Impact of the war Flashcards
(20 cards)
Initial support for war
- People wanted to support the war
- There was not a lot of anti-government sentiment at the time, and people generally thought that war was heroic, not yet horrific.
- ‘Jingoistic’
- There was not a lot of anti-government sentiment at the time, and people generally thought that war was heroic, not yet horrific.
- There was an increase in concern around Black Week and the guerrilla stage of the war.
Sense of pride in the British Empire
- Racial superiority
- Can be fully racist at times, and missionary/crusade like at other times, trying to spread a superior influence to smaller, ‘lower’ nations
- “Anglo-Saxon” race not just biological, but seen as a carrier of distinct set of values and institutions
“Christianity, commerce and civilisation go hand-in-hand” - David Livingstone
- Sense of missionaries and crusades improving the lives of lower races
Two main parties in Parliament
There was a major conflict in opinion between the two parties, over Home Rule in Ireland:
Conservative Unionists
Strongly opposed Home Rule in Ireland, as this would mean that there would be a minority Protestant population, and they would have less power, under the Catholics. Ignoring the fact that it had been the opposite for a while. Most of Britain was Protestant at the time as well.
Liberals
Split into the:
- Liberal Unionists (1886), who also opposed Home Rule in Ireland, and later merged with the Conservatives. Led by Joseph Chamberlain and Lord Hartington
- The majority of the Liberals wanted Home Rule, as this would also secure support from the Irish Nationalists. Led by Prime Minister William Gladstone
The Press
- Both a reflection of the paper’s own opinion, and also a way for people to form their own opinions through facts
- The cost of buying papers had decreased
- After the Napoleonic Wars, the government had put taxes on newspapers, making it more expensive, so that people were less likely to see any criticisms of the government
- The cost of buying papers had decreased
- 1896 - The Daily Mail formed
- Fiercely imperialist
- The ‘Voice of Empire!’
- Cheaper (half-penny)
- 1900 - Daily circulation had reached 1 million
- people who would circulate and spread news that they read, so it reached a wider audience.
- Compounded by the fact that literacy rates had increased and the franchise had extended
- 1900 - The Daily Express formed
- Echoed the jingoistic (enthusiastic support for the government and war) tone of the people
How did the support of the press change?
As the war dragged on the press became less supportive, as there were questions about:
- Spion Kop
- Why the sieges took so long to be lifted
- Why the army could not defeat the Boer guerrillas quickly
- Why the troops were suffering shortages
- Concentration camps
The papers also gave politicians a platform to back their decisions to avoid blame
War correspondents
- George Stevens of the Daily Mail
- Winston Churchill
- Sir Redvers Buller was not a fan of war correspondents, and as a result, they portrayed a very negative image of him
- ‘Sir Reverse’
- Lord Roberts appeased the media, therefore he was portrayed in a good light
- He was a hero of the Indian Mutiny/Rebellion and Afghan Wars, so he was welcomed by the papers
- Colonel Baden-Powell was portrayed as a hero after the relief of Mafeking
Impact of Churchill
- Got a job with the Morning Post
- Believed that the war was justified, and he believed in the British Empire
- Uncensored reports, generally supportive, recognised the fighting skills of the Boers, and revealed deficiencies in the British Army. His lively reporting possibly had another effect of bringing the people closer and more invested in the war.
- He had a role in shaping the views and opinions of those at home
Impact of photography
- Important to note that now, images could be included in papers, therefore these forms of visual media could reach a wider audience, unlike in Crimea
- Illustrated London News carried photos of dead soldiers and The Times reported on what it called an absence of clearly reasoned plan, and how it was costing the country and army
- The Battle at Spion Kop for example, brought home the realities of the war.
