“the Creation of the Union of South Africa Was Only Achievable Through Racial Compromises.”

“The Creation of the Union of South Africa was only achievable through racial compromises.”

South Africa has gone from being a place where indigenous African culture and tribal rivalry ruled the fields to a place that is today very much a replica of a European society. Throughout the evolution of this nation, one of the most distinct events along its timeline was the creation of the Union of South Africa. The Union was created after much debate between both the British and the Boers and it seemed clear to all that both these forces had clear agendas which they wanted fulfilled. A blue print on a united South Africa was agreed on after much compromise between the British, Boers and also the Indigenous Africans.

In May 1902 the British and the Boers signed the Treaty of Vereeniging which signaled the end of all hostilities in the Anglo-Boer war and a new phase for South Africa. “The peace agreement which concluded the Second Anglo-Boer war was, as Milner said, an unusual agreement, one that extracted no indemnity from the defeated.” During the war the British adopted a policy which was known as the “Scorched Earth policy”. This policy meant that brigades of infantry and light horseman were sent out to obliterate all Boer farms, which meant the destruction of all livestock, crops and also all manufacturing facilities and machinery. The point of this policy was to try and cut off all supplies and supplying capabilities to the Boers, who were “invisible” to the British as they were undertaking highly effective Guerilla warfare tactics. The logic behind this policy was if their supplies were cut they would eventually starve to death or surrender to the British. About 26,000 Boer women and children died as a consequence of being forced into concentration camps where many were killed by disease, starvation, malnutrition or injuries sustained from physical abuse.
“The British got exactly what they wanted out of the war, they now owned some of the richest Gold mines in the world, yet many of the British, from both South Africa and Mother England, were terribly ashamed of what occurred as a consequence of their ambitions.” As a result of all these events the guilt many people of British decent felt was immeasurable and therefore they imposed little on the Boers in the Treaty of Vereeniging and instead of paying them three million pounds as stated in the treaty they in fact outlaid fifteen million pounds in compensation to the Boers, the same people who were shooting at them only months previous. Many people claim that even though the “British won the war the Boers had decisively won the peace.”

The Treaty of Vereeniging was the first obvious racial compromise in South Africa between Britain and France and was the prelude to the Union of South Africa. The Treaty laid the foundations for more and more compromises of this sort when the possibility of a united South Africa was being discussed. When the Union was being discussed at a formal level the Boers had extensive bargaining power in negotiations as they made sure the British did not forget the atrocities they performed during the war. The British were desperate to be “mates” with the Boers again which therefore made them quite lenient in giving the Boers what they wanted. “Even though the Boers accepted British sovereignty, they were promised eventual self-rule and vast amounts of native land for their corporate usage.”

The continual and discernible efforts from the British, towards repairing relationships with the Boers, still did not seem enough to gain Boer favour and therefore the British needed to find a common element that would tie both the British and the Boers together and they found that in ethnicity. “One thing that unified the whites, was the belief that it had been a ‘white mans war’ therefore should remain a ‘white man’s country’” The indigenous Africans during war were promised dramatically increased working conditions, the return of previously owned land, the extension of the franchise and increased political power all if they fought side by side with the British. These promises proved to be empty as the British decided that the Boers were more valuable allies than the indigenous peoples and after the war actually stole land from the blacks and allocated it to the Boers for agricultural usage. “In 1913 indigenous Africans made up 78% of the South African population, yet 92.7% of land in the country was under white control.” As the constitution was drawn up it was specifically specified that only whites could become members of parliament and only white males who owned property could utilise his right to vote.
“Although the majority of white South Africans were enthusiastic about the proposed Union, many Blacks were dismayed to see the colour ban enshrined in the draft legislation.” The British had done a clear disservice to the indigenous Africans due to the Boers having an increasing influence over the British. This was a clear racial compromise between all three parties in South Africa and a decision that set up the groundwork for the apartheid atrocities. Preston, A. (1989) Pictorial History of South Africa, Bison Books Ltd, London. Harrison, D. (1981) The White Tribe of Africa, British Broadcasting Company, London. Anderson M. (2001) Challenge, Change and Continuity, John Wiley and Sons Australia, Milton QLD. Preston, A. (1989) Pictorial History of South Africa, Bison Books Ltd, London. Davenport, TRH. (1977) South Africa, A Modern History, The Macmillan Press, Hampshire. Anderson M. (2001) Challenge, Change and Continuity, John Wiley and Sons Australia, Milton QLD Preston, A. (1989) Pictorial History of South Africa, Bison Books Ltd, London.