Causes of the Boer War

Thesis Statement: Apartheid may have been a horrible era in South African history, but only so because the whites were forced to take action against the outrageous and threatening deeds of the blacks in order to sustain their power.

In the second half of the 19th century, most African countries faced the aggression of the European imperialism. All African countries were colonized except for Ethiopia and Liberia. South Africa was one of the main countries that faced imperialism. The Boers, also known as the Dutch descendents or Dutch farmers, were the first to colonize South Africa in 1652. Later on, the British came and took Cape Colony from the Dutch in 1795. The British at first mainly wanted to colonize South Africa as it helps her to trade with India by its route. South Africa’s temperate climate, natural resources, and massive minerals attracted Europeans to take it over. Also, South Africa has a strategic geographical location as it’s located at the center of the

     In Southern Africa, there were mineral discoveries in the 1860, 70, and 80’s. These discoveries had an enormous impact on Southern Africa. These discoveries lead to a “rush” of many fortune hunters and the establishment of the town of Kimberly, which grew quickly and soon became the largest urban society in the interior of Southern Africa. Soon the diamond industry was controlled by one monopolistic company. This was one negative effect of imperialism in Africa.

The Apartheid was initiated as a ploy for Europeans to better control the exploited populations for economic gain, as maintaining tension between the different racial classifications diverted attention from the Europeans as it fed hatred between groups. This assisted in minimizing unity between the exploited to rally against European control as it backhandedly induced “submission” for survival. One way of accomplishing this was by instilling laws that’d force segregation, classification, educational “requirements”, and economic purposes. The Population Registration Act of 1950 enacted, requiring segregation of Europeans from Afrikaans . Following shortly, the Group Areas Act of 1950 was enacted as a new form of legislation alongside the Population Registration Act. This detailed act separated tribes based on ethnics; consequently, further detailing segregation amongst the natives .

All this is a little too close to what A. G. Hopkins called, in the Introduction to his brilliant Economic History of West Africa, the 'Myth of Merrie Africa'. This myth, and any static picture of the African past, does an injustice to the dynamic and innovative features in African society.

During the period of Apartheid in South Africa between 1948 and 1994 the reactions of the South African citizens towards the legal separation of races varied depending on race, ideals and time period. After gold and diamonds were fud inSouthAfrica both the dutch and British wanted the land to themselves, leading to the Boer War from which the Dutch farmers emerged victorious. Following the Boer War and the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, the Dutch Boers gained control over the majority of the land in the previously British Cape Colony along with the settlements they had already built, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Blacks in South Africa made up about eighty percent of the population but only lived on ten percent of

Mark X , chief of the Basutos of Southern Africa, wrote a letter to Sir George Grey, a British soldier and explorer, describing the way the Boers entered South Africa and gained power (Document 6). The African attitude toward the British at the time was noted to be positive; Mark X’s thought that all white men were honest. Later, the shift in economic ownership is captured in this letter as one British governor came to Mark X’s land and limited his power within the land. Then another governor came and took more land; the shift in attitude of the Africans toward the British is obvious as well when Mark X later stated that he had to send his son to watch the area in which the Boers occupied, as there was always trouble. As imperialistic steps were taken in Africa, the African attitude toward Europeans sharply changed.

European imperialists often took interest in obtaining new foreign land because of economic consideration that resulted in negative outcomes. A great example of a common imperial activity place was the continent of Africa. Very few European countries had already held territory in it, and the actual people occupying it were surpluses of ethnic groups that could be easily overthrown. The real hidden secret in Africa, however, was the abundance of natural resources available there. The Boer War found not just two groups, but instead three separate nations competing for the financial benefits available down in South Africa. In a dispute to gain the large bulk of diamonds and gold there, the Dutch had to defend South Africa, which they gained control of hundreds of years ago. British powers had grown an interest in the chances to find monetary success by acquiring the rarities present there, and declared war on the Dutch who maintained the land. However, African indigenous groups had lived on these lands too, and found themselves getting involved in the war. The Boer War was

One common assumption that people make about the Holocaust is that the atrocity was an event unique to world history. It is not often taught in United States history classes that there were events previous to World War II that set precedence that allowed the Holocaust to occur under Nazi Germany rule. Generally, history classes do not explore colonialism outside of the United States, so it is no surprise that very few people are aware of German colonialism in Africa, let alone how Germany’s actions there served as a precursor to the Nazi policy of genocide years later. By examining the events that took place under German rule in South West Africa, one can gain a better understanding of the mentality behind the Nazi Germany genocide policy, as discussed in Isabel Hull’s article Military Culture and the Production of “Final Solutions” in the Colonies: The Example of Wilhelminian Germany.

