|
The Built Up to the Boer War
South Africa in 1870 saw various Dutch mercenaries who fought
against the Tswana tribes on the Northern Frontier
rewarded with farms in the Mafekeng region. They went
on to establish this area as the Republic of Goshen
and resultingly, British forces went to the town to annexe
it. In 1885 Mafeking (its Dutch name) was established as the
British Protectorate of Bechuanaland.
In 1899 the town was besieged by Boer forces on the
14th October. The siege lasted until the 17th May 1900 and
marked the beginning of the Boer War. Dispatches that
were written by Baden-Powell became a symbol of British
courage in the face of adversity. Actually, the siege was
perfectly civilised and the Boers would rarely come into combat
on a Sunday.
The war lasted until 1902 and there were also sieges in Ladysmith
in Natal and Kimberly in the Northern Cape.
The siege of Kimberly lasted 124 days until it was liberated
by the British Army forces of lords Robert and Kitchener
on 15th February 1900.
Visiting Boer War Sites Today
Today in Kimberly you can visit some of the historically
important sites of this time in South African history.
Magersfontein Battlefield lies just outside Kimberly.
On December 11th 1899 the renowned Highland Brigade was decimated
by Boer forces. It costs about $1.50 to visit today. Since
1999 a road connecting all the major battlefields has been
in place so visitors can do the 'Battlefield Route'.
The Zulu War
You can also visit the battlefields of the Anglo-Zulu War
which preceded the Boer War. 1879 saw the British making demands
of the Zulu chieftain Cetshwayo which they knew he
would not meet. Demands included a complete reorganisation
of the Zulu political structure and the abolition of the Zulu
army.
The Battle of Isandlwana saw the biggest slaughter
of the British witnessed in South Africa. On the 22nd January
1879, a solider from one of the five British battalions involved
looked over a ridge to see twenty five thousand Zulu warriors
ready to attack. On their discovery, the impis adopted their
battle formation of two 'horns' on the flanks and a main force
in the centre. The Zulu warriors then moved onto Rorke's
Drift where less than a hundred soldiers defended their
position against around four thousand Zulu warriors.
This was immortalised by the film Zulu starring
Michael Caine (with the unforgettable line: 'will you stop
throwing those bloody spears at me'!). Both of these sites
make fascinating tours which are easy to visit from Dundee,
a large coal-mining town in the Thukela region.
|
