Vereeniging, Treaty of

Vereeniging, Treaty of
(1902)
   The treaty bringing the Boer War to an end in May 1902, following a number of abortive efforts to find a compromise between the Afrikaner Republics and the British government. Many Boer commandos wished to continue fighting to preserve their independence but, when they convened at Vereeniging on May 15, the 60 Boer representatives reluctantly agreed to accept the British terms. The Afrikaner governments met Lords Kitchener and Milner at Pretoria on May 31 and signed the treaty concluding the war.
   The Afrikaner Republics of the Orange Free State and Transvaal lost their independence, but their white citizens had full rights in South Africa and came to dominate its politics. The guerrillas were to receive an amnesty unless they had committed offenses “contrary to the usages of war.” The Boer farmers were compensated for their losses and given livestock for their burned-out farms. Originally, the British said they would provide the Afrikaners with £3 million for reconstruction by giving, at least, £25 to every Boer who had suffered. In practice, the distribution was often unfair because it was hurried so that the 200,000 Boer farmers could be sent homewards to plant harvests as quickly as possible. On the other hand, the daughter of the Boer leader, General Smuts, estimated that, in the end, compensation amounted to £9.5 million.
   This was, no doubt, poor recompense for the destruction and for the sufferings of the Boer families who had been removed from their farms and concentrated in camps to prevent them from helping the commandos. But the compensation was unique in this period; it had, for example, been the vanquished Chinese who had to compensate the victorious Japanese in 1895. Britain’s relative generosity stemmed from the desire of the Conservatives to build up the new country and from the guilt felt by many about the destruction of the small Boer Republics.
   What the treaty did not do was protect the rights of the Africans. Indeed Article 8 promised that “the question of granting the Franchise to Natives will not be decided until after the introduction of self-government.” The war had increased the bitterness between the Africans and the Afrikaners, not least because the Boers complained of African attacks, while the Africans protested Boer brutality. To that extent it was a flawed treaty, but its generosity to the defeated was rightly held up 17 years later by one of the Boer leaders, General Botha as an example to be followed at the negotiations that followed World War I.
   See also <>; <>; <>.
   FURTHER READING:
    Beak, G. B. Aftermath of War. London: Edward Arnold, 1906;
    Kestell, J. D. Through Shot and Flame. London: Methuen 1903;
    Meintjes, Johannes. General Louis Botha: A Biography. London: Cassell, 1970; Nasson, Bill. The South African War, 1899-1902. London: Arnold, 1999;
    de Wet, Christiaan Rudolf. Three Years War. London: Constable, 1902.
   PHILIP TOWLE

Encyclopedia of the Age of Imperialism, 1800–1914. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Vereeniging, Gauteng — Vereeniging is a city in Gauteng province, South Africa, with a population of more than 350,000. It is also one of the constituent parts of the Vaal Triangle region and was formerly situated in the Transvaal province. The name Vereeniging is… …   Wikipedia

  • Treaty of Vereeniging — The Treaty of Vereeniging (commonly referred to as Peace of Vereeniging) [See [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Peace of Vereeniging Peace of Vereeniging] for original text.] was the peace treaty, signed on 31 May 1902, that ended the South African… …   Wikipedia

  • Vereeniging — /feuh ray neuh kheuhng/, n. a city in the S Transvaal, in NE Republic of South Africa, S of Johannesburg. 196,357. * * * ▪ South Africa       town, Gauteng province, South Africa. It lies along the Vaal River, south of Johannesburg, at the Free… …   Universalium

  • Vereeniging, Peace of — ▪ South Africa [1902]       (May 31, 1902), treaty that ended the South African War (q.v.), or Boer War; it was signed in Pretoria, after initial Boer approval in Vereeniging, between representatives of the British and ex republican Boer… …   Universalium

  • Vereeniging — /vəˈrinəgɪŋ/ (say vuh reenuhging) noun a town in the Republic of South Africa, in Gauteng province; treaty ending Boer War signed here 1902 …  

  • Ференигннгский договор — (Vereeniging, Treaty of) (31 мая 1902 г.), мирный договор, завершивший 2 ю англо бурскую войну. Он закреплял признание бурами власти брит, короны и предусматривал право использования языка африкаанс в школах и судах, устанавливал систему гражд.… …   Всемирная история

  • South Africa — Republic of, a country in S Africa; member of the Commonwealth of Nations until 1961. 42,327,458; 472,000 sq. mi. (1,222,480 sq. km). Capitals: Pretoria and Cape Town. Formerly, Union of South Africa. * * * South Africa Introduction South Africa… …   Universalium

  • Jan Smuts in the Boer War — See Second Boer War Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM (May 24, 1870 ndash; September 11, 1950) was a prominent South African and Commonwealth statesman and military leader. He served as a Boer General duning the Boer War, a British General during the… …   Wikipedia

  • Hendrik Pieter Nicolaas Muller — Infobox Person name= Hendrik Pieter Nicolaas Muller imagesize = 225 px caption= Dr. Hendrik P.N. Muller birth date= birth date|1859|4|2|df=y birth place= Rotterdam, The Netherlands dead=dead death date= death date and age|1941|8|11|1859|4|2|df=y… …   Wikipedia

  • Francis William Reitz — Infobox President name=Francis William Reitz order=5th State President of the Orange Free State term start= 10 January 1889 term end= 11 December 1895 predecessor=J.H. Brand successor=M.T. Steyn order2=Chief Justice of the Orange Free State term… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”