eached almost four hundred and fifty thousand by wars end, which was just a few thousand more people than the Boer republic’s entire white population of man, woman and child combined. The Boers were only able to muster one fifth that number of soldiers and the age group ranged from teenage boys to old men with more and more women joining the commandos as the British began their final phase of scorched earth and concentration camps for Boer civilians. It is interesting that many of the black Africans Fleming 05took up arms with the English to aid in the fight against the Boers because they believed the English to be the lesser of two evils in that their policy towards blacks did not involve slavery yet it also did not give them the right to vote or have any say in the manner in which their ancestral land was managed. . In a communiqu from General Piet Cronje to Colonel Baden-Powell on the 29th of October, during the siege of Mafeking, Cronje expressed his dismay at the use of black Africans in the British defense of the city:“It is understood that you have armed Bastards, Fingos and Baralongs against us- in this you have committed an enormous act of wickedness...reconsider the matter, even if it cost you the loss of Mafeking...disarm your blacks and thereby act the part of a white man in a white man's war.” (03)Due to inaccurate records that were kept pertaining to them, though, only a vague estimate of the number of blacks can be made. It is believed that roughly one hundred thousand were utilized in various manners in the British army and about ten thousand assisted the Boers’ endeavors, be it their desire to or not. There would also be a rally to the British flag from her colonies around the globe. The Australians would be largest of supporters of the Empire and sent in over sixteen thousand troops and twenty five thousand horses. New Zealand also came to the call of the Queen with six thousand four hu...
