Boer Wars

BOER WARS
1848 TO 1902
INTRODUCTION
The strife between Britain and the Boers, (descendants of the Dutch farmers who settled in South Africa in the mid seventeenth century) began soon after theBritish gained control of the Cape colony during the Napoleonic Wars. The causes of the contention were many, but two of the major factors were the resolution of the British to abolish slavery in theirterritories, and their failure to protect the outlying Boer farms from raids by the natives (while refusing to allow the Boers to deal with the problem in their own manner). The Boers were a rugged andindependent race, who had survived in a hostile environment, surrounded by savage natives, wild-beasts, and a difficult terrain for generations, while the British were exceedingly civilized,idealistic, and officious. The Boers resented Britain's interference in their way of life, and sought to escape their sphere of influence.
BOOMPLAATS : 1848
In the mid 1840's a large number of Boers, calledVoertrekkers, migrated to the eastern coastal area of Natal, where they sought to purchase land from the Zulus. After an initial disastrous encounter with the Zulu king Dingan, the Boers prevailedover the native tribes, and negotiated a peace under which they were granted land. Britain, who feared to lose control of the region, soon annexed the region into British territory, but did nothing toenforce their claim until 1848. At that point, the first military encounter between the Boers and Britain occurred at the Battle of Boomplaats. The Boers, led by Andre Pretorius, occupied the town ofBloemfontein, but were driven out by the British. The British were led by Harry Smith, a governor of the region who had dealt fairly with the Boers in the past, and sincerely wanted them to remaincontent as British subjects. Many Boers trusted him and so resolved to stay in the region, but others disliked British rule too much to compromise and so resettled North of the Vaal river in a region...