South African Wars (1879–1915) - Key Figures

Key Figures

Throughout the period of the South African Wars, people on both sides of the conflict achieved notability. Some of these people were in favour of the British colonising South Africa and making it a British territory, while others fought against the British in an attempt to slow down and stop these efforts.

Paul Kruger was one of the people who fought against the British colonisation efforts. He was born Stephanus Johannes Paul Kruger on 10 October 1825. Later in life he earned the nickname "Old Lion of the Transvaal" which came from the way he looked. Kruger was against the annexation of the Transvaal region in 1877 and was named the Commandant-general of the Transvaal army before the age of 30. In 1880, Kruger joined with Piet Joubert and M. Pretorius to fight for independence.

The Boers won the war in 1883 and Kruger became state president. He remained president for many years. When the Anglo-Boer war broke out, Kruger again led the Boers. In 1900 the British forces advanced on Kruger and his men. Kruger escaped and settled in Holland for the duration of the war. He never returned to the Transvaal. Kruger died on 14 July 1904 in Switzerland. His body was shipped back to the Transvaal and buried in Pretoria, in Heroes Ace.

The Zulu chief Cetshwayo kaMpandewas also against the British colonisation of South Africa. His name means 'The Slandered One'. Cetshwayo was the last independent Zulu King. The British decided to attack the Zulus after Chief Cetshwayo ordered that a raid in Natal to seize two Zulu women whom were wives of Cetshwayo's favourite chief, Sihayo. On 11 December 1878, Sir Theophilus Shepstone informed the Zulu leader that he could either turn in the two men who led this raid into Natal and disarm his army, or face war. Cetshwayo refused these requests and the British attacked the Zulu on 22 January 1879. The British attacked with only 1700 troops while the Zulu brought 24,000. The battle was almost a complete massacre of the British with only sixty Europeans surviving. Cetshwayo and his army were eventually defeated at oNdini on 4 July 1879. He escaped but was recaptured a month later and held as a prisoner of war. In 1882 Cetshwayo was allowed to travel to England and meet with Queen Victoria. While in England he was treated as a public hero for his resistance to Britain. Cetshwayo was returned in secret to Zululand on 10 January 1883. On 8 February 1884 Cetshwayo died (likely from poison). His son Dinizulu was proclaimed king on 20 May 1884.

Olive Schreiner was an advocate of the Boers. She objected to Great Britain's opposition to the small Orange Free State. She addressed the human side of the war by sympathising with the Boer women who were forced to send their men off to war despite their lack of military training. Boer men younger than 16 and older than 60 faced a well-trained and supplied British military (England -with Canada and Australia). Schreiner also admired the Orange Free State's prolonged resistance to the British occupation.

Emily Hobhouse, also opposed the war. She was one of the first female investigative journalists in a war zone. She travelled to the South African war zone on behalf of the South African Women and Children Distress Fund. In her report, she exposed the mistreatment of the women and children in the Boer refugee camps. As a result, she was arrested and deported. She was thought to be one of the first agitators against conditions of the Boer concentration camps.

One person in favour of the British colonisation of Africa was famous writer Rudyard Kipling. When the Boer War broke out, Kipling joined in campaign efforts to raise money for the troops and reported for army publications. While involved in this campaign, Kipling would be forced to view the tragedies of war. He witnessed people dying from typhoid and dysentery and also witnessed the bad barrack conditions. He wrote poetry in support of the British cause in the Boer War. In early 1900 Kipling helped start a newspaper called The Friend for British troops in Bloemfontein. Kipling eventually left South Africa and returned to England where he was already highly regarded as the poet of the empire.

Another person in favour of British colonisation of South Africa was the explorer Cecil Rhodes. In 1890, Rhodes became Prime Minister of the Cape Colony. He implemented laws that would benefit mine and industry owners. He introduced the Glen Grey Act to push black people from their lands and make way for industrial development. Although Rhodes was the prime minister of the Cape Colony, he didn’t have full control over the Boer Republic of the Transvaal. In 1895 he supported the infamous Jameson Raid against the Transvaal area. The British lost badly but this skirmish eventually led to the Second Matabele War and the Second Boer War. Rhodes was the founder of the Diamond Company De Beers, which today markets 40% of the worlds rough diamonds and at one time marketed 90%. Rhodes was also the founder of Rhodesia which later became Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Rhodes Scholarship is also named for him.

Dr. Leander Jameson was appointed director of the De Beers Company by Cecil Rhodes, he later became leader of the progressives, and in 1904 became Prime Minister of the Cape Territory. He was notorious for his abortive raid into the Transvaal to overthrow the Boer government of Paul Kruger in 1895.” He was convicted of violating the foreign enlistment act and sentenced to 15 months in prison.

Millicent Garrett Fawcett was an investigative journalist who was pro-war. Fawcett justified the maltreatment of Boer women and children in the concentration camps by stating that they participated in war by supplying their men with vital British military information, making them part of the war effort and consequently deserving of the same war treatment as any enemy. She blamed the Boer mothers for the children's deaths. She often emphasised "race" and described the unhygienic conditions kept by the Boer women, but failed to mention that they were not supplied with soap in the concentration camps. She compared Boers to 17th century English ignorant peasants.