WI: Quick Boer war

Ryan

Donor
What would be the effects if the Second Boer War had been won by the British Empire much faster than OTL (such as before the end of 1899) and had generally been more successful in the war?
 
I do not posses great knowledge on this field however IMO.

Assuming in a quick victory for the British is made possible by the same assistance from the black population as in our time, less concessions will be made to the Boers and so more power to the black population. As such the Apartheid regime could have been avoided.

How this affects the British empire itself I do not know.
 

mowque

Banned
It may end up with the UK being less ready for WW1 as the army will lose some of that training and reforms that came with the war. It'll also probably be more jingoistic.
 

Ryan

Donor
Would Britain have continued Splendid isolation if it's prestige and confidence weren't damaged by not being able to easily and quickly win the war?
 
It may end up with the UK being less ready for WW1 as the army will lose some of that training and reforms that came with the war. It'll also probably be more jingoistic.

Quite possibly. I think a lot of the problems were apparent pretty early into the war and so I think that they would certainly learn something, as would the Colonial/Dominion forces that were mobilised.

A shorter, easier war would have a lot of impact though - maybe it might delay/hasten WW1 or other events?

It would certainly have a massive impact on the domestic political affairs of the UK and all self governing dominions. Any elections held in the immediate period could be affected in some way.

The Afrikaner populations will be less problematic too. Without the massive concentration camp related death, without the guerrilla war, without the Cape Raid, they may be less united, less filled with hate. Or at least, the Cape Afrikaners anyway, which were a sizable grouping. If the Afrikaner were more fragmented than OTL, this would have impact on any provincial elections, let alone any later Union elections.
 
I believe I've read on here an interesting opinion about the Boer War that, if it, hampered the attempt to push Imperial Federation. The embarrassment of the war hurt Britain's standing both internationally and within the Empire - the latter of which may've helped lead to the gradual distancing of the Dominions from Britain.
 
One of Wolseley's Ashante Ring, General William Francis Butler, was commander in South Africa from 1898. He quickly sniffed out the likelihood of war and how badly it would go if substantial reinforcements were not in place before the outbreak of hostilities. He was removed from the position because the government did not want to hear this and Milner did for him as well.

Have Butler convince Wolseley or the Government of the need for more troops including perhaps experienced Indian troops (kill the idea that its a white man's war etc).
 

Ryan

Donor
Did the Boer war cause the end of "splendid isolation" or would it have ended regardless? and if it did continue how would that have changed things?
 

Flubber

Banned
The war didn't end Britain's desire for diplomatic isolation, it merely sped up the process.

Grab your library card and check out Thomas Pakenham's The Boer War. It's a good place to start and the bibliography will point you to other sources.
 
Lets see:
1) British Army still wearing red uniforms
2) No Scouting movement (as RBP would not have the fame he did)
3) Liverpool FC would have to rename it's gound

On a more serious note:
Less friction with Germany (who supplied arms to the Boars) and a greater national pride would mean less likely to side with the French, however if Germany invaded Belgium it would still mean war.
 
Quite possibly. I think a lot of the problems were apparent pretty early into the war and so I think that they would certainly learn something, as would the Colonial/Dominion forces that were mobilised.

Very true, it was the shock of The Black Week that led to the Haldane Reforms, without it's been suggested on here that the British Army may have collapsed in 1914, assuming of course WW1 happens as per OTL.

The Afrikaner populations will be less problematic too. Without the massive concentration camp related death, without the guerrilla war, without the Cape Raid, they may be less united, less filled with hate. Or at least, the Cape Afrikaners anyway, which were a sizable grouping. If the Afrikaner were more fragmented than OTL, this would have impact on any provincial elections, let alone any later Union elections.

So does a Union of South Africa happen at some point? Depending on how the War has gone the British may let the Boer Republics live on as vassal states, but certainly without the memory of the camps Afrikaner Nationalism may not be as Anglophobic as it was IOTL, possibly even butterflying Apartheid as we know, whatever the 4 colonies/republics might have developed into May have been more like the Jim Crow type setup Rhodesia had, the end result would be the same, a resistance movement eventually resulting in majority rule.
 
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