The Boer Republics successfully resisted British encroachments during the First Boer War (1880–1881) using guerrilla warfare tactics, which were well suited to local conditions. The British returned with greater numbers, more experience, and new strategy in the Second Boer War (1899–1902) but suffered heavy casualties through attrition; nonetheless, they were ultimately successful. Over 27,000 Boer women and children perished in the British concentration camps.
Boer Wars
South Africa
South Africa | Boer Wars
Boer Wars Boer War First Boer War, Second Boer War First Boer War, Second Boer War
what is massospondylus?
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Genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur
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who discovered this species?
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Joseph Millard Orpen
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where was it found?
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Upper Elliot Formation at Harrismith, South Africa
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what other historic species have been discovered in the country mentioned above?
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Hominid species; Australopithecus africanus, Australopithecus sediba, etc.
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what are the different wars that have happened in this country?
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between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics of the South African Republic (Transvaal Republic) and the Orange Free State.
List of battles in South Africa | Second Boer War (11 October 1899 – 31 May 1902)
also known as the Kaffir Wars or Cape Frontier Wars or Dispossession Wars
List of battles in South Africa | <a href="Xhosa%20Wars">Xhosa Wars</a>
Ethnic, political and social tensions among European colonial powers, indigenous Africans, and English and Dutch settlers led to open conflict in a series of wars and revolts between 1879 and 1915 that would have lasting repercussions on the entire region of southern Africa. Pursuit of commercial empire as well as individual aspirations, especially after the discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886), were key factors driving these developments. The various wars of this era are usually studied separately, as independent conflicts. They include the first and second Anglo-Boer War, the Anglo-Zulu War, the Sekhukhune Wars, the Basotho Gun War, the 9th Frontier War and others.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | Introduction
Also known as the Zulu Civil War. The fallout from this war led to the catastrophe known as the Mfeqane.
List of battles in South Africa | <a href="Ndwandwe%E2%80%93Zulu%20War">Ndwandwe–Zulu War</a> (1817–19)
This is a list of wars involving the Union of South Africa and its successor, the Republic of South Africa.
List of wars involving South Africa | Introduction
The British recognised the two Boer Republics in 1852 and 1854, but the annexation of the Transvaal in 1877 led to the First Boer War in 1880 and 1881. After British defeats, most heavily at the Battle of Majuba Hill, Transvaal independence was restored subject to certain conditions, but relations were uneasy.
List of battles in South Africa | First Boer War (16 December 1880 – 23 March 1881)
Many states have experienced civil wars: including Rwanda, Sudan, Angola, Sierra Leone, Congo, Liberia, Ethiopia and Somalia. The boundary marking a civil war is blurred in Africa as many civil wars involved foreign backers if not active belligerents. Libya's actively intervened into Chad with air forces, and France retaliated with support for the other side. Sudan experienced a prolonged civil war, resulting in the separation of South Sudan as an independent state. Similar to South Sudan, Eritrea won independence from Ethiopia. Congo's civil war involved seven states, among them Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Uganda. Eritrea is under United Sanctions for its alleged support role in the civil conflict in southern Somalia.
Military history of Africa | Post-colonial
The British defeating local natives to secure more land in 1879 only gave the Boers less competition to worry about and enabled them to focus on retaking the Transvaal. In 1881 the Boers rebelled and the First Anglo-Boer War ensued. In this war, power was regained by the Boers, though any possibility of expansion and alliance was blocked by the British. With the discovery of diamonds around 1885 in Griqualand, West Transvaal struggled with the Cape and the Free State for land, but to no avail.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | Sekhukhune Wars
The first series of wars, the "Confederation Wars" in the late 1870s and early 1880s, were due in large part to the Confederation plan of the British Colonial Secretary, the Earl of Carnarvon and the disastrous attempts to enforce it. This scheme was intended to forge the diverse states of southern Africa into one single British controlled federation. This was strongly resisted by the Cape Colony, the Boer republics, and the independent African States. The Anglo-Zulu War and First Anglo-Boer War resulted from these attempts at annexation, while the Gun War and Ngcayechibi's War were caused in part by the imposition of new federation-inspired policies on the Cape and its neighbours.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | Military Conflicts
This is a list of conflicts in Africa arranged by country, both on the continent and associated islands, including wars between African nations, civil wars, and wars involving non-African nations that took place within Africa. It encompasses colonial wars, wars of independence, secessionist and separatist conflicts, major episodes of national violence (riots, massacres, etc.), and global conflicts in which Africa was a theatre of war.
List of conflicts in Africa | Introduction
The last of the Boer forces surrendered in May 1902 and the war ended with the Treaty of Vereeniging in the same month. The war resulted in the creation of the Transvaal Colony which in 1910 was incorporated into the Union of South Africa. The treaty ended the existence of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State as Boer republics and placed them within the British Empire. The Boers referred to the two wars as the "Freedom Wars". Those Boers who wanted to continue the fight were known as ""bitter-einders"" (or "irreconcilables") and at the end of the war a number like Deneys Reitz chose exile rather than sign an undertaking that they would abide by the peace terms.
