two inmates of the Heuningspruit concentration camp for Blacks, Daniel Marome and G.J. Oliphant, complain to Goold-Adams: "We have to work hard all day long but the only food we can get is mealies and mealie meal, and this is not supplied to us free, but we have to purchase same with our own money. "We humbly request Your Honour to do something for us otherwise we will all perish of hunger for we have no money to keep on buying food."

30 January, The population for the Black camps is 85 114 and 2 312 deaths are recorded for the month.

31 January, The population of Blacks in camps is 75 950 and 1 327 deaths are recorded for the month.

4 May, The first gold mine on the Rand re-opens, after all mines have been closed in October 1899, a few days before war was declared. The Minister for Native Affairs permits the Witwatersrand Native Labour Association to recruit mining labour from the concentration camps. Simultaneous to the resumption of economic activity is the establishment of the Department of Native Refugees (DNR) under direct British military command.

15 June, The British authority establishes the Department of Native Refugees in the 'Transvaal Colony'. The Transvaal camps are brought under the control of the newly formed department.

30 June, The official camp population of the Black camps is 32 360 and the deaths are not shown in official returns.

31 July, The camp population in Black camps is 37 472 and 256 have died in the Free State camps during the month, while in Transvaal deaths are not yet recorded.

31 August, The Free State camps are also brought under the control of the Department of Native Refugees

31 August, The camp population in Black camps is 53 154 and 575 deaths are recorded for August.

30 September, The camp population in Black camps is 65 589 and 728 deaths are recorded.

31 December, The population in Black camps is 89 407, while the deaths peak during December at 2 831.

1902

18 January, Major De Lorbiniere, in charge of the Native Refugee Department, writes that supplying workers to the army 'formed the basis on which our system was founded'. The department's mobilisation of Black labour is very successful - not really surprising, considering the incentives offered: those in service and their families can buy mealies at a halfpence per lb, or 7/6 a bag, while those who do not accept employment have to pay double, or 1d per lb and 18/- or more per bag. By the end of 1901, when the death rate peaks, more than 6 000 accept employment in the British army. This figure grows to more than 13 000 in April 1902. The labourers are largely housed in Black concentration camps, situated close to military garrisons and towns, mines and railways sidings.

31 January, The population of Black camps is 97 986 and 2 534 deaths are recorded.

28 February, The population in Black camps is 101 344 and 1466 deaths are recorded.

24 March, Mr H.R. Fox, Secretary of the Aborigines Protection Society, after being made aware by Emily Hobhouse of the fact that the Ladies Commission (Fawcett Commission) ignored the plight of Blacks in the concentration camps, writes to Joseph Chamberlain, Colonial Secretary. He requests that such inquiries should be instituted by the British government "as should secure for the natives who are detained no less care and humanity than are now prescribed for the Boer refugees". On this request Sir Montagu Ommaney, the permanent under-secretary at the Colonial Office, is later to record that it seems undesirable "to trouble Lord Milner ... merely to satisfy this busybody".

31 March, The population of the Black camps is 101 299 and 972 deaths are recorded.

30 April, The population of the Black camps is 108 386 and 630 deaths are recorded.

31 May, Black concentration camp population in the 66 Black camps (some sources give the number as 80) reach 115 700, of which 60 000 are in the Free State camps and 55 969 in the ZAR (South African Republic/Transvaal). 523 deaths are recorded for the month.

31 May, The final peace conditions, The Treaty of Vereeniging, is signed by both the Burghers and the British at 23:05 at Melrose House, Pretoria.

The total Black deaths in camps are officially calculated at a minimum of 14 154 (more than 1 in 10), though G. Benneyworth estimates it as at least 20 000, after examining actual graveyards. According to him incomplete and in many cases non-existent British records and the fact that many civilians died outside of the camps, caused the final death toll to be higher . The average official death rate, caused by medical neglect, exposure, infectious diseases and malnutrition inside the camps was 350 per thousand per annum, peaking at 436 per thousand per annum in certain Free State camps. Eighty-one percent of the fatalities were children.

Anglo Boer War Museum, Bloemfontein

One of the most significant events in the history of South Africa was the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902. Although the protagonists were Britain and the two Boer Republics, the population of South Africa as a whole became embroiled in the war either directly or indirectly. The War Museum in Bloemfontein does not only give the visitor insight into the Boer War through it`s unique art collection, dioramas and exhibits but also brings the visitor closer to understanding the background against which the war took place. The outcome was bitterness, hatred, dispossession and division for many decades to come. More than a Century later South Africans can look back at this event as a shared tragedy that shaped the social, political, economic and historical landscape of South Africa as we know it today. The museum not only provides the visitor with an insight into the course and development of the Anglo-Boer War through its unique collection and exhibitions, but it also brings the visitor closer to understanding the background against which the war took place and the universal suffering it caused. A visit to the War Museum is an absolute necessity for anyone who wants to understand the History of South Africa.

References

https://www.places.co.za/html/warmuseum.html https://www.wmbr.org.za/ https://shongololo.com/activity/anglo-boer-war-museum/

Further Reading

https://www.sa-venues.com/things-to-do/freestate/anglo-boer-war-museum-and-battlefields/ https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/History-Museum/Official-Anglo-Boer-War-Museum-247267542136112/ https://shongololo.com/

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