Boer War
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It has been suggested that the text below be merged into (added to) the Second Boer War page. |
| Boer War (1902) | |||
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| Belligerents | |||
| South African Republic Orange Free State |
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandCape Colony Natal Colony |
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The Second Boer War was a war between Britain and the Boers (Dutch farmers) in southern Africa.
The Second Boer War was much longer. In 1886, people found gold near Pretoria, the capital city of Boer territory. In 1895, a British group from Rhodesia tried to take control of Johannesburg, but the police stopped them. The Boer president, Paul Kruger, was worried about the British, so the Boers bought new weapons. Because of this, many British soldiers moved to the area (many of them were from New Zealand, Australia or Canada).
In October of 1899, Boer soldiers attacked the British. They started a siege- stopping people from entering or leaving- at the towns of Mafeking and Ladysmith. The British Army took control of most of the area in 1900, but Boer soldiers still attacked them from their homes using guerrilla warfare. The British took many prisoners, and put them in concentration camps. They also destroyed many Boer homes because they wanted to stop the attacks.
In Britain, the war was very unpopular because it was expensive and many soldiers had died. People also knew about the concentration camps, and did not like them. In 1902, it was very difficult for the Boers to fight, so the British government tried to make peace. The war ended in May 1902. 75,000 people died in the war, 22,000 from the British Army, and 53,000 Boers. Many of them died from disease.
At the end of the war, the British made a new country called the Union of South Africa. This was in 1910.