Military history of South Africa | Second Anglo-Boer War
However it is instructive also to see them as outbreaks in a far larger wave of change and conflict affecting the subcontinent – beginning with the "Confederation Wars" of the 1870s and 80s; escalating with the rise of Cecil Rhodes and the struggle for control of gold and diamond resources; and leading up to the Second Anglo-Boer War and the Union of South Africa in 1910.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | Introduction
The Second Boer War, also known as the Second Anglo-Boer War, the Second Freedom War (Afrikaans) and referred to as the South African War in modern times took place from 11 October 1899 – 31 May 1902. The war was fought between Great Britain and the two independent Boer republics of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic (referred to as the Transvaal by the British). After a protracted hard-fought war, the two independent republics lost and were absorbed into the British Empire. In all, the war had cost around 75,000 lives – 22,000 British soldiers (7,792 battle casualties, the rest through disease), 6,000–7,000 Boer Commandos, 20,000–28,000 Boer civilians, mostly women and children due to disease in concentration camps, and an estimated 20,000 black Africans, Boer allies, who died in their own separate concentration camps.
Military history of South Africa | Second Anglo-Boer War
The Bapedi wars, also known as the Sekhukhune wars, consisted of three separate campaigns fought between 1876 and 1879 against the Bapedi under their reigning monarch King Sekhukhune I, in the northeastern region known as Sekhukhuneland, bordering on Swaziland. Further friction was caused by the refusal of Sekhukhune to allow prospectors to search for gold in territory he considered to be sovereign and independent under his authority. The First Sekhukhune War of 1876 was conducted by the Boers, and the two separate campaigns of the Second Sekhukhune War of 1878/1879 were conducted by the British. During the final campaign, Sekukuni (also spelled Sekhukhune) and members of his entourage took refuge in a mountain cave where he was cut off from food and water.
History of South Africa | Wars with the Bapedi
The land and home of the indigenous native tribes of the Northern Sotho's. There were three separate campaigns against Sekhukhune, Paramount King of Bapedi i.e. the First Sekhukhune War of 1876 conducted by the Boers, and the two separate campaigns of the Second Sekhukhune War of 1876/1879 conducted by the British. Sekhukhune considered Sekhukhuneland to be independent and not subject to the Transvaal Republic and refused to allow miners from the Pilgrim's Rest goldfields to prospect on his side of the Steelpoort River. The inability of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR or Transvaal Republic) under President Francois Burgers to score a decided victory in the Sekhukhune War, presented the opportunity to the British to annex Transvaal in 1877.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | Sekhukhune Wars
There were two major conflicts with these indigenous people, the Anglo-Zulu War and the Bambatha Rebellion. British colonials also had two conflicts concerning the independence of Boer republics. In the First Boer War, the Boers became independent from British colonial control. Later, in the Second Boer War the Boers declared war on the Cape Colony over the placement of British troops. The British colonial forces eventually captured all Boer major cities and the formerly free South African Republic came under the control of the British. There were several conflicts started by British colonial settlers that the British government and army had to finish.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | Colonial British
Soon afterwards, Britain declared war against Sekhukhune, Paramount King of Bapedi. After three unsuccessful attempts he was finally defeated by two British regiments under Sir Garnet Wolseley, assisted by 8 000 Swazis and other auxiliaries. Many of the Bapedi armies were killed, including Sekhukhune's heir, Morwamotshe and three of his brothers. The Anglo-Pedi War suffered both the British and Boer armies greatly as well as they fell and perished in great numbers too. By the 1870s, the Transvaal was crumbling under Boer rule. In 1877, at the outset of the South African Wars, the British under Theophilus Shepstone annexed the state, and the Boers were forced to cede their independence in exchange for a small pension.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | Sekhukhune Wars
Swaziland, Zululand, Portuguese East Africa, German Southwest Africa, Matabeleland (now Zimbabwe).
South African Wars (1879–1915) | Other Political Entities
The Confederation attempt failed, but the wars resulting from that attempt continued for decades.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | Ngcayechibi's War (1877–79)
Several factors contributed to the outbreak of Ngcayechibi's War (also known as the "9th Frontier War" or the "Fengu-Gcaleka War"). One was the onset of the worst drought in the region's recorded history, and as the historian de Kiewiet memorably noted: ""In South Africa, the heat of drought easily becomes the fever of war."" The devastating droughts across the Transkei threatened the relative peace which had prevailed for the previous decade. They started in 1875 in Gcalekaland and spread to other parts of the Transkei and Basutoland, also to the Cape Colony-controlled Ciskei. In 1877 ethnic tensions began to emerge, particularly between the Mfengu, the Thembu and the Gcaleka Xhosa.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | Ngcayechibi's War (1877–79)
The consequent frontier wars, known as the Xhosa Wars, were unofficially referred to by the British colonial authorities as the "Kaffir" wars. In the southeastern part of South Africa, The Boers and the Xhosa clashed along the Great Fish River, and in 1779 the first of nine frontier wars erupted. For nearly 100 years subsequently, the Xhosa fought the settlers sporadically, first the Boers or Afrikaners and later the British. In the Fourth Frontier War, which lasted from 1811 to 1812, the British forced the Xhosa back across the Great Fish River and established forts along this boundary. The increasing economic involvement of the British in southern Africa from the 1820s, and especially following the discovery of first diamonds at Kimberley and gold in the Transvaal, resulted in pressure for land and African labour, and led to increasingly tense relations with African states.
History of South Africa | Cape Frontier Wars
The Boer Republics successfully resisted British encroachments during the First Boer War (1880–1881) using guerrilla warfare tactics, which were well suited to local conditions. The British returned with greater numbers, more experience, and new strategy in the Second Boer War (1899–1902) but suffered heavy casualties through attrition; nonetheless, they were ultimately successful. Over 27,000 Boer women and children perished in the British concentration camps.
