Origins
The origins of the Boer War lay in Britain’s desire to unite, or confederate, the British South African territories of the Cape Colony and Natal with the Boer republics of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic (also known as the Transvaal).
The Boers, Afrikaans-speaking farmers, wanted to maintain their independence. Indeed, in 1880-81, the Transvaal Boers had successfully fought the British in order to achieve this.
Map of southern Africa, c1899
UitlandersThe discovery of gold in the South African Republic (SAR) in 1886 raised the stakes. The arrival of a large influx of English-speaking people attracted by the goldfields – known as Uitlanders (literally ‘Outlanders’) by the Afrikaners – was a major worry for the Boers, who saw them as a threat to their way of life.
Troops departing for the Jameson Raid, 1895.
