Sand River ConventionThe Sand River Convention (Afrikaans: Sandrivierkonvensie) of 17 January 1852 was a convention whereby the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland formally recognised the independence of the Boers north of the Vaal River.
Cape ColonyToday part ofNamibiaSouth AfricaLesothoThe Cape Colony (Dutch: Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a Britishcolony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope.
Vaal RiverThe Vaal River (Afrikaans pronunciation:; Khoemana: ǀHaiǃarib) is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg and about 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of Ermelo and only about 240 kilometres (150 mi) from the Indian Ocean. It then flows westwards to its confluence with the Orange River southwest of Kimberley in the Northern Cape.
Second Boer WarBelligerentsUnited Kingdom and EmpireCape ColonyNatal ColonyBasutolandBechuanalandRhodesiaIndiaCeylonCanadaNew ZealandAustraliaSouth African RepublicOrange Free StateCapeBoersForeign volunteersAustraliaAustria-HungaryBelgiumDenmarkFranceGermanyGreeceIrelandItalyNetherlandsPolandRussiaSweden-NorwayUnited StatesCommanders and leadersRobert Gascoyne-CecilJoseph ChamberlainAlfred MilnerFrederick RobertsWilliam RobertsonPaul MethuenRedvers BullerHerbert KitchenerRobert Baden-PowellHerbert PlumerAndrew Wauchope†Penn Symons (DOW)Edward Woodgate†John FrenchThomas KennyWilliam OtterSam SteeleFrançois LessardWalter TunbridgePaul KrugerKoos de la ReyLouis BothaSchalk BurgerPiet CronjéPiet Joubert#Jan SmutsLucas MeyerJohannes Kock†Adolf SchielHendrik Prinsloo†Joachim Fourie†Jacobus SnymanSarel Oosthuizen†Ferdinandus Potgieter†Jan KempCamillo RicchiardiMartinus SteynChristiaan de WetNaas Ferreira†Jan OlivierCornelius WesselsPetrus LiebenbergStrengthImperial:365,693Native African auxiliaries:100,000Colonial:82,742In total:448,435Boer Commandos:25,000 (Transvaal Boers)15,000 (Free State Boers)6–7,000 (Cape Boers)Native African auxiliaries:10,000Foreign volunteers:5,400+In total:87,365Casualties and losses 22,092 dead75,430 returned home sick or wounded934 missing2,006 capturedTotal: 101,290 6,189 dead24,000 captured (sent overseas)110 missing21,256 bitter-enders surrendered (at the end of the war)Total: 51,555Civilian casualties:46,370 fatalities26,370 Boer women and children died in concentration camps20,000+ Indigenous Africans of the 115,000 interned in separate concentration camps.The Second Boer War was a conflict fought between 1899 and 1902 between the British Empire and the Boer republics (the South African Republic and Orange Free State) over Britain's influence in Southern Africa.
BoersBoers ( ; Afrikaans: Boere; ) are the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled the Dutch Cape Colony, which the United Kingdom incorporated into the British Empire in 1806. The name of the group is derived from Trekbœr then later "boer", which means "farmer" in Dutch and Afrikaans.
Boer republicsThe Boer republics (sometimes also referred to as Boer states) were independent, self-governing republics formed (especially in the last half of the 19th century) by Dutch-speaking inhabitants of the Cape Colony and their descendants. The founders – variously named Trekboers, Boers, and Voortrekkers – settled mainly in the middle, northern, north-eastern and eastern parts of present-day South Africa.
Government of the United KingdomThe government of the United Kingdom, formally His Majesty's Government and also officially the UK Government, is the central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The government is led by the prime minister (Andy Burnham since 20 July 2026) who advises the monarch on the appointment of all the other ministers. The government is currently formed by the Labour party, which has had a majority in the House of Commons since 2024.
Southern AfricaSouthern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and the physical geography definition based on the physical characteristics of the land.
British EmpireThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, and colonisation attempts by Scotland during the 17th century.
Dutch languageDutch (Endonym: Nederlands [ˈneːdərlɑnts] , Nederlandse taal) is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language and is the third most spoken Germanic language. In Europe, Dutch is the native language of most of the population of the Netherlands and Flanders (which includes 60% of the population of Belgium).
First Boer WarThe First Boer War (Afrikaans: Eerste Vryheidsoorlog, lit. 'First Freedom War'), also known as the Transvaal War, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 between the United Kingdom and Boers of the Transvaal (as the South African Republic was known while under British administration). The war resulted in a Boer victory and eventual independence of the South African Republic.
AfrikaansWest Germanic language spoken in South AfricaColin speaking AfrikaansAlaric speaking AfrikaansRossouw speaking AfrikaansAfrikaans is a West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia, and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and also Argentina, where a group in Sarmiento speaks a Patagonian dialect.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.