South Africa | Boer Wars
In the resulting Gun War, the Sotho sharpshooters won a series of victories, and in the final 1884 peace agreement, it was returned to indirect rule, with the British preserving indigenous rule with the intent of exploiting the state's agricultural resources. At the end of the South African Wars, still under British rule, attempts to incorporate it into the 1910 Union of South Africa failed. As a result of the disagreement, Basutoland became one of three colonies left outside of the Union – together with Bechuanaland and Swaziland. Today, Basutoland is a small independent nation called Lesotho, engulfed by South Africa.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | Basutoland
When he did not pay the fine in full, a battle broke out on the Berea Plateau in 1852, where the British suffered heavy losses. In 1854, the British handed over the territory to the Boers through the signing of the Sand River Convention. This territory and others in the region then became the Republic of the Orange Free State.
History of South Africa | Wars with the Basotho
Early British attempts to relieve these besieged garrisons met with mixed results. The British felt that the war would be ended quickly. They were ill-prepared to face the well-equipped Boers, losing a large number of men in their first attempts to push into places such as Magersfontein, Stormberg, and Colenso.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | The Second Boer War (1899–1902)
There were other more pressing concerns for the Boer Republics. The two territories of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal were squeezed between the British-ruled Cape Colony to the south and west, Zululand to the east and Matabeleland and Bechuanaland to the north. During the 1870s there was a series of skirmishes within the Transvaal between the Boers and indigenous local tribes. In particular intensifying struggles between the Boers and the Pedi led by Sekhukune I over labour and land resulted in the war of 1876, in which the attacking Boers were defeated, in part because of the firepower bought with the proceeds of early Pedi labour migration to the Kimberley diamond fields.
First Boer War | Zulu War
Ronan, "The Passing of the Boer" (1899); E. Ames, "The Tremendous Twins, or How the Boers were Beaten" (1900); C.D. Haskim, "For the Queen in South Africa" (1900); F. Russell, "The Boer's Blunder" (1900); H. Nisbet, "For Right and England" (1900) and "The Empire Makers" (1900). Among the more notable literary figures of the day who were closely associated with the events of the Anglo‑Boer conflict were Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936); Winston Churchill (1874–1965); H. Rider Haggard (1856–1925); Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930); Sir Percy Fitzpatrick (1862–1931); Edgar Wallace (1875–1932); and John Buchan (1875–1940).
South African Wars (1879–1915) | In fiction
Renewed tensions between Britain and the Boers peaked in 1899 when the British demanded voting rights for the 60,000 foreign whites on the Witwatersrand. Until that point, President Paul Kruger's government had excluded all foreigners from the franchise. Kruger rejected the British demand and called for the withdrawal of British troops from the borders of the South African Republic. When the British refused, Kruger declared war. This Second Anglo-Boer War, also known as the South African War lasted longer than the first, with British troops being supplemented by colonial troops from Southern Rhodesia, Canada, India, Australia and New Zealand. It has been estimated that the total number of British and colonial troops deployed in South Africa during the war outnumbered the population of the two Boer Republics by more than 150,000.
History of South Africa | Second Anglo-Boer War
Subsequently, several conflicts arose between the British, Boers and Zulus, which led to the Zulu defeat and the ultimate Boer defeat in the Second Anglo-Boer War. However, the Treaty of Vereeniging established the framework of South African limited independence as the Union of South Africa.
History of South Africa (1815–1910) | Introduction
The exact causes of the Second Anglo-Boer War in 1899 have been disputed ever since the events took place. Fault for the war has been placed on both sides, for different reasons. The Boers felt that the British intention was to again annex the Transvaal. Some feel that the British were coerced into war by the mining magnates; others that the British government manipulated the magnates into creating conditions that allowed the war to ignite. It appears that the British did not begin with the intention of annexation. They simply wanted to ensure that British strength and the regional economic and political stability of the British Empire remained unchanged.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | The Second Boer War (1899–1902)
These two countries continued to exist for several decades, despite the First Boer War with Britain. However, later developments, including the discovery of diamonds and gold in these states, led to the Second Boer War. In this war, the Transvaal and Orange Free State were defeated and annexed by the overwhelmingly larger British forces, ceasing to exist on 31 May 1902, with the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging. A new British dominion, the Union of South Africa, was established under the South Africa Act 1909, in which the Transvaal and the Orange Free State became provinces along with the Cape and Natal.
Boer Republics | International recognition
The military history of South Africa chronicles a vast time period and complex events from the dawn of history until the present time. It covers civil wars and wars of aggression and of self-defence both within South Africa and against it. It includes the history of battles fought in the territories of modern South Africa in neighbouring territories, in both world wars and in modern international conflicts.
Military history of South Africa | Introduction
In 1818, Moshoeshoe I consolidated various Basotho groupings and became their king. During Moshoeshoe's reign (1823–1870), a series of wars (1856–68) were fought with the Boers who had settled in traditional Basotho lands. These wars resulted in the extensive loss of land, now known as the "Lost Territory". A treaty was signed with the Boers of Griqualand in 1843 and an agreement was made with the British in 1853 following a minor war. The disputes with the Boers over land, however, were revived in 1858 with Senekal's War and again, more seriously, in 1865 with the Seqiti War. The Boers had a number of military successes, killing possibly 1,500 Basotho soldiers, and annexed an expanse of arable land which they were able to retain following a treaty at Thaba Bosiu.
History of Lesotho | Free State–Basotho Wars
The three are the Senekal War (1858), Seqiti War which included two conflicts in 1856 to 1866 and 1867 to 1868. The wars resulted in the Orange Free State acquiring large tracts of land from Basotho. The first attack on Thaba Bosiu failed on 8 August 1865, and Wepener tried again on 15 August. As he ascended Thaba Bosiu, Wepener and his agterryer had made some progress up the Khubelu pass but as soon as Basotho soldiers spotted them, Wepener was shot and he died on the spot. Basotho charged and about 11 Boers were killed and about 30 were injured.
