The Boer War

The Boer War

Boer War
The people of South Africa were always dreaming of a unified country.   They wanted all its states to unite as one peaceful country, but they wanted this to come from within the confines of their own people and not by means of other countries taking over.   The only way to keep the outsiders out of their states was to unify the country.   If this goal could be accomplished, then their country would become one great nation united by their own South African flag instead of any other flag.   This seemed to be the motive of South African authorities at the time the Britain armies were conquering and colonizing other lands.   However, there was one obstacle that seemed to be in their way of unification.   The British government was at that time a barrier and a stumbling block to the Boers; a stumbling block that was not so easy to get rid of.   The British army and navy were among the best and well-trained soldiers during the 19th century.   Because the South African army was not as advanced as the British soldiers, they were very much threatened by the government of Britain.  
In 1886, the discovery of gold at Witwatersrand in the Transvaal began the doom of the Boer pioneers.   Gold and diamonds attracted many foreigners like a magnet.   Around this time, British adventurers sought to make a good living in South Africa because of these newfound treasures and market opportunities.   Among these adventurers, were Alfred Beit, a well-known businessman from Germany, and a millionaire from England namely Lionel Phillips.   These two prominent men were important figures during this period because of their ability to provide financial support if needed by the British government to back up any of its troops.   Beit and Phillips together controlled the H. Eckstein & Co., which at that time was the largest South African mining business.   Few years after the discovery of the gold, the Boers sensed that there was something wrong with some of the adventurers.   Mark Weber, in his...