South African Wars

This cartoon (dated 1900) shows the Boer general Piet Arnoldus Cronje (1835-1911) surrendering to British forces at Paardeberg on 27 February 1900. British statesman in South Africa Cecil Rhodes is pictured, and English author and poet Rudyard Kipling appears as a reporter with a typewriter.

The town of Ladysmith in Natal (today KwaZulu-Natal), South Africa, was besieged by the Boers from 2 November 1899 until 28 February 1900, when, after many attempts, the British commander Redvers Buller finally succeeding in breaking the siege.

South African statesman, known as Oom ('Uncle') Paul, who is considered the architect of the Afrikaner nation. He was president of the Boer state of the Transvaal which, following the discovery of gold, he fought to protect against the British and other foreign powers. He fled to Europe in 1900 after the tide of the second South African War turned against the Boers.

Two wars between the Boers (settlers of Dutch origin) and the British; essentially fought for the gold and diamonds of the Transvaal.

The War of 1881 was triggered by the attempt of the Boers of the Transvaal to reassert the independence surrendered in 1877 in return for British aid against African peoples. The British were defeated at Majuba, and the Transvaal again became independent.

The War of 1899-1902, also known as the Boer War, was preceded by the armed Jameson Raid into the Boer Transvaal in 1895 - a failed attempt, inspired by the Cape Colony prime minister Cecil Rhodes, to precipitate a revolt against Paul Kruger, the Transvaal president. The uitlanders (non-Boer immigrants) were still not given the vote by the Boers, negotiations failed, and the Boers invaded British territory, besieging Ladysmith, Mafeking (now Mafikeng), and Kimberley. The war ended with the Peace of Vereeniging following the Boer defeat.