The Anglo Boer Wars 1815-1902 – Michael Barthorp

This book is the fourth in a series of illustrated narrative histories of the British Armys colonial campaigns in the last century. It seeks to outline, within the confines of one volume, Britains attempts to deprive the Afrikaners of the independence they had striven for since the seventeenth century, not only during the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902 but also in the earlier clashes between Briton and Boer since Britain acquired the Cape of Good Hope in the Napoleonic War.

This is primarily an account of military operations and, since both protagonists endeavoured to maintain a policy of a white mans war, the reader will find little mention of the black South Africans who dominate todays headlines. Although the Anglo-Boer Wars may appear to have little relevance to those headlines, they nevertheless reveal the influences that have moulded the Afrikaners and their tenacity in opposing the might of the British Empire, thus affording some insight into the national character and determination of their descendants.

To assist the reader to visualise the stern and stubborn Afrikaners of earlier generations, together with the British, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and British South African soldiers who confronted them in the nineteenth century, the text is complemented by a large number of illustrations from a variety of sources which are listed in the Picture Credits.