The First Boer War was an armed conflict between the Dutch colonists of the Transvaal, known as 'Boers', and the United Kingdom. It took place in South Africa, from December 16, 1880, to March 23, 1881. Also known as the Transvaal War, it lasted three months and it saw the defeat of the British at the battles of Bronkhorstspruit, Ingogo River, Laing's Neck, and Majuba Hill. Although the cease fire was agreed upon on March 23, the war was formally ended on August 3, 1881, by the Treaty of Pretoria, by which Great Britain was forced to recognize the independence of the Transvaal (known as the South African Republic). The peace period would last until 1899, when the Second Boer War broke out.
Cause of the war
After the Zulu War of 1879, in which the Zulu nation was finally defeated, the Boers felt there was no further reason why the British should remain in control of their country. One of the leaders of the cause for the re-establishment of a republic was Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, who was regarded as a 'crowd rouser' (trouble maker) by the British and as a great patriot by the Boers.
In April 1880, after a hard-fought election campaign in which he condemned the 'insane and immoral policy of annexation', William E. Gladstone and his Liberal Party, crushingly defeated Disraeli's Conservatives. Thus, the Transvaal Boers became overjoyed, for they believed that a Liberal government would be a swift return to independence. Nevertheless, once in power, Gladstone reversed his policy and informed the Boers that his judgment was that the Queen could not be advised to relinquish her sovereignty over the Transvaal. Therefore, to Kruger and his followers, there remained only one solution: rebellion.
Why were the British defeated in the First Boer War?
Despite their superiority in number and artillery pieces, the British were completely defeated by farmers and cattle breeders in a three-month period. The reason for the Boers' victory lies in the new type of warfare they introduced and in the color of their clothes. While the British Army soldiers wore a red-coat uniform, which could clearly be spotted from far away, the Boers wore either drab-green or olive-brown clothes. Although they had no military training, the Dutch farmers of South Africa were excellent marksmen who used to hunt large and dangerous wild animals.
While the British stood in long lines, wearing the red uniform, the Boers shot from a prone position as the lay on the ground in the grass or among bushes. These southern Africa farmers were also good at laying traps and springing ambushes on the enemy. The Boers organized themselves in commando units that carried out raids against British military outposts by surprise.
Weapons
The British Infantry used the Martini-Henry rifle as their standard issue firearm. The Boers, on the other hand, used the Westley-Richards 14.9-mm elephant rifle; they also used the Remington M1867, and Winchester M1873 rifles.
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| A Daguerreotype of a Boer carrying his Westely-Richards rifle. Notice the size of the cartridges. |
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| British troops standing in three lines at a military outpost. |
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