About this episode

This episode discusses the significance of the Battle of Majuba in the context of Afrikaner identity and the Boer War.

It is not a stretch to say that the defeat by the British at Majuba was also the political birth of the Afrikaner people. While the Great Trek provided the origin story, Majuba provided the validation—the sense that their culture was not only distinct but divinely protected and militarily capable of standing against the greatest empire of the age. Before the main event, there was the small matter of Schuinshoogte. It was February 1881, and General Sir George Pomeroy Colley was in a bind. Boer patrols under Commander J. D. Weilbach were constantly harassing his communications with Newcastle. Colley was determined to act. The recent defeat at Laing’s Nek had energized the Boers, and he needed to clear the road between Newcastle and Mount Prospect. His reinforcements were finally on the way, but first, he had to keep those vital British supply lines open. Deputy President Paul Kruger sent a letter to George Pomeroy Colley on the 12th February 1881, requesting negotiations. “We desire to seek no conflict with the Imperial Government but cannot do otherwise than give the last drop of blood for our lawful right, for which also each Englishmen would give his blood..” Colley wrote back…

People in this episode

Host: Desmond Latham

Topics covered

• Afrikaner identity
• British military history
• Boer War
• cultural validation
• political history

Keywords

• Majuba
• Afrikaner
• Boer War
• British Empire
• General Colley
• Paul Kruger
• Great Trek
• military history

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Britain, Newcastle, Majuba

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