Britain, ever since taking control of South…
1888 CE to 1899 CE
The British imperial vision calls for control over the new countries; the Dutch-speaking "Boers" (or "Afrikaners") fight back in 1899–1902.
British historian Andrew Roberts will argue that the Boers had insisted on keeping full control of both their two small republics, allowing no role whatever for nonwhites, and distinctly limited roles for British and other European settlers.
These "Uitlanders" are the base of the economy, pay eighty percent of the taxes, and have no vote.
The Transvaal is in no sense a democracy, Roberts will argue, for no black, Britain, Catholic or Jew is allowed to vote or hold any office.
Johannesburg is the business center, with fifty thousand primarily British residents, but is not permitted any local government.
The English language is banned in official proceedings; no public meetings are permitted; newspapers are closed down arbitrarily; and full citizenship is technically possible but quite rare.
Roberts will say President Paul Kruger "ran a tight, tough, quasi-police state from his state capital, Pretoria."
The British government officially protests; while theoretically recognizing the Transvaal's right to manage its internal affairs, cabinet member Joseph Chamberlain details the many ways in which Uitlanders are mistreated as second-class non-citizens, despite their essential role in producing prosperity.
The Boer response to the British pressure is to declare war on October 20, 1899.
The four hundred and ten thousand Boers are massively outnumbered, but amazingly they will wage a successful guerrilla war, which will give the British regulars a difficult fight.
The Boers are landlocked and do not have access to outside help.
The weight of numbers, superior equipment, and often brutal tactics will eventually bring about a British victory.
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