First Boer War

See also: Second Boer War

First Anglo-Boer War
Date 20 December 1880 - 23 March 1881 Location South Africa Result Boer Victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Transvaal
Commanders and leaders
Major-General Sir George Pomeroy Colley	Commandant-General Piet Joubert
Strength
1,200	3,000
Casualties and losses
408 killed, 315 wounded	41 killed, 47 wounded

The First Boer War (Dutch: Eerste Boerenoorlog, Afrikaans: Eerste Vryheidsoorlog, literally First Freedom War) also known as the First Anglo-Boer War or the Transvaal War, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881.

Background

1877 annexation

The southern part of the African continent was dominated in the 19th century by a set of epic struggles to create within it a single unified state. The British attempt to annex Transvaal in 1880, and the Transvaal and the Orange Free State in 1899 (leading to the Second Boer War), was their biggest incursion into southern Africa, but there were others. In 1868, the British annexed Basutoland in the Drakensberg Mountains (modern Lesotho, surrounded by Transvaal, the Orange Free State and Natal) following an appeal from Moshesh, the leader of a mixed group of African refugees from the Zulu wars, who sought British protection against both the Boers and the Zulus. The British also had three very important bases in Bombay, which drove them into Nepal. In the 1880s, Bechuanaland (modern Botswana, located north of the Orange River) became the object of dispute between the Germans to the west, the Boers to the east, and the British in the Cape Colony to the south. Although Bechuanaland had no economic value, the "Missionaries Road" passed through it towards territory farther north. After the Germans annexed Damaraland and Namaqualand (modern Namibia) in 1884, the British annexed Bechuanaland in 1885.

After 1806, following the British annexation of the Cape, the British had gradually extended their control along the coast to the east. Certain Boers resented British rule, even though British control brought some economic benefits. There were successive waves of migrations of Boer farmers (known as Trekboer), first towards Natal, which the British annexed in 1845, then towards the interior establishing Orange Free State and eventually the region that came to be known as Transvaal - literally "beyond the Vaal River," a tributary of the Orange River.

The British did not try to stop Boers from moving away from the Cape and into the interior, since it ameliorated certain tensions in their own territory. Indeed, the British subsequently ratified the outcome in a pair of treaties: the Sand River Convention of 1852 which recognized the independence of Transvaal, and the Bloemfontein Convention of 1854 which recognized the independence of the Orange Free State. Tensions were however not restricted only to the Boers that remained behind in Cape Colony. Many British living in Cape Colony even joined the Boers in their resentment of the British administration citing the "imperial factor"- i.e. perceived meddling by London in local affairs.

The discovery of diamonds in 1867 near the Vaal River, some 550 miles northeast of Capetown, ended the isolation of the Boers in the interior and changed South African history. The discovery triggered a "diamond rush" that attracted people from all over the world turning Kimberley into a town of 50,000 within five years and drawing the attention of British imperial interests. In the 1870s the British annexed West Griqualand, site of the Kimberley diamond discoveries.

Disraeli's Colonial Secretary Lord Carnarvon in an attempt to extend British influence in 1875 approached the Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republic and tried to organize a federation of the British and Boer territories (modeled after the 1867 federation of French and English provinces of Canada), but the Boer leaders turned him down. The annexation of West Griqualand and British imperialism however created a climate of simmering unease for the Boer republics.

Zulu war

There were, however, other tensions. During the 1870s there were a series of skirmishes within the Transvaal between the Boers and local tribes, and by the 1870s there were serious tensions between the Transvaal Republic and the Zulus led by King Cetshwayo. The Zulus occupied a kingdom located on the south eastern border of the Transvaal Republic, and bordering on British Natal. Upon taking the throne King Cetshwayo had expanded his army and reintroduced many of the para military practices of the famous Shaka, king of the Zulus. He had also started equipping his impis with muskets although this was a slow process and the majority had only shields, clubs (knobkerries) and spears (throwing spears and the famous assegais). King Cetshwayo then banished European missionaries from his land, and there were suggestions that he might also have become involved in inciting other native African peoples to rebel against Boers in the Transvaal. The Transvaal Boers became more and more concerned, but King Cetshwayo cleverly maintained good relations with the British in Natal in an effort to counter Boer encroachment on Zulu land.

