Devin C. Boer Wars

The great Boer War lasted from 1848 to 1902, the war was fought between the British and the Boers( dependents of the Dutch farmers who settled in South Africa in the mid seventeenth century). The heated tension between the British and the Boers started soon after the British gained control of the Cape during the Napoleonic wars. The British were civilized while the Boers were independent and a rugged race who were surrounded by wild natives, vicious beasts, and difficult terrain for generations. The Boers felt aggravated about Britain's influence of life and wanted to escape their sphere of influence.
          The first military encounter between the Boers and the British occurred at the battle of Boomplaats on 1848. The Boers were lead by Andre Pretorius, claimed the town of Bloemfontein. The British quickly drove the Boers out who were led by Harry Smith. This was the beginning of the fighting between the British and the Boers(the war wouldn't start for another thirty two years), the first Boer war begins which lasted from 1880 to 1881. The duration of the first Boer war was very short and the British got defeated at every turn and every battle they fought, the British government had no interest in finishing the war to completion and thus agreed on independence to the Boers.  The second Boer war lasted from 1899 to 1902 and started twenty years after the first Boer war. A enormous quantity of gold was discovered in the territory of the Boers Transvaal Republic and when the  British citizens moved to the gold fields, the conflicts between government of Cape Town and the Boer republics increased. There were conflicts over taxes, rail transportation, and the rights of British citizens settled in the gold city of Johannesburg. The Boers started to push aggressively after the war started and things went from bad to worse for the British. The period of October to December in 1899 is considered: "The Boer Offensive." The time period of January to September in 1900 is considered: "The British Offensive". In February 1900, he launched a series of counter-offensives that were highly effective. General Conje of the Boers was surrounded and forced to surrender with 4000 other men at the battle of Paardeburg. By June of the same year, General French of the British, captured the two major cities of the Transvaal Republic: Pretoria and Johannesburg. By that time, it appeared that the British had defeated the Boers. The Guerilla Campaign is the guerilla warfare that the Boers used to make victory impossible for the British. The Boers attacked the British installations in small bodies, and disappeared into the bushes when reinforcements were called. The Boers were finally defeated by the British when they used barbed ware in there installations and the Boers were forced into the open and wiped out, this finally led to the end of the war. The Boers were granted lenient terms if they swore allegiance to the British crown. 
             This war helped to the unification of the South African states, Louis Botha was one of the war heroes of the Boers and helped toward the unification of the South African states. I think this war isn't very big and isn't very well known around the world. I was just surprised that it wasnt fought between the natives and Britain. If you want to study or read this, I suggest that you use the website I used in my blog. 

Devin. C- 1A

Citations

Hertiage , History . "Boer Wars." Boer wars . n. page. Web. 18 Dec. 2013. <http://www.heritage-history.com/www/heritage.php?Dir=wars&FileName=wars_boer.php>.

Boer War