British Imperialism And the Boer War.
European politics in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries endured controversy and problem over the ideas of imperialism and nationalism. Changes in Europe politically, intellectually, economically, and socially, radically conditioned new response to the issues of imperialism, nationalism, and war. Britain, at its imperial zenith, faced a war that sprung from both ideologies of imperialism and nationalism. The Boer War (1899-1902) would change imperialistic relations between England her colonies, and open their eyes to the country's military weakness and political reputation in Europe. David Kaiser stated in his book, Politics and War:.
The South African war eventually demonstrated the costs of more serious economic imperialism "that is, of trying to secure economically significant areas with armed force. The British attempted to secure British hegemony over the Transvaal reflected almost all of the economic motives to which imperialism is traditionally ascribed. .
In the early nineteenth century in an attempt to protect imperial interest in the East, England extended her control of southern Africa. This task deemed more difficult than thought. Britain's determination to enforce her supremacy wavered as often as ideas about the best method of securing her political influence altered. To imperial supporters in the 1890's the South African problem seemed to be at its climax. The main conflict of interest lay in the discovery of gold and the growth of the Rand after 1886, when the Transvaal replaced Cape Colony as the economic center of South Africa. The peak of British imperialism coincided with the identification and exploitation of valuable natural resources found in the Transvaal. Previously Britain had recognized Orange Free State and the Transvaal's independence in 1843, but both did not prove to be economically beneficial.
