Canada & The South African War, 1899-1902
Canadians on the veldt in South Africa
The South African War (1899-1902) or, as it is also known, the
Boer War,
marked Canada's first official
dispatch of troops to an overseas war.
In 1899, fighting erupted between Great Britain and two small
republics in South Africa. (See map)
The two republics, settled by Boers,
descendants of the region's first Dutch immigrants, were not expected to
survive for long against the world's greatest power. Pro-Empire
Canadians nevertheless urged their government to help. The war, they
argued, pitted British freedom, justice, and civilization against Boer
backwardness.
While many English-Canadians supported Britain's cause in South
Africa, most French-Canadians and many recent immigrants from countries
other than Britain wondered why Canada should fight in a war half way
around the world. Concerned with maintaining national stability and
political popularity, Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier did not want to
commit his government. Yet the bonds of Empire were strong and public
pressure mounted. As a compromise, Laurier agreed to send a battalion of
volunteers to South Africa.
Over the next three years, more than 7,000 Canadians, including 12
women nurses, served overseas. They would fight in key battles from
Paardeberg to Leliefontein. The Boers inflicted
heavy losses on the
British, but were defeated in several key engagements. Refusing to
surrender, the Boers turned to a guerrilla war of ambush and retreat. In
this second phase of fighting, Canadians participated in numerous small
actions. Gruelling mounted patrols sought to bring the enemy to battle,
and harsh conditions ensured that all soldiers struggled against disease
and snipers' bullets.
Imperial forces attempted to deny the Boers the food, water and
lodging afforded by sympathetic farmers. They burned Boer houses and
farms, and moved civilians to internment camps, where thousands died
from disease. This harsh strategy eventually defeated the Boers.
Of the Canadians who served in South Africa, 267 were killed and are
listed in the Books of Remembrance. The Canadian government claimed at
the time that this overseas expedition was not a precedent. History
would prove otherwise. The new century would see Canadians serve in
two world wars, the Korean War, and dozens of peacekeeping
missions.
Canadian infantrymen engaging the Boers, 18
February 1900