Louw Wepener | Military career
There were four separate periods of warfare, including a civil war in the Eguafo Kingdom, and the wars ended with the British placing Takyi Kuma into power in Eguafo. Because of the rapidly shifting alliances between European and African powers, historian John Thornton has found that "there is no finer example of [the] complicated combination of European rivalry merging with African rivalry than the Komenda Wars."
Komenda Wars | Introduction
In the 1870s the Free State Boers began moving into Griqualand West in search of farmland, pushing the Griqua out. However they did not officially incorporate the land, which came to be disputed by Britain as well as the Griquas themselves. In 1890, there were approximately 77,000 whites and 128,000 Africans (many were servants working on white farms). In 1900, Bloemfontein, the capital, came under British domination. At the close of the South African Wars, the Free State joined the 1910 Union of South Africa.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | Orange Free State
The ǃKora Wars was a period of raiding by the ǃKora people and subsequent military action by the Boer authorities. The mid-nineteenth century experienced migration as a result of the protracted frontier wars that forced the movement of certain indigenous groups further north of the Cape Colony. These included the Khoisan, the Basters (a derogatory term for people of mixed European and Khoi heritage) and the ǃKora, a people whom the colonial authorities considered more of a bandit community. The ǃKora were known to loot communities living around the lower to middle Orange River. The raids increased in volume and intensity during the mid eighteen hundreds.
ǃKora Wars | Introduction
The Hereros were cattle grazers, occupying most of central and northern South West Africa. Under the leadership of Jonker Afrikander, who died in 1861, and then later under the leadership of Maherero, they had achieved supremacy over the Nama and Orlam peoples in a series of conflicts that had in their later stages, seen the extensive use of fire-arms obtained from European traders.
Herero Wars | Pre-colonial South-West Africa
In the eastern part of what is today South Africa, in the region named Natalia by the Boer trekkers, the latter negotiated an agreement with Zulu King Dingane kaSenzangakhona allowing the Boers to settle in part of the then Zulu kingdom. Cattle rustling ensued and a party of Boers under the leadership of Piet Retief were killed. Subsequent to the killing of the Retief party, the Boers defended themselves against a Zulu attack, at the Ncome River on 16 December 1838. An estimated five thousand Zulu warriors were involved. The Boers took a defensive position with the high banks of the Ncome River forming a natural barrier to their rear with their ox waggons as barricades between themselves and the attacking Zulu army.
History of South Africa | Wars against the Zulu
Many ethnic groups participated in the South African Wars from 1879 to 1915. These groups included colonial settlers such as the British and the Boers as well as indigenous tribes and clans.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | Belligerent forces
Mokopane and his followers, anticipating retaliation by the settlers, retreated into the mountain caves known as Gwasa, (or Makapansgat in Afrikaans). In late October, Boer commandos supported by local Kgatla tribal collaborators laid siege to the caves. By the end of the siege, about three weeks later, Mokopane and between 1,000 and 3,000 people had died in the caves. The survivors were captured and allegedly enslaved.
History of South Africa | Wars with the Ndebele
In 1876, a war between the ZAR and the Bapedi broke out over cattle theft and land encroachment. The declared war on the Pedi leader, Sekhukune, on 16 May 1876. The war only began in July 1876. The president of the ZAR, Burgers led an army of 2000 burghers and was joined by a strong force of Swazi warriors. The Swazis joined the war to aid Mampuru, who was ousted from his position of chieftain by Sekhukune. One of the early battles occurred at Botsabelo Mission Station on 13 July 1876, against Johannes Dinkwanyane, who was Sekhukune’s brother. The Boer forces were led by Commandant Coetzee and accompanied by Swazi warriors.
South African Republic | Sekhukune War, 1876
The Herero Wars were a series of colonial wars between the German Empire and the Herero people of German South West Africa (present-day Namibia). They took place between 1904 and 1908.
Herero Wars | Introduction
This war like the previous one eventually evaporated with the death of the leader insurrection. Even today this war is celebrated as the First War of Independence in Zimbabwe.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | Ndebele
Though some of these forts are today in ruins, a number of them have been preserved as national monuments.
Pretoria | Boer Wars
Around 2.07 million years ago, just before the arrival of "P. robustus" and "H. erectus", "A. africanus" became extinct in the Cradle of Humankind. It is possible that South Africa was a refuge for "Australopithecus" until the beginning of major climatic variability and volatility, and, perhaps, competition with "Homo" and "Paranthropus".
Australopithecus africanus | Palaeoecology
List of Battles in South Africa is a list of all military conflicts or battles fought within the borders of South Africa
List of battles in South Africa | Introduction
As European powers – particularly Dutch Boers and the British – began to claim parts of southern Africa, it became apparent that expansion was an imperative in order to maintain their political positions. The relationships and boundaries among them became exceedingly more complex, affecting not only themselves, but the indigenous peoples and the land itself. By 1880, there were four dominant European regions: the Cape Colony and Natal were to some degree under British control, and the Transvaal (South African Republic) and Orange Free State were independent republics controlled by the Boers. These colonies and their political leaders were the most important and influential of the time, and all were eventually dissolved into the singular Union of South Africa in May 1910.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | Territory
Boer War usually refers to the Second Boer War (1899–1902), fought between the United Kingdom and the Boers of the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State. Boer War may also refer to:
Boer War (disambiguation) | Introduction
At the end of the South African Wars, the Cape Colony, Natal, Orange Free State and the Transvaal were united. The Cape Colony became a member of the Union of South Africa in 1910, and today is divided between three of the modern provinces of South Africa.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | Cape Colony
Marthinus Wessel Pretorius and Kruger led a 1000-man-strong commando south to assist the Orange Free State during the Free State–Basotho Wars between 1865 and 1866. The Orange Free State waged the second Free State-Basotho war in 1865. This is commonly known as the Seqiti War. The word "seqiti" refers to the sound that the Boer canons made when they permeated the Basotho strongholds, which is mainly what is now known as the Free State Province. The Basotho were defeated by the Boers and the Free State army forcibly took the Basotho's cattle and destroyed their crops. During this time, they also made two unsuccessful attempts to invade Moshoeshoe's stronghold in Thaba Bosiu.
