south africa timeline

stage 1: the dutch and the cape:

  • dutch occupied cape of good hope and surroundings, 1652-1795, via dutch east india company

  • started as a stopping point, later a permanent european settlement expanding into african interior

  • cape colonists, mainly dutch with germans, swedes, etc.

  • significant role of reformed religion.

  • gradual development of livestock and arable farming, along with exploration into the interior.

  • emergence of the 'trekboers' who moved inland for grazing land.

  • stage 1 concluded with british conquest during the napoleonic wars, and british control formalised in 1814.

stage 2: british control, 1800-1850:

  • British arrival in large numbers after 1820.

  • Abolishment of slavery in 1834.

  • British marginally more in favour of rights for indigenous people.

  • Resentment of British arrival by Dutch settlers.

  • 'Great Trek' (1836 onwards) by Boers moving further into the interior seeking independence from British control.

  • Religious connotations of the Great Trek.

  • Formation of new Dutch territories: Natal (1839), Orange Free State (1854), South African Republic (Transvaal) in 1856.

  • Development of British-ruled Cape Colony.

  • Border wars with Xhosa peoples in Eastern Cape persisted.

  • Expansion and economic development continued.

  • Attained self-government as a crown colony in 1853.

  • Non-racial franchise introduced, but property qualifications remained.

  • Development of Boer Republics.

  • Ongoing conflict with indigenous peoples.

  • Fraught relations with British; Natal annexed in 1845.

stage 3 - increasing tension between Britain and the Boers + consequences for the indigenous:

  • Discovery of diamonds and gold in South Africa triggered significant change.

  • Mineral resources altered political and societal dynamics.

  • British annexation of territories began in 1868.

  • Claimed annexations were to protect indigenous people from Boers.

  • Long-term goal was to unite territories into a British-dominated South Africa.

  • In 1877, British annexed the Transvaal, citing defence against Zulus.

  • Anglo-Zulu War of 1879

  • Entered into by Sir Bartle Frere, British High Commissioner

  • Frere required King Cetshwayo to submit to British control

  • Zulus defeated British forces at the Battle of Isandlwana

  • British commander Lord Chelmsford mismanagement

  • Emphasis on the heroic defense of Rorke’s Drift

  • Zulus eventually defeated at the Battle of Ulundi

  • Zululand divided to pose no future threat

  • Anglo-Boer War of 1880-1881 (Transvaal Rebellion)

  • Boers sought to reassert themselves after Zulu defeat

  • British annexed Transvaal in 1877, Boers resented it

  • Boers, clear majority in Transvaal, launched guerrilla attacks

  • British defeated at Majuba Hill in February 1881

  • British accepted Boer self-government in Transvaal

  • Oversight over foreign affairs claimed by the British

  • Agreement in Pretoria convention, August 1881

  • Boers argued for the restoration of their independence

  • British Army defeated by part-time soldiers

  • First British defeat since the American War of Independence

  • Germany's colonial ambitions led to 'German South West Africa' takeover in 1884 (Namibia now).

  • Britain feared Boer-German alliance threatening British dominance.

  • In 1884-5, Britain annexed territory between German South-West and the Transvaal.

  • Aimed to keep Germans and Boers separate.

  • Expedition led by Major-General Charles Warren.

  • Boer leader Paul Kruger assured British presence was unnecessary.

  • Warren ignored Kruger and forced annexation.

  • Northern Bechuanaland became a protectorate, Southern Bechuanaland a Crown Colony.

stage 4, gold, rhodes & jameson:

  • Bechuanaland annexed by Britain in January 1885.

  • Boer leader Paul Kruger assured the British that Boers could 'maintain order' alone.

  • Gold discoveries in the Transvaal in 1886 changed the dynamics.

  • Increased non-Boer white migration into the Transvaal - Uitlanders.

  • New commercial interests and Rhodes' expansionist aims.

  • British South Africa Company chartered in October 1889.

  • Further eroded land rights of indigenous peoples (Bantu).

  • Indigenous peoples relegated to labouring jobs, denied trade rights, and restricted residency.

  • Southern Rhodesia annexed in 1885 after settlers defeated the Ndebele.

  • Nyasaland annexed in 1891, consolidating the colony formed by Livingstone and missionaries.

  • British ambitions for a South African confederation faced Boer resistance.

  • Boer refusal to grant citizenship and voting rights to Uitlanders in the Transvaal persisted.

  • Jameson Raid of 1895 led by Leander Starr Jameson.

  • Aim was to provoke a Uitlander rising in the Transvaal, supported by covert backing from some in the British government.

  • Uitlanders did not support the raid, resulting in defeat and imprisonment of the raiders.

  • The raid strengthened Boer leader Paul Kruger, united the republics, and humiliated Rhodes.

  • German Kaiser congratulated Kruger, causing xenophobia in Britain and worsening Anglo-German relations.

  • Many in Britain regarded Jameson as a hero, fuelling popular support for war with the Boers.