Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger: Shaping The History of South Africa and Involvement During The Angelo-boer War

Introduction

Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, known to us as Paul Kruger, played a major role in shaping the History of South Africa with his contribution and involvement during the Angelo-Boer War and a strong sense of fighting for the independence of the Transvaal against the British. He was not only an important military figure but also a great politician. Taking a detailed look into his early life, contributions to South Africa as well as what was going on in South Africa during that period in time will allow us to see how his contexts and circumstances shaped him into the historical icon he became.

Early Life

Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger was born on the 10th of October 1825on his Grandfathers farm in Bulhoek which was in the Cape Colony. Kruger had little to no education apart from learning the Bible which was common amongst the Boers. Father Casper Jan Hendrik Kruger and Mother Elsie Steyn. At the age of 10, Kruger and his family joined the Voortrekkers, in 1836 which was led by Hendrick Potgieter. During this time, he was brought up with strict principles of Dutch Calvinism as the Boers were extremely religious. The Boers also had a tradition which was that at the age of 16, young men had to set up a house on a farm. Kruger set off and became an owner of land which he named Waterkloof in 1842.

In 1836, Kruger fought in the battle at Vegkop, where the Boers fought against the Mzilikazi, and in February 1838, he witnessed the massacre of the laagers by the Zulu warriors in Natal which resulted in his family moving and taking up farming in Rustenburg in the Transvaal. Kruger married Maria Du Plessis and had a son together. Unfortunately, both the baby and Maria passed away. Kruger then married Du Plessis’ cousin Gezina Du Plessis and together they had 17 children, some dying as infants. Gezina passed away in 1901.

Contributions to South Africa

As previously stated, at a fairly young age Kruger was exposed to the many battles that took place in South Africa during that period in time which is what could be seen as building character and shaping him into the strong, icon that he became. He fought many battles and “fought in three battles before thirteen”. Like many of the young Afrikaner men, Kruger became a field cornet at the age of only 17 and took part in the Battle of Dimawe which was against the Tswane people. At such a young age Kruger already was already building characteristics and had the qualities of a leader. Kruger was then promoted to lieutenant of a commando in 1852 and then promoted to Commandant General. Kruger was also selected to be part of the Volksraad and was given the task to help write up a constitution for the Transvaal. Already then, Kruger already had built a strong name for himself and not only had a great military profile but also a promising future in politics.

The Anglo-Boer War

The first Anglo-Boer War was a result of British Expansion, troubles within the government of the Transvaal at the time as well as the Boers opposed the British rule in the Transvaal, and consisted of several battles between the Boers and the British. The Boers were already experiencing financial difficulties and were also at war with the Pedi people. This was the perfect opportunity for the British to step in and gain control of the Transvaal. The British sent Sir Theophilus Shepstone to the Transvaal to talk to the Boers and thereafter annexed the Transvaal. The British started taxing the Boers which added even more tension between the two groups.

On the 8th of December 1880, a large group of Boers gathered on a farm and had meetings and discussions of how to get rid of the British rule over the Transvaal. Kruger was elected Vice President during this time. The meetings ended on the 16th of December 1880 and the Boers were ready. The first attack occurred when the Boers ambushed the British, where the majority of the British soldiers were killed or injured. This was called the Battle of Bronkhorstpruit in which the Boers were successful.

On the 26th of January 1881, more than 1000 British soldiers marched to Mount Prospect to attack the Boers, however, were unsuccessful as the Boers fought back and had a victory. This was called the Battle of Laignsnek. Due to so many British soldiers being killed and wounded, the British called a truce as their injured soldiers had to be tended to and the dead buried.

Kruger took a trip to Britain in 1877 in an attempt to persuade the British government to retract the annexation, but the outcome was unfortunately negative. After trying a passive approach which also had a negative outcome there was then a battle between the Boers and the British, the gruesome battle of Majuba which the Boers won in 1881.

This caught the attention of the British and allowed Kruger to negotiate with the British and was granted independence which was a step in the right direction for the Boers. As result of the Transvaal becoming independent, meant that the British would not financially support the Transvaal government which resulted in the economy taking a rapid decline which left Kruger with a huge problem that he had to solve. This led to Kruger having to think of a new way to generate revenue. The first Anglo-Boer War was successful for the Boers.

Kruger Becoming President

Kruger became the President of the Transvaal on the 16th of April 1883 and was driven by wanting to achieve an independent South Africa. Three years later in 1886, a massive arose. Gold was discovered in the Witwatersrand area which drew the attention of many ‘uitlanders’ which was called the Gold Rush. “Kruger saw this as a threat to the separate national identity of his people, God’s people”.

