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Hero of the Empire

1. Why were the Boers and the British at war from 1899-1902?

The South African (SA) War is also sometimes called the Angelo-Boer war or the Boer conflict.

It can be named as the century’s initial central dispute which later got stamped by conflicts on a

world level. This war also raised some questions like whether the military measures taken for the

19th century wars were enough or not. It also highlighted issues like the concentration camp issue

of using conscription. So, the Boer conflict was mainly between the self-ruling Boers in South

Africa, Orange Free State, and the British. Initially, Britain had colonized Cape and Natal, which

were a part of South Africa. The wars actually began on 11 October, 1899 because of the

ultimatum of the Boers that the British should terminate their forces which were residing in their

region. Also, the Boers declined the idea of granting political rights to Uitlanders, who were the

Non-Boer settlers. The problem was that most of them were British and that the Boers didn’t

even give the political rights to Africans. However, the deep rooted issue was that who’ll control

Transvaal’s gold mines at a time period during which the steadiness of sterling (British) pound

depended on gold rates. So, the war mostly started because of the colonization of British in South

Africa and their greed for more power.

2. How did each group treat the native Africans?

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Population groups like Basotho, Swazis, Sothos and Zulu were also involved in this war and had

different kind of relations with the British and the Boers. There was a mutual agreement and

understanding between the Boers and the British that the native community will not be armed in

this war but none of the sides actually followed the agreement. The important thing to be

mentioned here is that the land of conflict mostly belonged to the native tribes. The British had

this belief initially that they will not need any military involvement of the native Africans. Also,

both sides believed that the military techniques which were practiced by the native Africans at

that time were brutal so they’ll become a potential harm for the British families. This was the

reason why they were firstly not allowed assist the army. But the Natives actually played an

important role in this war. On the Boers’ side, native Africans assisted at different levels

according to their strengths. They were assigned roles like servants and wagon drivers. However,

they were sometimes treated unfairly by the Boers and were even fined when they refused to

assist them in the war. The British employed over 10,000 native Africans to serve them during

this period of war. Most of them were used for carrying messages, caring for the horses and

providing veterinary care whenever needed. The natives were not treated fairly by the British too

as they were not rewarded for their jobs mostly and those who deserved campaign medals for

their contribution were just ignored.

3. Did Churchill support Britain’s involvement in the war in Southern Africa; why or why not?

Churchill did support British involvement in the war as he had done everything in his power to

reach the front and spot the Boers. He was in the same ship as the commander in chief. He even

left behind thousands of men and all the supplies including the horses when he got to know

they’ll take a long time to reach. Churchill was someone who could not just sit on the sidelines

and watch; he had to be there himself. He had participated in three wars already even though he
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was just 24. So, he knew the reality of war and did everything in his power to support the British.

He had a belief that the easy way of claim to fame was military distinction and political power.

He was called ‘medal hunter’, ‘self-advertiser’ and even ‘pushful the younger’ by several

journalists. Churchill thought that this was the best chance to get his name out there in Britain

and to get people’s attention. .

4. Why were the Boer forces so effective despite their lack of professional training as soldiers?

In the second Anglo-Boer war, The Boers possessed a very different and unique military culture

and techniques that could not be compared with that of the Britain’s other colonial counterparts.

Boers had a strength which other colonies lacked. According to Charles Callwell’s popular

treatise on colonial armies, the Boers challenged easy classification. The Boers didn’t depend on

a formally composed army but instead, they relied upon a voluntary militia system. The

volunteers were divided into units which were called commandos. The Boers were expected to

bring their own weapons and horses whenever they were called. So, this meant that the force was

always well-armed and on the move. This amalgamation of mobility and firepower was the

establishing factor of the Boer military system. The effectiveness of the Boers in wars had been

displayed earlier in regular skirmishes with the native Africans where small forces were able to

defeat massive opposition forces.

5. What factors do you consider most important to Churchill’s success in escaping from the

POW camp?

The most important contributing factor to Churchill’s success was his extensive military

adventures during the end of the Victorian era. During the Boer war, he was captured by Louis

Botha (still rumored), who then went on to become the prime minister of South Africa, as a
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prisoner-of-war. His elite aristocratic background played an important part in his success too as

he was treated as a high profile prisoner because of this reason. Also, he had helped several

British soldiers to escape during the train attack. This only continues to show his heroic abilities

and how he always managed to get others out of trouble so effortlessly. His alert and watchful

mind also helped him a lot as he managed to see a gap in the routine of the guards on duty when

no one was watching a 10 feet high wall around the prison premises. Churchill had a

conversation with one of the guards and his convincing words put him at direct contrast with

most of his counterparts. He knew how to twist his words in order get out of a troublesome

situation. When he finally managed to escape from the prison one night, he landed safely into a

shrub where he hid for some time. After a while, his fellows informed him that the guards were

starting to get suspicious. Here, his daring nature saved the day for him as he decided to run off

into the dark streets of Pretoria even though he only had 75 pounds and some chocolate. He

knew that life as a fugitive will be really difficult and unpredictable but he went with his instincts

and took the risk which helped him a lot. His sheer luck was also a contributing factor because

when he knocked on the door of a random house to ask for some food after days of thirst and

hunger, the man turned out to be an Englishmen named John Howard. It was all pure luck

because only a handful of Englishmen lived in that area. John and his colleague then hid

Churchill underground to ward off any trouble and then helped him escape that area.

6. What is it that you find most compelling or interesting about Churchill?

Churchill had several personality traits which made one really curious and wanting to know more

about him. He had this aura of confidence and calmness around him which always helped him in

certain situations, especially when he was on the run after escaping from the prison. It was

because of his confidence and belief in himself that he managed to escape from the POW camps
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and that too, without any major problem. He was rightly given the title of ‘hero of the empire’ as

he really deserved it. Even Milliard has accepted this in her book that she chose to tell

Churchill’s story because she wanted to inspect the ground and basic benevolence that dwelled in

someone who was an epitome of greatness. I find it interesting that he had such different shades

to his personality that one wasn’t able to judge him or know him just by having a look at him. He

had this mystery about him because people couldn’t really understand how he stood out among

so many people how he transformed from a military guy into an amazing politician. I find it

compelling too that Churchill looked really different from outside as he was bald and not exactly

smart but from inside; he was fully formed. In the book, Milliard describes Churchill as someone

with certain physical flaws but little discretion and love for having long conversations. Another

interesting part was his firm belief in God as he always turned to him whenever he felt alone or

scared and needed guidance or support. This was also a reason why many people could relate to

him at that time because they could relate to him too as they also turned to God in the time of

need prayed. So, he was considered as the ‘hero of the empire’ for a reason and this is why so

many people gave him a warm welcome after he returned from the war and started his political

career.
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Works Cited

Jones, S. (n.d.). ‘Shooting Power’: A Study of the Effectiveness of Boer and British Rifle Fire,

1899-1914. University of Wolverhampton, 1(1), 47. Retrieved from

file:///C:/Users/TEMP/Downloads/592-Article%20Text-805-1-10-20190702.pdf

Kniggendorf, A. (September 19, 2016). Even When He Was in His 20s, Winston Churchill Was

Already on the Verge of Greatness. Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved from

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/even-when-he-was-his-20s-winston-churchill-

was-already-verge-greatness-180960490/

Millard, C. (Finest Hour 171, Winter 2016). Into the Lion’s Jaws: Churchill in the Boer War.

Doubleday. Retrieved from https://winstonchurchill.org/publications/finest-hour/finest-

hour-171/churchill-boer-war/