Traces the events and historical figures surrounding the Boer War, discussing what the conflict revealed about the British military and British imperialism, challenging common conceptions about the agendas of both sides, and linking the war to the apartheid era. The Boer War of 1899-1902 was an epic of heroism and bungling, cunning and barbarism with an extraordinary cast of characters - including Churchill, Rhodes, Conan Doyle, Smuts, Kipling, Gandhi, Kruger and Kitchener. The war revealed the ineptitude of the British military and unexpectedly exposed the corrupt underside of imperialism - in the establishment of the first concentration camps, the shooting of Boer prisoners-of-war and the embezzlement of military supplies by British officers. This acclaimed book provides a complete history of the Boer War - from the first signs of unrest to the eventual peace. In the process, it debunks several of the myths which have grown up around the conflict and explores the deadly legacy it left for southern Africa.
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'An impressive history ... written to a high standard with undoubted scholarship.' Andrew Roberts, Sunday Telegraph 'This immensely readable book ... provides a fine panoramic vision. The deeper meaning of the war is now clear.' Robert Giddings, Tribune 'Judd and Surridge add a new angle ... they conclude that the war acted a as a kind of boil-lancing which enabled the two white races to march forward hand-in-hand on the road to Apartheid.' Jane Ridley, The Spectator 'Beautifully clear and remarkably compact, it tells its story with elegance and enormous authority.' Martin Rubin, Washington Times 'This is a valuable portrait of the conflict itself and the politics behind it, as well as the concentration camps.' Colin Gardiner, Oxford Times 'Denis Judd and Keith Surridge have revisited the conflict and come up with a fresh view which answers some questions and poses others...a thoroughly decent book, cautious in its judgements and down-to-earth in its approach.' Trevor Royle, Sunday Herald, Glasgow
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The Boer War of 1899-1902 was an epic of heroism and bungling, cunning and barbarism with an extraordinary cast of characters - including Churchill, Rhodes, Conan Doyle, Smuts, Kipling, Gandhi, Kruger and Kitchener. This book provides a complete history of the Boer War - from the first signs of unrest to the eventual peace.
Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Maps
Preface
Introduction: An Irrepressible Conflict?
PART I: THE BACKGROUND TO THE WAR
British Rule, Confrontation and Compromise 1815-1886
The Descent to War 1886-1899
PART II: THE COMBATANTS
3. The British Army
4. Rallying the Empire
5. The Boers
PART III: THE CAMPAIGNS 1899-1902
6. The Opening Battles, October 1899
7. The Disasters of Black Week, December 1899: The Battles of Stormberg,
Magersfontein and Colenso, and their less disastrous prelude
8. Humiliation, January and February 1900: The Battles of Spion Kop and Vaal
Krantz
9. I thank God we have kept the flag flying: The Besieged Towns of
Ladysmith, Kimberley and Mafeking
10. The Turn of the Tide, February 1900: The Relief of Kimberley, the Battle
of Paardeberg, the Relief of Ladysmith
11. Marching to Pretoria (and Johannesburg): The British Advance through the
Boer Republics, the Relief of Mafeking, the Start of the Guerrilla War
12. Methods of Barbarism? December 1900 to October 1901: The Guerrilla War,
Farm Burning, the Concentration Camps
13. Seeking Peace, March 1900-June 1901
14. The Final Battles, May 1901-May 1902
PART IV: THE AMBIVALENCES OF WAR
15. Big Business, Capitalism and War
16. The Last of the Gentlemens Wars?
17. The Pro-Boers
18. Foreigners and the War
19. The Press and the War
20. The Literature of the War
PART V: THE PEACE
21. The Talks Begin
22. Taking Stock
Peace at Last
Denis Judd is Professor Emeritus of Imperial and Commonwealth History, London Metropolitan University, and Professor at New York University in London. His books include Empire; George VI (both published by I.B.Tauris); The Lion and the Tiger: The Rise and Fall of the British Raj; Balfour and the British Empire; Radical Joe - A Life of Joseph Chamberlain; The Victorian Empire; Palmerston; The Crimean War and Jawaharlal Nehru. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Keith Surridge is an independent scholar. He is the author of Managing the South African War 1899-1902.
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