The Roots of the Anglo-Boer Conflict, the Preludes of the 1899-1902 South African War

Abstract

In the early phase of the British rule in South Africa, acquiring the Cape Colony held strategic significance for controlling maritime trade routes to the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia, however, the British aimed to avoid conflicts with the Boers. The study explores the factors constituting the Boer and British opposition, highlighting the impact of the gold rush and the discovery of diamond fields, which led to open conflict between the British Empire and the Orange Free State and Transvaal, cautious of their economic and political independence. It also addresses the issue of the Uitlanders and concludes with a summary of the war's events.