Causes of the Boer war
“It Was Milner’s war. The men on the spot dragged a reluctant cabinet into a confrontation they wished to avoid.”
In the context of the period 1880-1910, how far do you agree with this view of the causes of the Boer war?
The 4th Earl of Carnarvon, British secretary of state for the colonies under Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli wanted to form a confederation of all the British colonies, independent Boer Republics and independent African groups in South Africa under British control. By 1876 he realised that he may have to use force to achieve such an aim. Therefore the expansion of the British Empire within Africa developed from being a negotiation into being a confrontation. The war began as a conflict between erudite gentlemen diplomats, rough-hewn homesteads and a handful of brash self-made millionaires battling for gold and national pride in what was then one of earth’s farthest frontiers. However, in order to consider who or what caused the war, it is necessary to decide which of the two parties initiated the conflict. A metropolitan theory, conceived by J.A Hobson is that of financial imperialism. Hobson suggested that European capitalism was diminishing, as overcrowded markets highlighted the misallocation of resources, causing Britain to seek cheap, infant markets. Yet at the same time, Britain had heavily invested in the diamond and gold mines in South Africa, and thus they needed to be protected in order to raise finance. Hobson claims that the purpose of imperialism was to protect the ‘financial elite’ and their risky investments. For example, the Jameson Raid was seen as a conspiracy between Rhodes and Jameson to create greater access to mining markets. Yet in can be said that men on the spot were not the only instigators of the raid. Hobson believed it was Rhodes’ control of the British press which enabled him to sway public opinion when considering imperialism. He did this through creating pro-war sentiment via
In the context of the period 1880-1910, how far do you agree with this view of the causes of the Boer war?
The 4th Earl of Carnarvon, British secretary of state for the colonies under Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli wanted to form a confederation of all the British colonies, independent Boer Republics and independent African groups in South Africa under British control. By 1876 he realised that he may have to use force to achieve such an aim. Therefore the expansion of the British Empire within Africa developed from being a negotiation into being a confrontation. The war began as a conflict between erudite gentlemen diplomats, rough-hewn homesteads and a handful of brash self-made millionaires battling for gold and national pride in what was then one of earth’s farthest frontiers. However, in order to consider who or what caused the war, it is necessary to decide which of the two parties initiated the conflict. A metropolitan theory, conceived by J.A Hobson is that of financial imperialism. Hobson suggested that European capitalism was diminishing, as overcrowded markets highlighted the misallocation of resources, causing Britain to seek cheap, infant markets. Yet at the same time, Britain had heavily invested in the diamond and gold mines in South Africa, and thus they needed to be protected in order to raise finance. Hobson claims that the purpose of imperialism was to protect the ‘financial elite’ and their risky investments. For example, the Jameson Raid was seen as a conspiracy between Rhodes and Jameson to create greater access to mining markets. Yet in can be said that men on the spot were not the only instigators of the raid. Hobson believed it was Rhodes’ control of the British press which enabled him to sway public opinion when considering imperialism. He did this through creating pro-war sentiment via