Battle of Naauwpoort | Aftermath
The Second Boer War is strongly represented and subsequently almost every major campaign in which British troops have fought, including the Korean and Falklands Wars and the Gulf Crisis; the latter two are covered by contemporary interview transcripts. Many significant collections reflect the revolution in weapon technology in the 20th century and the re-evaluation of tactics and strategy which necessarily followed on from the invention of the tank and the development of air power. There is also much on the debate over nuclear issues.
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives | Introduction
About three thousand Zulu warriors died in the clash known historically as the Battle of Blood River. In the later annexation of the Zulu kingdom by imperial Britain, an Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879. Following Lord Carnarvon's successful introduction of federation in Canada, it was thought that similar political effort, coupled with military campaigns, might succeed with the African kingdoms, tribal areas and Boer republics in South Africa.
History of South Africa | Wars against the Zulu
By 1902, 26,000 Boers (mainly women and children) had died of disease, hunger and neglect in concentration camps. On 31 May 1902 a superficial peace came with the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging. Under its terms, the Boer republics acknowledged British sovereignty, while the British in turn committed themselves to reconstruction of the areas under their control.
History of South Africa (1815–1910) | Second Anglo-Boer War
In February 1858, tensions rose in the Orange Free State over land. The Boers and Basotho claimed a considerable strip of territory, and each had grounds for asserting a right to it. Further conflict occurred after Jacobus Nicolaas Boshoff; President of the Orange Free State [OFS], and Moshoeshoe discussed issues of armed conflict and cattle rustling. However, these discussions only led to Boshoff declaring war on the Basotho on 19 March 1858 (also reported as 22 March 1858). The Basotho were formidable opponents, and the Boers suffered substantial losses, as they were unable to penetrate the Basotho mountain stronghold of Thaba Bosiu (also called Thaba Bosigo).
Free State–Basotho Wars | Senekal's War
Long-standing Boer resentment turned into full-blown rebellion in the Transvaal (under British control from 1877), and the first Anglo-Boer War, known to Afrikaners as the "War of Independence", broke out in 1880. The conflict ended almost as soon as it began with a crushing Boer victory at Battle of Majuba Hill (27 February 1881). The republic regained its independence as the "Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek" ("South African Republic"), or ZAR. Paul Kruger, one of the leaders of the uprising, became President of the ZAR in 1883. Meanwhile, the British, who viewed their defeat at Majuba as an aberration, forged ahead with their desire to federate the Southern African colonies and republics.
History of South Africa (1815–1910) | First Anglo-Boer War
The Xhosa Wars (also known as the "Kaffir Wars" or "Cape Frontier Wars") were a series of nine wars between parts of the Xhosa people, and European settlers with their Xhosa allies, from 1779 and 1879 in what is now the Eastern Cape in South Africa. The wars were responsible for the Xhosa people's loss of most of their land, and the incorporation of its people into European-controlled territories.
Military history of South Africa | Xhosa wars
Malapa Cave is currently above sea level. "A. sediba" lived alongside "P. robustus" and "H. ergaster"/"H. erectus". Because "A. africanus" went extinct around this time, it is possible that South Africa was a refugium for "Australopithecus" until about 2 million years ago with the beginning of major climatic variability and volatility, and potentially competition with "Homo" and "Paranthropus".
Australopithecus sediba | Palaeoecology
He eventually surrendered to a combined deputation of Boer and British forces on 2 December 1879. Sekhukhune, members of his family and some Bapedi generals were subsequently imprisoned in Pretoria for two years, with Sekhukhuneland becoming part of the Transvaal Republic. No gold was ever discovered in the annexed territory.
History of South Africa | Wars with the Bapedi
This articles provides a list of wars occurring between 1800 and 1899. Conflicts of this era include the Napoleonic Wars in Europe, the American Civil War in North America, the Taiping Rebellion in Asia, the Paraguayan War in South America, the Zulu War in Africa, and the Australian frontier wars in Oceania.
List of wars: 1800–1899 | Introduction
The arrival of the permanent settlements of Europeans, under the Dutch East India Company, at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652 brought them into the land of the local people, such as the Khoikhoi (called Hottentots by the Dutch), and the Bushmen (also known as the San), collectively referred to as the Khoisan. While the Dutch traded with the Khoikhoi, nevertheless serious disputes broke out over land ownership and livestock. This resulted in attacks and counter-attacks by both sides which were known as the Khoikhoi–Dutch Wars that ended in the eventual defeat of the Khoikhoi. The First Khoikhoi-Dutch War took place from 1659 – 1660 and the second from 1673 – 1677.
Military history of South Africa | Khoikhoi-Dutch Wars
British encroachment into areas of South Africa already settled by the Afrikaner Boers and the competition for resources and land that developed between them as a result, led to the Second Boer War in 1899. Pre-empting the deployment of British forces, the Afrikaner Republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republic under President Paul Kruger declared war on 11 October 1899, striking deep into the British territories of Natal and the Cape Colony. After the outbreak of war, plans for the dispatch of a combined Australian force were subsequently set aside by the British War Office and each of the six colonial governments sent separate contingents to serve with British formations, with two squadrons each of 125 men from New South Wales and Victoria, and one each from the other colonies.
