2.2 Resistance against british control  (Page 2/4)

sioner. It was his ideal to colonize the Transvaal. All negotiations concern

ing the demands of the Foreigners, such as the right to vote, seats on the Volksraad, etc. between Kruger and Milner failed. The war officially began on the 11th of October 1899.

The first phase of the war was a time of military success for the South Africans. General Piet Cronje successfully besieged Mafikeng and Kimberley. The OFS commandos led by Schoeman and Grobler invaded the Cape Colony and defeated the British troops under General Gatacre and General French at Stormberg.

General Piet Joubert besieged General White’s British troops at Ladysmith, Natal, and defeated the troops of General Sir Redvers Buller in battles at Colenso, Tabanyama, Spioenkop and Vaalkrans. At this stage the British forces were crushed but the South Africans failed to follow up on their success.

Throughout the war the approximately 64 000 men in the commandos were principally from Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Throughout the British Empire, Britain now called in troops to use in the second phase of the war. Approximately 250 000 British troops, with superior weapons, were assured of a speedy victory over the South Africans. Lord Roberts and his second in command, Kitchener, started wiping out the South African resistance step by step. The surrender of General Piet Cronje and his 4 000 men at Kimberley was a devastation for the South Africans, as the way to the North was now open to the British army. In Natal, Buller broke through Colenso and liberated Ladysmith. In 1900, Lord Roberts captured Bloemfontein in March, Johannesburg in May and Pretoria in June. He proclaimed the Orange Free State and the Transvaal, British colonies.

President Paul Kruger sailed to Europe to find help for the South Africans. The third phase of the war had started. The South Africans divided into small commandos, making themselves more mobile. These guerrilla-fighters targeted the British convoys, communication lines and supply lines. The British troops built blockhouses to protect the railway and bridges.

The South African commandos received food and shelter from the surrounding farms. Kitchener put his Scorched Earth Policy into action, destroying farmhouses, livestock and harvests. Thousand of women and children were taken to concentration camps. Emily Hobhouse became famous for her efforts to improve the terrible circumstances of the women

and children in the concentration camps. Thousands of prisoners of war were sent to Bermuda, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and St. Helena. South Africans began to defect to the British Forces. Kruger found no support for South Africa in Europe. Most South Africans wanted peace. Finally, on the 31st of May 1902, the Peace Treaty of Vereeniging was signed at Pretoria.

READING 2

Women and Children in the South African War

In the past the role of women in wartime did not receive much attention. Women could move freely, even crossing enemy lines. Some women were accused of spying and executed. They were also accused of helping the enemy and subsequently executed. In those days it was accepted that women should stay at home to care for the children and look after the farm or business. It is a known fact that Genl. Joubert’s wife, Hendrina, accompanied her husband and took part in all the skirmishes that his commando encountered.