Kruger, therefore, tried to restrict the number of uitlanders. Kruger could unfortunately not stop the uitlanders and by 1884 the Scramble for Africa occurred which left South Africa full of foreigners. There were many complaints of the railway tariffs being too expensive mainly from the uitlanders side. The reason for that was because it was a great way for the Transvaal to generate revenue and limit the number of uitlanders as many did not qualify for citizenship which Kruger used to keep as many of them out of the Transvaal as possible. This however led to the Jameson Raid as it, angered Cecil Rhodes who was the Prime Minister of the Cape Colony at the time.

The Jameson Raid was led by Leander Starr Jameson who was a friend of Cecil Rhodes was a complete disaster as well as an embarrassment of the British. Jameson set off to Johannesburg on the 29th of December 1895 with approximately 600 men to start an uprising as requested by Rhodes but was unfortunately met with Transvaal soldiers who blocked the road to Johannesburg. Even with their efforts, the British soldiers could not get through and therefore had to surrender on the 2nd of January 1896. This made the already rocky relationship between the Boers and British even more unstable, however, to keep the peace Rhodes, Jameson, as well as the soldier that took part in the Jameson raid, were imprisoned of which Jameson was found guilty of treason.

Tension grew between the 2 Boer republics, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, and the British as there was still a problem with the many uitlanders in South Africa which Kruger was quite wary of. “Some Uitlanders felt that they contributed to the exploitation of the riches in the republic and had the right to have a say in the way the country was being run.”

Kruger realized that it was true to a certain extent and therefore called for a Second Volksraad in 1890 where new laws were put in place which allowed uitlanders to apply for citizenship if they were in South Africa for 5 or more years. However, it was made clear that the First Volksraad still had the majority of a say in how the Transvaal was run. “Only uitlanders who had been in the country for a full 14 years or longer could vote for the first Volksraad.” This was the perfect opportunity for the British to try and influence the voters in order to try and redeem themselves and regain their rule over the Transvaal again after the embarrassment which the Jameson raid caused them. The British were quite adamant in becoming part of the Transvaal affairs and therefore sent Lord Milner to South Africa to put an end to the Boer's expansion, which the British feared. Milner knew that the only way that the British would stop the Boers was to start a war.

The first battle took place in Tulane which occurred in October 1899. The British won the second battle of Elandslaagte. There were many other battles that took place during this time. A significant turn of events was called ‘black week’ where the Boers were successful in their attacks at the battle of sponsor and Vaalkrans. The Transvaal and the Orange Free State united and in 1900 changed their attacks making use of Guerilla Warfare. The British felt intimidated and called up more soldiers and proceeded to fight the Boers. The British eventually managed to conquer Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, and Pretoria. At this point, many Boers felt that there was no reason for them to continue fighting the British and surrendered as the British already had control of the majority of the Boer colonies. Kruger at this point telegrammed Marthinus Steyn who was the President of the Orange Free State with ideas of surrendering but Steyn along with other Boers disagreed. Kruger aged 73 could not fight in the war due to his declining health and had to leave South Africa. He left on a ship and went into exile in the Netherlands. Although he was not physically in South Africa and fighting in the war, he never stopped trying to get help and support from other counties for the Boers.

After many of the Boers surrendered, the British assumed that the rest of the war would be quick and easy The Boers that continued the war however were prepared to see this war through and persevered. The Boer soldiers could be viewed as admirals as they did not give up and fought until the very end. These soldiers were called the ‘bitter einders’. In 1902 the war ended. The success of the British was also a bittersweet feeling as although they defeated the Boers, so many lives were lost from both sides. The war was an extremely expensive and long one.

Two years after the war ended, Kruger passed away in Clarens, Switzerland where he moved to after being in exile in the Netherlands. His body was later sent back to South Africa and buried on South African soil which he never stopped fighting for until his passing. The way in which South Africa has paid respect to the iconic leader Paul Kruger was by putting up a statue in his honor, which is in Pretoria, in Church Square as well as keeping his house and turning it into a museum which is also in Pretoria.

Conclusion

Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger played a major role in the history of South Africa. Despite the many difficult challenges, his determination to get South Africa its independence back could be viewed as admirable. As previously stated Kruger had very little to no education which puts emphasis on him becoming a leader purely based his on his experiences and exposure to fighting in battles at an extremely young age which contributed greatly into shaping him in becoming a strong military as well as a political figure that he was. And we can therefore conclude that Kruger was one of the most influential leaders that South Africa saw.

Bibliography

1. Encyclopaedia Britannica. South Africa 2020
2. https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/second-anglo-boer-war-1899-1902
3. MvA. The Story of the 2nd South African Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902-Part, Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?V=iUyDhr7QTY (Accessed 04 October 2020)
4. Statham, F.R. Paul Kruger and His Times. T.F. Unwin, London,1898.
5. www.reformationsa.org/index.php/component/content/article/1-latest-news/346-president-paul-kruger