Military history of Australia | Second Boer War, 1899–1902
The Second Boer War, fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 and between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic (Transvaal Republic), resulted from the history of British encroachment into or involvement in areas already settled by Afrikaners – who were known colloquially as Boers ("farmers") – the descendants of the original Dutch settlers. This was exacerbated by the discovery of gold and diamonds in the South African Republic, after which many miners from British Empire countries migrated there. New Zealand decided to help fight for the Empire and sent 6,500 mounted troops to assist the British efforts, making the war New Zealand's first overseas military campaign.
Military history of New Zealand | Second Boer War (1899–1902)
They stopped once they had torn the entrails from his body. At the same time of these events, the Ndebele chief Magobane (known to the Boers as Makapaan) attacked and killed an entire convoy of women and children traveling to Pretoria. The two chiefs had concluded an agreement to murder all the Europeans in their respective districts and to keep the cattle that they were raising for the Europeans.
South African Republic | War with Mapela and Makapaan, 1854
The British worried about popular support for the war and wanted to push the Boers to make the first move toward actual hostilities. This occurred when the Transvaal issued an ultimatum on 9 October for the British to withdraw all troops from their borders and recall their reinforcements, or they would "regard the action as a formal declaration of war." Over time, the war has come to be viewed as a "White Man’s War." Recent scholarship has exposed this as untrue. Black people were used on both sides, primarily in non-combat roles, as labourers. The British employed armed black men as scouts or dispatch riders, and were going to employ unarmed black scouts, but decided to continue arming them when the Boers began shooting at the scouts and dispatch riders as spies.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | The Second Boer War (1899–1902)
The New Zealand soldiers in South Africa suffered 230 casualties – most of those from either accident or disease.
Military history of New Zealand | Second Boer War (1899–1902)
Following the British annexation of the Transvaal in 1877, Paul Kruger was a key figure in organizing the resistance which led to conflict with the British. The Boers fought two Boer Wars in the late 19th century to defend their internationally recognised independent countries, the republics of the Transvaal (the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, or ZAR) and the Orange Free State (OFS).
Boer | Anglo-Boer wars
The Boer Wars were two wars fought during 1880–1881 and 1899–1902 by the British Empire against two independent Boer republics, the Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republic. ( ‘Boer’ is the Dutch and African word for farmer.) Boer women, children and men that were not fit enough to work for the British were put together in concentration camps during the Boer War 2. The first two of these camps were established to house the families of cities who had surrendered voluntarily, but very soon, families that were a burden for the British were driven forcibly into camps that were established all over the country, the camps first stayed refugee camps but they later became concentration camps.
History of women's rights in South Africa | During the wars
Swaziland had preserved its existence even while around it other native tribes had fallen one by one. Swaziland was promised independence by both the Transvaal as well as Britain with respective treaties. All this changed following the discovery of gold in the De Kaap Valley in 1884. The Swazias had historically assisted the Europeans and played a role in both Boer and British conflicts against their enemies the Pedi and the Zulu. Boer farmers gained grazing concessions, followed by mining rights. To deal with the growing demand for concessions from white settlers, the Swazi Chief Mbanzeni employed Offy Shepstone of Natal to run the concession administration.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | Swaziland
They saw this as the best way to come to terms with the fact of a white Afrikaner majority, as well as to promote their larger strategic interests in the area.
History of South Africa (1815–1910) | First Anglo-Boer War
Others reached the Portuguese colony of Delagoa Bay, later called "Lourenço Marques" and subsequently "Maputo" – the capital of Mozambique. The Boers created sovereign states in what is now South Africa: "de Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek" (the South African Republic) and the Orange Free State were the most prominent and lasted the longest. The discovery of goldfields awakened British interest in the Boer republics, and the two Boer Wars resulted: The First Boer War (1880–1881) and the Second Boer War (1899–1902). The Boers won the first war and retained their independence. The second ended with British victory and annexation of the Boer areas into the British colonies.
Afrikaners | Boer republics
Exacerbating these conflicts was the effects of the discovery of diamonds around Kimberley and gold in the Transvaal. These led to enormous social upheaval and instability. Crucially, they fuelled the rise to power of the ambitious imperialist Cecil Rhodes. When he succeeded in gaining power as the Cape Prime Minister, he instigated a rapid expansion of British influence into the hinterland. In particular, he sought to engineer the conquest of the Transvaal, and although his ill-fated Jameson Raid failed and brought down his government, it led to the Second Anglo-Boer War and British conquest at the turn of the century.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | Military Conflicts
In 1880, the First Boer War erupted between Transvaal Boers and British troops, resulting in relatively heavy losses on the British side leading to a truce in 1881. After two decades of uneasy peace between the groups, military conflict broke out again in 1899 in what would be the Second Boer War. This war significantly deteriorated the Boers' land and resources, a result largely attributable to the British's 'scorched earth' tactics. Nevertheless, the resistance had been strong enough to change the British's policy regarding the Afrikaners from suppression to concession and incorporation into the government of the colony.
History of South African nationality | Violent conflict between Boers and British
Furthermore, the wars in Africa are seen as involving not just national but also other international actors. Edward Newman writes of the importance of considering historical examples for making any statements about qualitative changes in recent wars. He suggests that there are many valuable points made in new wars scholarship, including the importance of social and economic dynamics to warfare, and that there are examples of modern wars such as the Bosnian War that fit the new wars template. However, he argues that most of the elements of "new wars" are not actually new, but rather have existed for at least the past century.