- Cheaper cameras, use of cartridge
- Bioscope (1895) - Early form of cinema
- Soliders used in adverts
- Bovril advert used an image of a soldier
- Good enough for a soldier to sustain them during war
- Attitudes towards soldiers were shifting
- Bovril advert used an image of a soldier
- Photographs of dead soldiers on the hill and in the trenches of Spion Kop brought home the shocking realities of war, and brought about a shift in attitudes towards war:
Napoleonic Wars –Generally negative view of soldiers, “Scum of the Earth” according to Wellington, loitering common
Boer War –More heroic, possibly more relatable to the regular person, instead of an officer or commander who might have been from a higher class, ”ordinary men”
Cameras used at the time
-
Pocket and Bullet Kodak cameras (1896)
-
Brownie camera (1900)
- More accessible, as it can be taken by soldiers and civilians
-
Brownie camera (1900)
Khaki Fever (1899-1900)
Around the point of the reliefs of sieges, like Mafeking. Mass hysteria over these events, great celebration
Criticisms of the government
- Mostly a minority
- Argued that the war was distracting people from the social problems at home
- Exploitation of native people in South Africa, also in India
- Imperialism was seen as bad and greedy
- Some liberals, socialists and Irish nationalists opposed the war
- Labour groups had differing opinions on the war
- David Lloyd George (Radical Liberal) was against the war
- “A crime and a blunder, committed at the instigation of irresponsible capitalists”
- Caused another split in the Liberal Party
- The press coverage had put more pressure on the government
- Journalist W.T Stead helped found the ‘Stop the War’ Committee in 1899
- In The Review of Reviews, in Jan 1902, he lead an attack on the governments mistreatment of children in internment camps, saying that by halving their food rations, they were in effect murdering them to put pressure on the families still resisting the British. He said this was a ‘cold-blooded deed of state policy’
- This had created more unease towards the government
- To some extent a religious division as well
- Conservatives generally appealed to churchgoers, and liberals to nonconformists
Labour groups:
- TUC (Trade Unions Congress) - neutral, but divided. Many members were patriotic and had volunteered to fight
- ILP (Independent Labour Party) - had no parliamentary representation, very weak, but was against the war
- SDF (Social Democratic Federation) - opposed the war, saw as a capitalist war
Second Boer War and effect on politics
- The Liberals, led by Campbell-Bannerman, could challenge the government over war management in 1899
- Salisbury could be accused of a lack of decisive leadership
- Most discredited after the war was Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, Marquess of Lansdowne who was the secretary of state for war
- The Liberals, however, did not take advantage of the failures of the Conservative-Unionist government. This was shown in the next election, the ‘Khaki Election’
- Large Conservative-Unionist majority
- The press was largely on the side of the government policy, possibly after the successes of relieving sieges at this point, as the election was in the autumn of 1900. They had relieved Mafeking in May a few months before.
- This was a knock on effect of the war, as the Liberals had missed out on funding for a successful election campaign due to their criticisms of the government, so the results of this election was not reflective of any Conservative successes.
Aftermath of the Khaki election
- Cabinet reshuffle, with Fitzmaurice being moved upwards, from secretary of state for war to foreign secretary
- Salisbury stepped down in 1902, and his nephew Arthur Balfour came in
- There were more liberal divisions
- The Hobhouse Report made the Liberal Radicals more determined to oppose war
- Bannerman referred to “methods of barbarism”
- However, the Liberal Imperialists were not happy with this level of criticism of the war
- The Liberal Imperialists hoped to reunite with the Unionists under Joseph Chamberlain and be lead under someone else instead of Bannerman, who they thought were too critical of the war efforts
Financial impact of war
The cost was somewhere between £217-222 million
How was the cost of the war supposed to be paid for?
During the war
- 1901 budget
- Introduced a tax on refined sugar
- Raised income tax from 2D (twopence) to 1S+2D (1 shilling and twopence)
- Levy of 1S on imported coal
- Borrowing had accommodated for 2/3 of the cost of war
After the War
- There were divisions between Ritchie (the new chancellor) and Joseph Chamberlain
Ritchie - Wanted retrenchment/cuts, not increased taxes to pay back borrowing
Chamberlain - Wanted tariff reform (protective duties), very in favour of imperial unity, and this would mean that there would be free trade within the empire, but goods from outside would be subject to tariffs. This would protect British Industry and provide money for social reform
Effect on societal reforms
The National Efficiency movement arose around this period, spurred by the wastefulness and inadequacies of the war. Led to legislation being passed such as the Education Act, 1902.
The Hobhouse Report
Emily Hobhouse was asked to join the South African Conciliation Committee, a group campaigning for peace. She spoke out against the war at protest meetings, including a rally in London in June 1900. She asp formed the South African Women and Children Distress Fund in September 1900 to raise money for Boer families.
- She visited Bloemfontein and was appalled at the decrepit and squalid conditions. People needed food as the food ration was inadequate and selective. Meat was not given to women and children whose men were fighting. There were few or no vegetables, no fresh milk and many children were dying of malnutrition.
- Insanitary conditions, no adequate toilets or clean water meant diseases like whooping cough, measles, typhoid and dysentery were rife.
- She reported her findings to the Distress Fund committee and reached government in June 1901
Reaction to the Hobhouse report
- Hobhouse’s publicity got a hostile reaction from some government and press quarters, but her report was circulated to Liberal MPs, and extracts published in liberal newspapers like the Manchester Guardian. In response, the government sent a committee of inquiry to SA in August-December 1901. It was lead by the suffragist Millicent Fawcett, but Hobhouse was asked not to join it. She was deported when she tried to land in SA, showing a hostility towards her. The Fawcett Committee supported Hobhouse’s findings. The public’s reaction was one of shock and a demand for action. It led to the provision of the camps being in the hands of civilian administration, not the army. As a result, death rate fell to 2%
Impact of the war on the military
- Influenced the Haldane reforms
- Changes in the way officers were trained and promoted
- Reformers wanted not just new uniforms, but new organisation, training and mobility
Links to the idea of national efficiency –people were certainly calling out for efficiency
