Bechuanaland Expedition
Bechuanaland Expedition | |||||||
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Part of the Boer Wars | |||||||
Town hall of modern-day Vryburg | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Stellaland South African Republic | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Gerrit Jacobus van Niekerk Paul Kruger |
Sir, Charles Warren Cecil Rhodes |
The Bechuanaland Expedition or Warren Expedition, of late 1884/1885, was a British military expedition to the Tswana country, to assert British sovereignty in the face of encroachments from
History
In December 1884, Major-General
An interesting sidelight on the expedition is related by Jose Burman, who writes that when Warren’s force reached Orange River station (at that stage the terminus of the railway line to Kimberley, as the bridge over the river had not yet been built) the general had a transport problem.
“At this stage Warren’s difficulties were solved by a number of farmers who arrived at the river and offered their services as transport riders. Warren accepted their services gratefully, and they were paid £2 a day. With their help the expeditionary force advanced cautiously into Bechuanaland. Stellaland accepted British rule – but Goshen did not, and Warren headed for
“Later it transpired that the helpful transport riders whom Warren had been paying £2 per day were mostly Goshenites who thus earned enough to buy farms at a later stage.”[2]
Scottish missionary John Mackenzie (1835–99), who accompanied Warren, described his experiences with the expedition in an 1887 work, Austral Africa: Losing It or Ruling It.[3]
References
- ^ "Bechuanaland". British Empire: The Map Room: Africa. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- ^ Early railways at the Cape by Jose Burman. Cape Town: Human & Rousseau, 1984
- ^ Mackenzie, John (1887). Austral Africa: Losing It or Ruling It; Being Incidents and Experiences in Bechuanaland, Cape Colony, and England. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington - via World Digital Library. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2014.