2.1.2
Consolidation & Expansion in South Africa
Expansion into South Africa
Expansion into South Africa
Britain's interests in South Africa were piqued after the discovery of diamonds in Kimberley and gold in the Rand.
Expansion into South Africa
Expansion into South Africa
- Rhodesia:
- ‘South Zambesia’ became Southern Rhodesia (1895) and was united with northern Zambesi territories after wars in 1893-4 and 1896-7.
- Nyasaland:
- Rhodes’ British South Africa Company controlled the area between 1891 and 1907 until it became a Protectorate. The South Africa Company did not do the mining itself, but claimed ownership of all the mineral resources in Rhodesia, giving it the right to royalties on any minerals mined.
Expansion into the Cape Colony
Expansion into the Cape Colony
- In the 1890s, Germany made territorial gains and the Boers grew in confidence from the Transvaal’s gold wealth.
- In 1895, the Uitlanders (outsiders) were denied citizenship and voting rights by the Boer government under Paul Kruger.
- The Uitlanders sought the help of Cecil Rhodes.
The Jameson Raid, 1895-6
The Jameson Raid, 1895-6
- Rhodes approved a raid on the Transvaal from the neighbouring Rhodesia, led by Dr Jameson (Rhodes’ agent there).
- No official government support was given.
- Dr. Jameson went in with 500 men and 6 guns, expecting to prompt an uprising.
- Martin Kitchen (1996) describes the Jameson Raid as "a hopelessly bungled affair".
Response to the Raid
Response to the Raid
- The raid was met by a small contingent of Transvaal soldiers who blocked the road to Johannesburg.
- They tried to withdraw but were forced to surrender after four days.
- Following this, they were handed over to the British authorities in the Cape.
- The agents were initially sentenced to death, but the British South Africa Company paid £1 million in compensation to the Transvaal government.
- Rhodes was forced to resign as the Prime Minister of Cape Colony and the Managing Director of the British South African Company. He died in 1902. Dr. Jameson became Prime Minister of the Cape Colony 1904-1908.
Consequences of the Jameson Raid
Consequences of the Jameson Raid
- The raid was an absolute fiasco which discredited the British government.
- It stiffened the Boers’ determination to resist British intrusions.
- Kruger became a people’s hero in the Transvaal.
- The Boers living in Cape Colony form the anti-British ‘Afrikaner Bond’ with fellow Boers in the Transvaal.
- (Incidentally, Kaiser Wilhelm’s telegram of congratulations to Kruger becomes key in Anglo-Germanic rivalry in the build-up to World War 1). Kitchen (1996) claims that Chamberlain, the Colonial Secretary, thought that "Kruger was the Kaiser's stooge'.
The Anglo-Boer war
The Anglo-Boer war
In 1899, negotiations between the British and the Boers broke down into war. The British poured in 400,000 troops and £250 million into the war.
The Anglo-Boer war
The Anglo-Boer war
- 20,000 Boers died in British concentration camps and 'many felt that it was a shameful episode' according to Kitchen (1996).
- It took three years to defeat the Boers.
- A major concession to the Boers in the post-war negotiations was denying the vote for non-white people. This laid the foundations for apartheid in South Africa.
Historical interpretations of the Boer War
Historical interpretations of the Boer War
- Historians have identified various motivations that Britons had for expansion into Africa.
- After 1890, British expansion moved away from its earlier ad hoc approach. Indeed, British historian John Seely, who was born in 1834, said of early British expansion, 'we seem, as it were, to have conquered half the world in a fit of absence of mind.'
Other historical interpretations of the Boer War
Other historical interpretations of the Boer War
- Historian John Darwin (2013) argues that the period 1890-1914 is characterised by a ‘pseudo-empire’, a determination to protect the Suez Canal that expanded to the oil regions.
- Historian Lizzie Collingham (2017) argues that the expansion in the turn of the 20th century was rooted in a search for food supplies.
1High Water Mark of the British Empire, 1857-1914
1.1Development of Imperialism, 1857-1890
1.2Imperial & Colonial Policy, 1857-1890
1.3Trade & Commerce, 1857-1890
1.4Attitudes Towards the Empire, 1857-1890
1.5Relations with Indigenous Peoples, 1857-1890
2Imperial Consolidation & Liberal Rule, 1890-1914
2.1Consolidation & Expansion in Africa, 1890-1914
2.2Imperial & Colonial Policy, 1890-1914
2.3Trade & Commerce, 1890-1914
2.4Attitudes Towards the Empire, 1890-1914
2.5Relations with Indigenous Peoples, 1890-1914
3Imperialism Challenged, 1914-1967
3.1Expansion & Contraction of Empire, 1914-1947
3.2Colonial Policy & Administration, 1914-1947
3.3Trade, Commerce & Economic Impact of War
3.4Attitudes Towards the Empire, 1890-1914
3.5Relations with Indigenous Peoples, 1914-1947
4The Wind of Change, 1947-1967
4.1Decolonisation in Africa & Asia, 1947-1967
4.2Colonial Policy & Administration, 1947-1967
4.3Trade & Commerce, 1947-1967
4.4Attitudes Towards the Empire, 1947-1967
4.5Post-Colonial Ties, 1947-1967
4.6Relations with Indigenous Peoples, 1947-1967
Jump to other topics
1High Water Mark of the British Empire, 1857-1914
1.1Development of Imperialism, 1857-1890
1.2Imperial & Colonial Policy, 1857-1890
1.3Trade & Commerce, 1857-1890
1.4Attitudes Towards the Empire, 1857-1890
1.5Relations with Indigenous Peoples, 1857-1890
2Imperial Consolidation & Liberal Rule, 1890-1914
2.1Consolidation & Expansion in Africa, 1890-1914
2.2Imperial & Colonial Policy, 1890-1914
2.3Trade & Commerce, 1890-1914
2.4Attitudes Towards the Empire, 1890-1914
2.5Relations with Indigenous Peoples, 1890-1914
3Imperialism Challenged, 1914-1967
3.1Expansion & Contraction of Empire, 1914-1947
3.2Colonial Policy & Administration, 1914-1947
3.3Trade, Commerce & Economic Impact of War
3.4Attitudes Towards the Empire, 1890-1914
3.5Relations with Indigenous Peoples, 1914-1947
4The Wind of Change, 1947-1967
4.1Decolonisation in Africa & Asia, 1947-1967
4.2Colonial Policy & Administration, 1947-1967
4.3Trade & Commerce, 1947-1967
4.4Attitudes Towards the Empire, 1947-1967
4.5Post-Colonial Ties, 1947-1967
4.6Relations with Indigenous Peoples, 1947-1967
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