The Jameson Raid, South Africa 1895
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- čas přidán 22. 06. 2022
- The Jameson Raid in 1895 was an attempt by British imperialist, Cecil Rhodes to overthrow the government of the Transvaal in South Africa using his own private army.
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The Jameson Raid raid was led by Rhodes’ close ally, Dr. Leander Starr Jameson.
Despite being urged by Uitlander conspirators not to proceed, Jameson nevertheless invaded the Transvaal on the 29th December 1895.
His force of 500 men reached Krugersdorp, 30 miles from Johannesburg where they found their way blocked by well armed Boers under Piet Cronje.
Fighting broke out and by the next day, 2nd January Jameson realised that his position was hopeless and he surrendered.
Sent back to Britain for trial, Jameson refused to implicate Rhodes or any other senior politicians.
He was sentenced to just over 1 year in jail, but was released after 4 months on health grounds.
Jameson’s stoicism both during the Jamseon Raid and in the subsequent trial, inspired Rudyard Kipling to write his famous poem: “If”.
The political fall out from the Jameson Raid was huge.
Rhodes was forced to resign as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony and a public inquiry in Britain nearly ended the career of Joseph Chamberlain, the Colonial Secretary.
It did irreparable damage to Anglo- Boer relations, hastening the outbreak of the Boer War in 1899.
The German Kaiser’s telegram congratulating Paul Kruger on defending his company soured Anglo-German relations. Suddenly the British saw Germany as an increasingly hostile power.
It started a suspicion and rivalry that led to a naval arms race and helped harden attitudes that would ultimately lead to the First World War (World War 1).
#thejamesonraid #thejamesonraid1895 #boerwar #leanderstarrjameson #cecilrhodes #rudyardkipling #if #rudyardkiplingif #jamesonraid
Another story from British History from Chris Green (The History Chap)
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My name is Chris Green ("The History Chap") and I am on a mission to share the amazing history of Britain so that we can appreciate where we have come from and why we are here.
History should not be stuffy or a long list of dates or kings & queens.
So rather than lectures or CZcams animations, I tell stories that bring the past to life.
My aim is to be chat as if I were having a coffee or meal with you. Jean in Maryland, USA recently wrote: "Chris, is the history teacher I wish I had at school!"
Just for the record, I do have a history degree and continue to have a passion for the subject I studied.
Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Chris Green Communication Ltd t/a The History Chap. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Chris Green Communication Ltd does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.
Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Chris Green Communication Ltd t/a The History Chap. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Chris Green Communication Ltd does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.
Riveting stuff Chris! After reading the works of Thomas Pakenham among others in depth, you were like my conscience describing this! Keep up the great work!
Great book by Pakenham so thank you for the salute.
I also picked up the correlation with Pakenham. I hope Chris make use of Reitz's experiences too as he goes forward with the series.
Great work Sir. In my great grandfathers time many Americans supported The Boers and there was an attempt in raising an army but was suppressed . Once again thank you for producing a short , yet brilliant mini documentary of The Jameson Raid.
Thankyou
I love this period of African history. I love Cecil Rhodes. Here is a real man, consistencly believing in the power and the calming policy of the British Empire I
might not agree with Imperialsm but I can appreciate this man. .What a man!
M n
Maybe I will do a talk about the various volunteer units.
A very interesting man - huge ambitions and hard to believe everything he achieved by his early 40's. Left a lot of damaging legacies too but as I say, a very interesting character.
:)
Nice video, you could do some similar stories on the early history of Rhodesia, especially the Shangani patrol which was quite closely connected to the Jameson Raid and also actively inspired by Rorke's Drift
Will add to my list. Want to treat that subject with a little bit of sensitivity.
@@TheHistoryChap I think there was a book by Fullerton called The White Men Sang, really good read
@@TheHistoryChap Worked in SA on 80s but only found out about the Shangani Patrol a few weeks ago, our colonial Custer's last stand, well and truly deleted from mainstream history. I would also enjoy an indepth unbiased doc.
I as an have an interest in the history of Rhodesia from start to finish with the results of how the nation of Zimbabwe fared afterwards
.
The Shangani Patrol took place in 1893 long before the Jameson Raid which took place in 1896. 3 years later. It was about the conquest of Bulawayo, nothing to do with the Transvaal or Freestate.
Thanks for posting this.
My pleasure, Simon.
Thanks for posting, great content🇬🇧
My pleasure.
Have a great weekend.
This Channel is fantastic, thanks for all the great content 👍
Glad you are enjoying it. Thank you for watching.
Superb video Chris. You are going from strength to strength!
Thank you, Rob.
I appreciate those kind sentiments.
Onwards & upwards!
Thanks. Excellent documentary as always!
Very kind of you.
Thanks for another great narrative Chris! A perfect example of how NOT to organize a coup...most of the Uitlanders didn't have any interest in how the Boer republics were governed, as long as they could work the mines they were happy with the status quo. Actually, there are some similarities here with an ongoing conflict in eastern Europe...