New wars | Criticisms
The second war concluded when farms were abandoned due to panic in 1793. In 1799 the third war began with the Xhosa rebellion — discontented Khoekhoe revolted and joined with the Xhosa in the Zuurveld, and started retaking land through farms occupied by colonists, reaching Oudtshoorn by July 1799. The colonial government made peace with the Xhosa and Khoe in Zuurveld. In 1801, Graaff-Reinet rebellion started forcing more Khoekhoe desertions and farm abandonment. The commandos could not achieve any result, so in February 1803 a peace was arranged with the Xhosas and Khoekhoes. (1811-1819): Zuurveld became a buffer zone between the Cape Colony and Xhosa territory, empty of the Boers, the British to the west and the Xhosa to the east.
Bantu peoples in South Africa | Africa's Century-Old War
There has been a war in the DRC in different levels of intensity since 1994 when the country was called Zaire. Although what was known as Africa's World War had ended in 2003 the eastern part of the country still has ongoing skirmishes between rebel groups and government forces. No other method has reduced species population so dramatically than conflict, when a militia reached the Garamba National Park in 1997, within three months half of the park's elephants, two thirds of the buffalo, and three quarters of its hippos vanished. The reason conflict is so damaging to wildlife is the increased use of bush meat to feed soldiers, the prevalence of weapons, the lucrative industry of selling exotic animals and ivory as well as the general failure of law and order.
Democratic Republic of the Congo | Conflicts
This is a list of wars involving the Republic of South Ossetia.
List of wars involving South Ossetia | Introduction
This is a list of wars involving the Republic of South Sudan.
List of wars involving South Sudan | Introduction
The Free State–Basotho Wars refers to a series of wars fought between King Moshoeshoe I, the ruler of the Basotho kingdom, and the white settlers, in what is now known as the Free State. These can be divided into the Senekal's War of 1858, the Seqiti War in 1865−1866 and the Third Basotho War in 1867−68. These three wars were fought over the territorial rights in the area between the Caledon and Orange rivers; from present day Wepener to Zastron, and the area north of the Caledon River, which includes present day Harrismith and the area further westwards. The wars resulted in the white settlers acquiring large tracts of land from Basotho, and the Basotho eventually accepting annexation as a part of the British Empire.
Free State–Basotho Wars | Introduction
The word "seqiti" refers to the sound made by the new cannon the Boers used to crush the Basotho strongholds, mainly in the present day Free State province. The Free State army then began to seize cattle and destroy crops, and two attempts were then made to storm Moshoeshoe's stronghold at Thaba Bosiu. Moshoeshoe was then compelled to accept the peace of Thaba Bosiu on 11 April 1866, due to the exhaustion of Basotho food supplies. Moshoeshoe's son Molapo had also allegedly concluded a separate peace treaty. Moshoeshoe then renewed entreaties for British protection after a short armistice. This was due to the fact that the Orange Free State government was late in allocating land, the Basotho]slowly advanced over the border line, and further tensions mounted.
Free State–Basotho Wars | Seqiti War
(See World War I and the Maritz Rebellion.)
History of South Africa (1910–48) | World War I
The Transvaal Boer republic was forcefully annexed by Britain in 1877, during Britain's attempt to consolidate the states of southern Africa under British rule. Long-standing Boer resentment turned into full-blown rebellion in the Transvaal and the first Anglo-Boer War, also known as the Boer Insurrection, broke out in 1880. The conflict ended almost as soon as it began with a decisive Boer victory at Battle of Majuba Hill (27 February 1881). The republic regained its independence as the "Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek" ("South African Republic"), or ZAR. Paul Kruger, one of the leaders of the uprising, became President of the ZAR in 1883.
History of South Africa | First Anglo-Boer War
During this period, 23 African nations experienced war: Algeria, Angola, Burundi, Central Africa Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, and Uganda.
Small arms trade | Impact on Africa
Conflicts in the Horn of Africa have been occurring since the 17th century BCE. The Horn of Africa includes the nations of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Somaliland.
Conflicts in the Horn of Africa | Introduction
The battles were small operations; most of the dead succumbed to disease. The war ended in victory for the British and the annexation of both Boer republics, which became the Transvaal Colony and the Orange River Colony.
Union of South Africa | Second Boer War (1899–1902)
Colley was killed in the final assault, as the British lines fractured from a lack of leadership. This defeat shocked the British in South Africa and in the home islands. While many demanded vengeance, the British quietly conducted a settlement that gave the Boers independence with only nominal lip service paid to the authority of the Crown in an effort to allow the British to withdraw "with minimum embarrassment".
South African Wars (1879–1915) | The First Boer War (1880–1881)
Prior to an attack into South West Africa, the Boers had initially raised their objections to any assault on German forces since the Germans had supported them in the Second Boer War. Martial Law was declared on 14 October 1914, the Boer rebellion was quickly suppressed, and at the outset of World War I, South West Africa (modern Namibia) was under German control after having been passed back and forth during boundary negotiations over the previous years After the Maritz Rebellion was suppressed, the South African army continued their operations into German South-West Africa and conquered it by July 1915 (see the South-West Africa Campaign for details).
South African Wars (1879–1915) | Walvis Bay (1914–1915)
However, in some cases there were old scores to be settled, and some Africans, such as the Swazis, were eager to enter the war with the specific aim of reclaiming land won by the Boers. As the war went on there was greater involvement of Africans, and in particular large numbers became embroiled in the conflict on the British side, either voluntarily or involuntarily. By the end of the war, many blacks had been armed and had shown conspicuous gallantry in roles such as scouts, messengers, watchmen in blockhouses, and auxiliaries. And there were more flash-points outside of the war.
