Fleming 01James M. Fleming22 March, 2001How Great Britain won the Boer War in South Africa in 1902On October 11, 1899, the forces of the Boer republics, Orange Free State and South African Republic, responded to Great Britain’s dismissal of an ultimatum against the placement and reinforcing of British troops in South Africa by laying siege to cities in northern Cape Colony occupied by the then outnumbered British troops. The British were able to gain superiority and eventually win the Boer War by brute force, vastly superior numbers and the cessation of rights for those deemed the enemy and its collaborators. It would take three years and drastic changes in “the gentlemanly art of war” for Great Britain to achieve victory.Leading up to the end of the nineteenth century there were massive efforts by European countries to expand the boundaries and influences of each individual nation. Great Britain, with it’s blossoming industrial capabilities and the unsurpassed size and strength of its naval force, was at the zenith of her power, wealth and prestige which allowed distinct advantages in the colonization efforts that were being carried out at the time. Much of the useful land on the continent of Africa was under British control and the imperialistic need to gain even more would be the driving force in England’s foreign policy. This would bring them into direct conflict with the Boers, who were predominantly farmers and herders and had previously left Cape Colony en-masse to escape British control and establish a country under their own rule. As the Boers moved further north across the Vaal River into the Transvaal, they stumbled onto the richest gold deposits known to exist. This new found source of wealth, and the imperialistic fervor that was prevalent at the time, set the stage for war between the British and Boers.Fleming 02In September of 1899 the British dispatched military units to South Afr...
