Boer War

Boer War, or South African War, fought between the British and the Boers (settlers of Dutch descent) from 1899 to 1902. The Boers resented British territorial expansion from their Cape of Good Hope colony, while the British aimed at a united South Africa and complained of the harsh treatment of immigrant British gold prospectors by Boers. Well-equipped by Germany, the more numerous Boer forces took the offensive in 1899, but the arrival of British reinforcements turned the tide, and by late 1900 the Boers had to resort to guerrilla tactics. The war ended with the Treaty of Vereeniging in 1902, a British victory that shifted the conflict into the political arena.

See also: South Africa.