Second Boer War | The end of the war
The First Anglo-Boer War (1880–1881), was a rebellion of Boers (farmers) against British rule in the Transvaal that re-established their independence. The conflict occurred against the backdrop of the Pretoria government becoming increasingly ineffective at dealing with growing claims on South African land from rival interests within the country. The Second War (1899–1902), by contrast, was a lengthy war—involving large numbers of troops from many British possessions, which ended with the conversion of the Boer republics into British colonies (with a promise of limited self-governance). These colonies later formed part of the Union of South Africa. The British fought directly against the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, defeating their forces first in open warfare and then in a long and bitter guerrilla campaign.
Lichtenburg, North West | Boer War
The Boers also employed black men during the war, who mostly helped with digging defensive emplacements and roads for the transport of weaponry. They served in this capacity primarily during the initial conventional phase of the war. The Second Boer War consisted of three phases. It began with a Boer offensive to besiege the garrisons at Ladysmith, Mafeking, and Kimberley, after a quick mobilisation of their commando units from each district, drawing up to 30–40,000 men. The Boers used a quick-hitting mobile style of war, based on their experiences fighting the British in the first Boer War, along with lessons learned from studying the American Civil War.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | The Second Boer War (1899–1902)
Both nations are historically linked through the British Empire. Although there was very little contact between both territories at the time; between 1899-1902, New Zealand contributed over 6,000 soldiers to fight alongside the British during the Second Boer War to fight against primarily Afrikaans-speaking settlers of the Transvaal Republic and Orange Free State. Approximately 230 New Zealanders lost their lives in the war which resulted in a British win over the whole of South Africa. During World War I and World War II; soldiers from both New Zealand and South Africa fought alongside each other in Europe and North Africa.
New Zealand–South Africa relations | History
Nearly an entire year of fighting (1818–19) ensued. Following the battle, around 4000 British colonists migrated to the area along the great Fish River. The further the colonists pushed east, the more resistance they met. Spoils of the war of 1834 to 1835 were 60,000 cattle which the colonists took over. From 1846 to 1853 was a longer struggle. In the war of 1877 to 1879, the colonists took over 15,000 cattle and around 20,000 sheep. In the aftermath, all Xhosa territory was lost to the colonists of the Cape Colony.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | Xhosa
The situation peaked in 1899, when the British demanded voting rights for the 60,000 foreign whites on the Witwatersrand. Until that point, Kruger's government had excluded all foreigners from the franchise. Kruger rejected the British demand and called for the withdrawal of British troops from the ZAR's borders. When the British refused, Kruger declared war. This Second Anglo-Boer War lasted longer, and the British preparedness surpassed that of Majuba Hill. By June 1900, Pretoria, the last of the major Boer towns, had surrendered. Yet resistance by Boer "bittereinders" continued for two more years with guerrilla-style battles, which the British met in turn with scorched earth tactics.
History of South Africa (1815–1910) | Second Anglo-Boer War
Recent wars have been the Civil war in Côte d'Ivoire (2002–2004), and the Casamance Conflict (1990–present).
Military history of Africa | Military history of Western Africa
Friction between the two groups resulted in what has become known as the Xhosa wars, a series of nine wars from 1779 to 1879. During the Napoleonic Wars the colony taken by the British whose occupation was confirmed in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna. After the Napoleonic Wars, large numbers of British settlers arrived in the Cape, amongst others the 1820 Settlers who, numbering some 5000 people, were settled in the eastern parts of the colony to provide better protection against the Xhosa. Shortly after the newspaper's foundation many Dutch farmers, especially from the eastern part of the colony, dissatisfied with British rule, "trekked" into the interior where they set up their own republics - the Orange Free State and the South African Republic.
De Zuid-Afrikaan | Context
By the beginning of the South African Wars, the Orange Free State was independently ruled by the Boers. The Free State's boundaries were defined almost entirely by rivers: the Orange River on the south, the Vaal River on the west and north, and the Caledon River on the east. The northeastern boundary was shared with its British neighbour, Natal. The Caledon boundary was disputed with Moshoeshoe I's Sotho people, and fought over in two primary incidents – in 1858 and 1865. Before the Boer colonisation, there were indigenous groups like the Sotho, San, and various Nguni clans in the Free State area.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | Orange Free State
The Boer War has been the focus of a considerable body of fiction numbering over two hundred novels and at least fifty short stories in English, Afrikaans, French, German Dutch, Swedish and even Urdu if we count the translation of Rider Haggard's "Jess" in 1923. For the social and literary historian it provides over a hundred-year record of the relationship between literature and history. The vast majority of novels and short stories about the Anglo-Boer conflict were published around the time of the war and reflect the values and attitudes to British imperialism. Some of the titles published then give a fairly accurate impression of the patriotic fervour which found its way into print: B.
South African Wars (1879–1915) | In fiction
Peace were restored to the area when the British, under the Treaty of Amiens returned the Cape Colony to the Dutch Batavian Republic in 1803. In January 1806 during a second invasion, the British reoccupied the colony after the Battle of Blaauwberg. Tensions in the Zuurveld led the British administration and colonial forces to evict many of the Xhosa tribes from the area initiating the 4th Frontier War in 1811. Tribal Conflicts between the Xhosas on the frontier led to the beginning of the 5th Frontier War in 1819.
Boer | Cape Frontier Wars (1779–1879)
This is a list of wars involving Namibia.
List of wars involving Namibia | Introduction
This is a list of wars involving the Central African Republic and its antecedents.
List of wars involving the Central African Republic | Introduction