Source A Map of South Africa showing British and Afrikaner possessions
The Second Boer War was a defining moment for the British empire. The confidence that had driven British imperial ambitions for much of the nineteenth century began to give way to caution as swathes of the British public became wearied by the fighting and its political fallout. This eventually turned the tide against imperialism.
The war was the result of several factors, both long and short term. During the mid-1800s, thousands of Dutch settlers had left the British-administered Cape Colony on the ‘Great Trek’ that resulted in the establishment of two independent republics — the Orange Free State and the Transvaal.
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