Article

The South African War: Implications and Convictions of Postwar Politics and Policy

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Abstract

Apartheid in South Africa is a widely known tragedy in the realm of history and political science. In order to understand the racism and prejudice that served as the framework of apartheid, it is important to understand it’s inception and the ripe settings for its implementation. The aim of this paper is to trace and depict the events leading up to apartheid, including the Boer Wars and the consequences of Britain’s Scorched Earth policy. Using works such as Professor Higginson’s “Hell in Small Place: Agrarian Elites and Collective Violence in the Western Transvaal, 1900-1907,” and primary documents from Jan Smuts, I conclude and emphasize the importance of pre-apartheid policies and military strategies that set the framework for an apartheid state.

Keywords: Boer War, apartheid, Transvaal, race, policy, History

How to Cite:

Shiek, J., (2017) “The South African War: Implications and Convictions of Postwar Politics and Policy”, University of Massachusetts Undergraduate History Journal 1(1), 10. doi: https://doi.org/10.7275/R5VT1Q87