The Cape Rebel of the South African War, 1899-1902
Date
2005-03
Authors
Shearing, Hilary Anne
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch
Abstract
This dissertation investigates the role of a group of Cape colonists who rose in rebellion against
the colonial government and allied themselves to the Boer Republics during the South African War of
1899-1902.
The decision of the Griqualand West colonists to join the Republican forces took place against a
background of severe deprivation in the agricultural sector due to the losses sustained in the rinderpest
pandemic of 1896/1897. It also coincided with the invasion of Griqualand West by Transvaal forces. The
failure of the Schreiner Government to defend its borders encouraged rebellion, as there were no armed
forces to oppose either the invasion or the rebellion.
While some of the Cape rebels fought on the side of the Republicans during major battles along
the Modder River, others were commandeered to gather and transport supplies to the laagers. Four months
after the surrender of Gen P Cronje at Paardeberg the majority of these rebels had laid down arms except
for those under Gen Piet de Villiers who fought on in the Transvaal. After a second rebellion in 1901, far
fewer rebels fought a war of attrition north of the Orange River; eventually about 700 men leaving the
Cape Colony to avoid laying down arms.
South of the Orange River Free State forces commandeered the disaffected colonists of the
Stormberg and Colesberg regions in November 1899. Because the Republicans had not occupied these
regions earlier in the war, British reinforcements and the Colonial Division took to the field against them
almost immediately. The victory gained at Stormberg in December 1899 by the Boer forces was not
followed up. Olivier failed to integrate his forces; unlike those at Colesberg where the Boers were far
better led and scored some notable successes. The Republican burghers withdrew from the Cape Colony
in March 1901, which in turn led to a mass surrender ofrebels. Those that were captured under arms were
sent as POWs to Ceylon and India, while those that surrendered were held in colonial gaols until they
were bailed or given passes. Only a few hundred continued to wage war in the Boer Republics for the
remainder of 1900.
The second invasion by Free State forces into the Cape Colony consisted of mobile commandos
that criss-crossed the interior. For the first few months they sowed havoc, but after June 1901 the military
used mass tactics against those who were forced into the isolated northwest Cape. In 1902, unknown to
them, the Boer republics signed the Treaty of Vereeniging and ceased to exist as sovereign states. The
Cape rebels were not signatories to the treaty. According to an agreement between the Boer leaders and the Colonial Office, if a rebel surrendered and pleaded guilty to High Treason under Proclamation 100 of
1902 he would receive a partial amnesty and be disfranchised. However rebel officers were charged in
court and fines and prison sentences would be handed down.
After the first invasion rebels who were captured or surrendered were tried under the Indemnity
and Special Tribunals Act that was in force for six months until April 1901. Martial Law was then again in
vogue from 22 April until Peace at the end of May 1902, and under this act 44 Cape colonists,
Republicans and aliens were executed, and hundreds .of others, whose death sentences were commuted to
penal servitude for life, were shipped to POW camps on Bermuda and St Helena. The surrenders 00,442
rebels were accepted under Proclamation 100 of 1902. Rebel officers or those facing serious charges were
tried under the Indemnity and Special Tribunals Act in Special High Treason Courts. The general amnesty
announced in 1905 brought to an end the prosecutions for High Treason ofCape rebels. In 1906 the names
of disfranchised colonists were. replaced on the Voters' Roll.
The final official return of Cape rebels for 1903 is 12,205 or 0.5% of the total population, while
the return according to the database is 16,198 rebels or 0.7%. Strategically the rebellions played a limited
role in the overall Republican war effort despite the individual rebel's self-sacrifice to the cause. However,
although small in numbers, the rebellion had an enormous impact on colonial life (especially in 1901) as it
led to a thinly disguised civil war and enmity between the Afrikaner and English colonists, which took
years to disappear.
Description
Thesis (DPhil (History))—University of Stellenbosch, 2005.
Keywords
South African War, 1899-1902, South African War, 1899-1902 -- Participation, Afrikaner, South African War, 1899-1902 -- Campaigns, Theses -- History, Dissertations -- History