In 1877, Sir Theophilus Shepstone, the British Secretary for Native Affairs in Natal,annexed the South African Republic (Transvaal Republic), for Britain using a special warrant. The Boers objected but as long as the Zulu threat remained, found themselves unable to resist actively the British annexation fearing that this would lead not only to a war with the British but also that King Cetshwayo and the Zulus would attack. They also feared that the simmering unrest in the Transavaal would be re-ignited and that the local tribes would seize the opportunity to rebel.

The Boers led by Paul Kruger (the future Transvaal President) for the Transvaal therefore elected to oppose the annexation and counter the Zulu threat through political strategies, and accordingly made two visits to London for direct talks with the British government. In September 1878, on his return from the second visit, Kruger met in Pietermaritzburg with the British representatives, Sir Bartle Frere and Lt. General Frederic Thesiger (shortly to inherit the title of Lord Chelmsford), in order to update them on the progress of the talks.

Sir Theophilus Shepstone had had his own concerns about the expansion under King Cetshwayo of the Zulu army and the potential threat to Natal especially given the adoption of muskets and other modern weapons. He now, in his new role of Administrator of the Transvaal, saw the Transvaal / Zulu border dispute from the other side. Persistent Boer representations and Paul Kruger's diplomatic manouverings added to the pressure. There were incidents involving Zulu paramilitary actions on either side of the Transvaal/Natal border, and the British began to regard King Cetshwayo (who now found no defender in Natal save Bishop Colenso) as having permitted such "outrages", and to be in a "defiant mood". Shepstone therefore convinced Sir Bartle Frere, that King Cetshwayo and his Zulu army posed a threat to the peace. In December 1878 Frere ordered Cetshwayo to disband his army. Cetshwayo refused and mobilized his forces instead. Over 40,000 strong, the disciplined, well motivated and supremely confident Zulu warriors were a formidable force on their own home ground, notwithstanding the lack of modern weaponry. Their greatest assets were their knowledge of the local terrain and conditions, and their discipline, morale, unit leadership, mobility and numbers.

On January 11, 1879, the British invaded Zululand with about 7000 regular troops, a similar number of black African "levees" and a thousand white volunteers. The British anticipated that the Zulu War would proceed in a pattern typical of numerous colonial wars fought in Africa, namely that relatively small bodies of professional European troops armed with modern firearms and artillery, and supplemented by local allies and levies would march out to meet the natives whose ragged, badly equipped armies would put up a brave struggle, but in the end would succumb to professional soldiers wielding massed firepower. Ignoring advice from a number of locals (including Paul Kruger who from experience had great respect for the military threat of the Zulus and stressed the need for caution, and the use of defense focused tactics such as maximising firepower and fighting from within laagers - fortified strongpoints using wagons drawn into a defensive circle), the British lost more than 1600 soldiers when the Zulu attack caught them in the open at the Battle of Isandhlwana on January 22, 1879. However, shortly afterwards a British outpost at Rorke's Drift on the Zululand-Natal border, supplemented by soldiers fleeing from Isandhlwana and fighting defensively in and around buildings hastily fortified, withstood a second Zulu attack at great cost to the Zulus. After reinforcements arrived, the British won a series of skirmishes and eventually conquered the Zulu capital at Ulundi by July 1879. This war to all intents and purposes signaled the end of the independent Zulu nation. The British consolidated their power over Natal, the Zulu kingdom and the Transvaal in 1879 after the Anglo-Zulu War.

Outbreak of War

Once the Zulu were defeated and the threat to their South East border had been eliminated, the Transvaal Boers again raised the 1877 British annexation and protested that it had been a violation of the Sand River Convention of 1852, and the Bloemfontein Convention of 1854.

Major-General Sir George Pomeroy Colley, after returning briefly to India, finally took over as Governor of Natal, Transvaal, High Commissioner of S.E.Africa and Military Commander in July 1880. Multiple commitments prevented Colley from visiting the Transvaal where he knew many of the senior Boers. Instead he relied on reports from the Administrator, Sir Owen Lanyon, who had no understanding of the Boer mood or capability. Belatedly Lanyon asked for troop reinforcements in December 1880 but was overtaken by events.

