British relations with Boers and the Bantu Flashcards
(22 cards)
What neighboured the British Cape Colony ?
- The republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal
Who did the orange Free State and the Transvaal belong to ?
- republics were in the hands of the Boers
Who were the Boers ?
- Descendents of the original Dutch settlers from Cape area
What were relations like between the British and the Boers in the 1850s ?
- relatively calm / peaceful
- British recognised the Boer states in the 1850s
What caused tensions to increase ?
- The discovery of raw minerals, in particular diamonds, in 1867 that led to further tensions
Where were diamonds discovered ?
- discovery of diamonds near Kimberley on the Vaal River
Impact of diamond discovery
- caused a ‘diamond rush’ attracting both European and Boers peoples into the region
When did Britain propose a federation
British proposed a federation of British and Boer territories in 1875, something the Boers rejected
What placed did Britain annex in the late 1860s and early 1870s ?
In 1868 Britain annexed Basutoland
In 1871, they had taken West Griqualand
What happened as Britain attempting to exert more influence in the area ?
- instability continued to rise and tensions increased
What was the Xhosa War
- a conflict against tribal communities which allowed them to further annex tribe communities
- occured in 1878 - 1879
What was the Boers conflict like with the Pedi tribe ?
- heavily engaged in conflict wroth the tribe
- were not as successful for the Boers
How did Britain annex the Transvaal
- announced a seizure of the Transvaal, showing they were protecting the white Europeans in the area from both Pedi and Zulu tribes
When did the Boers accept help from the British against the Zulus ?
- In 1879
What happened once the British helped their Boers against the Zulus ?
- Zulus were defeated and the British incorporated them into Natal
- Once Zulus were defeated, the Boers declared complete independence from the British
What event at Britain led to further aggression / action from the Zulus
- Liberals in power
How did the Boers become more violent
- began to exhibit further hostilities towards the British, attacking army garrisons
What did this violence from the Boers culminate in ?
- at Mujaba Hill
What happened at Mujaba Hill ?
- In 1881, humiliating British failure at Majuba Hill where over 150 British were killed, forcing them to recognise Boer self determination with the convention of Pretoria
What was the treatment of the Bantu people like
- as you would expect from the British
- treated as inferior, reflected racial hierarchy of the bRITISH
How were the Bantu treated poorly ?
- Local Bantu tribes whose land was increasingly eroded by white settlers
- Laws were passed to ensure that the Africans would not have real claim to the mines or the products coming from them
- Africans therefore were relegated to Manuel labour in the mines
- In addition, Black workers were forbidden by law from living wherever they wanted, and were forced to stay in segregated neighbourhoods or mining compounds.
How was there huge inequality between the British and the Boers ?
- Although the discovery of gold and diamonds increased the wealth of the region but profits stayed firmly in the hands of the British.
