Capitalism: Cause of the Boer War
The Boer War was the armed conflict between Britain and the two Boer republics of Transvaal and Orange Free State in South Africa. It began on October 11, 1899 and lasted almost three years ending May 31, 1902. During that three-year period, the British were humiliated by an undermanned force in the Boers, which led to the implementation of barbarous and savage techniques for which the British were heavily scrutinized. Capitalism caused this British version of Vietnam, and by doing so demonstrated the foundation of British imperialism.Several factors contributed to the outbreak of the war, including race, nationalism and international power politics, but the main reason was the capitalistic nature of the British. The British forced the war in 1899 to gain control of the Transvaal, the independent republic where Boers had political control and where gold mining was a major new industry. During the late 1800's, gold had become the keystone of the world's expanding commerce. By 1890 London was the financial center of the world's trade, and a steady supply of the world's stock of gold was critical for maintaining this position. The conflict between the British and Dutch-descendents was not new. A rivalry between the Boers and Brit
In 1877 Britain took over the Transvaal, declaring it a British crown colony after the discovery of diamonds near Kimberley in 1872. The Transvaal Boers protested, and rose in rebellion in 1880: the First Anglo-Boer or Transvaal war. The Boers humiliated the British in the Battle of Majuba Hill, and PM Gladstone sued for peace. The Transvaal was handed back to the Boers, but the humiliation suffered by the British was not forgotten. The two Boer provinces declared war on 11 October 1899, after Kruger's ultimatum demanding the withdrawal of troops sent to South Africa in preparation for war. At first the Boers did surprisingly well, achieving victory over their British counterparts during the "black week" of mid-December 1899. The secret alliance between Milner and the "gold bugs" of Wernher-Beit, was unknown to Kruger and while the "negotiations" were underway, Wernher, Beit and Co. was secretly financing an outlander army of 1,500 which eventually grew to 10,000. The greed of these "gold bugs" coincided with the imperialistic schemes of British Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain and the political ambitions of Alfred Milner, forming the triumvirate that invoked the Boer War. Unpopular opinion, not only from the homeland, but also from several other European countries, made it necessary for a quick end to the war to avoid any further blows to British imperialism. Although the Jameson raid failed, it convinced the Boers that the British were determined to take away their independence and heightened tensions between the two. As well, the blood of those who died in the abortive raid also baptized the alliance of finance and British imperialism. ish settlers in these areas had been going on for 50+ years as Britain sought to consolidate its control in South Africa, while the Dutch-descended settlers strove to maintain their autonomy and
Some common words found in the essay are:
Botha Boers, Africa October, South Africa, British British, Cecil Rhodes, House February, Uitlanders Instead, Boers British, America European, World War, south africa, boer republics, british imperialism, capitalistic nature british, capitalistic nature, political power, south african, boers british, cecil rhodes, british crown, war boers,
Approximate Word count = 1254
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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