The Boers on 16 December 1880 revolted and took action at Bronkhorstspruit against a British column of the 94th Foot, who were returning to reinforce Pretoria.

1880-81 War

The war began on 16 December 1880 with shots fired by Transvaal Boers (farmers) at Potchefstroom after Transvaal formally declared independence from the United Kingdom. It led to the action at Bronkhorstspruit on 20 December 1880, where the Boers ambushed and destroyed a British Army convoy. From 22 December 1880 to 6 January 1881, British army garrisons all over the Transvaal became besieged.

The average Boer burghers who made up their Commandos were farmers who had spent almost all their working life in the saddle, and because they had to depend on both their horse and their rifle they were skilled stalkers and marksmen, and became expert light cavalry. They could make use of every scrap of cover, from which they could pour an accurate and destructive fire. They were dressed in their everyday farming clothes, which were a neutral or earthtone khaki clothing, whereas the British uniforms were still bright scarlet red, a stark contrast to the African landscape. This enabled the Boers, being expert marksmen, to easily snipe at British troops from a distance. Other significant advantages to the Boers included their widespread adoption of the breech loading rifle, which could be rapidly aimed, fired, and reloaded from a prone position, and the Boers' unconventional military tactics, which relied more on stealth, speed and initiative as opposed to the British emphasis on discipline and formation.

The besieging of the British garrisons led to the Battle of Laing's Nek on 28 January 1881 where a British force composed of the Natal Field Force under Major-General Sir George Pomeroy Colley attempted to break through the Boer positions on the Drakensberg mountain range to relieve their garrisons. The Boers, under the command of Piet Joubert, repulsed the British cavalry and infantry attacks.

Further actions included the Battle of Schuinshoogte (also known as Ingogo) on 8 February 1881, where another British force barely escaped destruction.

The final humiliation for the British was at the Battle of Majuba Hill on 27 February 1881, where several Boer groups stormed the hill and drove off the British, at great cost to the British including the loss of the British commander, Major-General Sir Colley. This made such an impact that during the Second Boer War, one of the British slogans was Remember Majuba.

1881 Peace

The British government of William Gladstone realised that if the British were to continue with the campaign substantial troop reinforcements were required, and it was likely that the war would be costly, messy and protracted. Unwilling to get bogged down in a distant war with apparently minimal returns (the Transvaal at the time had no known mineral resources, and only a basic agricultural economy), the government ordered a truce.

Under instructions from the British government, Sir Evelyn Wood (who had replaced Colley upon his death on 27 February 1881) signed an armistice to end the war, and subsequently a peace treaty with Kruger at O'Neil's Cottage on 6 March. In the final peace treaty on 23 March 1881, the British agreed to Boer self-government in the Transvaal under a theoretical British oversight. A three-man Royal Commission drew up the Pretoria Convention, which was ratified on 25 October 1881, by the Volksraad. This led to the withdrawal of the last British troops.

The Convention of Pretoria in 1881 and the Convention of London in 1884 restored Transvaal autonomy but did not specifically recognize Transvaal independence.

Subsequently, however, when a second major mineral find was made at an outcrop on a large ridge some thirty miles south of the Boer capital at Pretoria in 1886, it reignited imperial interests. The ridge, known locally as the "Witwatersrand" (literally "white water ridge" - a watershed) contained the world's largest deposit of gold-bearing ore. Although it was not as rich as gold finds in Canada and Australia, its consistency made it especially well-suited to industrial mining methods.

By 1899, Britain was again at war with the Boer republics in the Second Boer War, and this time the lure of gold was more than enough for Britain to commit the substantial troops required and keep them fighting, and bear all the cost including the loss of lives, over the three long years that it would take.

See also

• Anglo-Zulu War
• Military history of South Africa
• History of the British Army#South Africa
• Second Boer War

References

* Duxbury, Geo. R. David and Goliath: The First War of Independence, 1880-1881 (Johannesburg: SA National Museum of Military History, 1981).