Imperialism caused more problems than progress due to the destabilization of existing African tribes through unnecessary conflict caused by Europeans. In 1877, Sir Henry Frere decided that the only way to gain total control over the South African area was to defeat the Zulus, who were bordering several independent Boer and tribal states (Herbert). While warfare between African tribes did exist, it was usually fought over matters such as land. The British however, entered Africa and attempted to destabilize a tribe to make seizing power over the area easier for them. The Anglo-Zulu War wouldn’t have been fought had the British not invaded Africa and instigated the Zulu tribe. Commandment S Bourquin wrote several journal entries detailing the

Germany’s imperialist experience in Namibia came with several advantages. These advantages were of a political and economic nature. Benefits experienced included an increase of trade with other powers, an increased amount of political influence, and the control over valuable resources in South West Africa. Firstly, Namibia contained many valuable resources, which Germany had control over. Resources in Namibia included diamonds, rubber plantations, copper, lead and gold (Unknown Author, 2004). This stockpile of valuable resources meant that Germany could make massive profits if the correct steps were taken. Out of all of these commodities, not only is diamond the most valuable, but it was the most abundant in South West Africa. Access to these minerals greatly expanded Germany’s portfolio of tradable commodities. Secondly, Germany received large profits from trading its colony’s resources with other powers colonies. The direct trade between Germany and Britain colonies in 1910 was nearly 630 000 British pounds. Over two thirds of this income was from South West

     The South African Republic and the Orange Free Stated made an alliance. They then declared war on the British on October 12, 1899 because they were uncooperative with Kurger’s demands. The Afrikaner forces were successful in invading Natal and Cape Colony. In December the British commander in chief Sir Redvers H. Buller sent fresh troops to relieve the British forces in three war zones. These zones were Colenso, Natal, the hills of Magersfontein on the Orange Free State and Cape Colony borders, and the mountain range of Stormberge in the Cape Colony. Within a week, which is referred to as the Black Week by the British, each of the new units had been defeated by Afrikaner forces.

Around 1652, the Dutch East India Company created a settlement on the cape, leading to several other indigenous peoples settling in the area as well . This tactic nearly parallels with the colonization beginning throughout the rest of the world. White supremacy gradually took over South Africa as more and more of them colonized the country, and worked their way into government positions. The English pushed the natives out and eventually did not care about race, merely about the money that came from labor . The Land Act of 1913, was believed to be the initial beginning of the apartheid laws. This act initiated by white supremacists marked the first major downfall of segregation for the colored and Indian peoples of South Africa. The Afrikans were essentially “divided into nine nations” and approximately 93% of the land was reserved for the white people. 2/3 of the population of South Africa at the time was considered African, or native people, and these people were all banned from “freely buying land”, making conditions very harsh, and malnutrition was extremely common . Urbanization occurred with white people in power simply increasing the segregation between races. Africans continued to live and work in absolutely terrible conditions. They often resided in the outskirts of cities in derisory housing, with poor sanitation, were lucky to have a bit of electricity, and had awful people to manage their workplace. The

I have always thought that Nelson Mandela has been one of the most important people in history. I find it very fascinating that one man could end the Apartheid and that is why I want to find out more about this. South Africa is a country with a past of enforced racism and separation of its multi-racial community. The White Europeans invaded South Africa and started a political system known as 'Apartheid' (meaning 'apartness'). This system severely restricted the rights and lifestyle of the non-White inhabitants of the country forcing them to live separately from the White Europeans. I have chosen to investigate how the Apartheid affected people’s lives, and also how and why the Apartheid system rose and fell in South Africa.

From the 17th century until the early 1900’s, European countries were fighting to get tracks of land across Africa. Although South Africa was unified by Great Britain in 1910, the African National Congress was formed two years later. It was only on Dec 11, 1931 after World War II when Britain gave South Africa its’ independence as a country. For the first sixty years after South Africa was claimed independent, white minority rulers dominated the country. South Africa is now an independent Nation but is still a member of the British Commonwealth.