Mike, that's a good comparison.
This morning I read a letter written by a British Uitlander who fought with the Boers during the Boer War.
What conflict were you hinting at?
Nice one Chris! As usual a concise but erudite explanation!
Many thanks.
Great as always. Thank you.
My pleasure.
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Excellent, again. Thanks to a couple of your previous videos I now have a new hero - Lord Kitchener, especially his inkstand.
Charlie, I am planning to do a video all about Lord Kitchener.
Make sure that you subscribe to my channel so you don't miss it.
@@TheHistoryChap My dear fellow, I've been subscribed for months. Looking forwards with anticipation to the Kitchener video.
This is really helping me write my paper covering the first and the second boer war. thank you so much for this video
My pleasure.
love your vids, chris. another excellent presentation
Glad you enjoyed. More coming your way soon.
Great stuff, as always!
Thanks for your support!
An excellent history of the Jameson Raid, thank you Chris. Delighted that you gave my great-grandfather, Jan Smuts, a mention!
I’m glad you enjoyed it. Jan Smuts was a remarkable man.
Another fascinating video. Very balanced and fair. It is not easy to sit on the fence. But here you have managed to do so.
Thank you.
Great video on a generally overlooked conflict
Thank you. I'm glad that you enjoyed it.
I remember that the Jameson Raid was part of my ‘O’ Level History syllabus, back in 1970. However, I wish that I had been taught a better contextual understanding of the event, similar to the one that you have just presented, Chris; for, if I did, I might have gained a higher grade!
Ha ha, I think that about my history degree too! Having said that, I certainly enjoyed university life...
@@TheHistoryChap テェジャメソのライダー
A great post. This man gives Mark Felton stiff competition.
Very kind of you, thanks.
Really great video, with the story told in admirably neutral terms. I know you can't go into too many byways, but the British annexation of the Transvaal/ZAR in 1877 is an important event. The Brits did not leave the Boers to live in largely rural seclusion, even before the discover of the main goldfields in 1884. They had their eyes on the Boer republics long before Rhodes and Jameson got greedy.
Hi David, the period 1877-1881 is for another video.
Nothing to do with British greediness, it was about democracy being denied to the majority who had settled in the Transvaal, (whites and blacks) who were paying exorbitant taxes and duties to the Boer government who had no idea about mining gold or diamonds, they wanted the tax money but denied those that were paying those taxes, their God-given rights. This all went totally against the British and indeed Rhodesian fundamentals of freedom and fairplay.
@@TheBushmanmike An interesting proposition: that paying taxes in a foreign country entitles one to "God-given rights". Such as overthrowing the government of that country, you mean? And as for British fair play, is that what led to Shepstone's annexation of the ZAR in 1877, before the first Witwatersrand goldrush? Or the invasion of Zululand in 1879? Pure jingoism to call that sort of thing fair play.
@@davidmacnab5213 It was a lot more than just paying taxes, the Boers made their lives a total misery. before the Boer War even ended oom paul kruger had whisked away all the gold and total wealth of his country, which was never returned. What kind of leader is that, abandoned his own people to live in luxury on their wealth? Another typical african despot to my mind.
@@davidmacnab5213 The Bechuanaland Protectorate was established by Britain in March 1885 following the Warren Expedition to protect the local tribes from Boer incursions and foreign powers, principally Germany, and was administered from Mafeking. The Bechuanaland Border Police (BBP) the forerunner of the British South Africa Company Police was formed in August 1885
WOW!!! Thank you so much for putting this together and I hope you have more stories to share with us.......
Thank you. Yes, plenty more stories coming your way. Please make sure that you subscribe (& hit bell icon when doing so).
Thank you very well done!
Gary, thanks for your kind words.
Excellent! Thank You
Glad you enjoyed.
Please subscribe to my channel so you don't miss future videos.
another great video, cheers!
Thank you! Cheers!
Thanks. This finally makes sense. Without going into detail, I had acquired a Belgian para smock.once, in South Africa,I was wearing it with my jacket, and khaki shorts. I was stopped in the lobby by my client.” I don’t have time to explain,” he said, “ lose that jacket.” Now, I know.
Glad you enjoyed.
"Now, I know." Well I don't and you've piqued my curiosity. I'd appreciate a _smidgeon_ more detail if you've the time and inclination.
Excellent channel I hope you get way more subscriptions 👍
Many thanks for your kind comment.
Yet another excellent video
Thank you. More coming next week.
I'm immensely impressed by your self-correction of the term Uitlanders after the first instalment of this series, Chris. 😁
Looking forward to the rest.
Thanks, Walter.
Absolutely fantastic I learnt a lot I’m 67 I should’ve learnt it years ago 😢
Glad you enjoyed it.
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@@TheHistoryChap Been following for quite some time you do it in such an interesting way I’m not trying to blow smoke rings up your you know what but you are good I started with the Tottenham atrocity with the trams as I live in North London again people believe we live in a violent society now it wasn’t too good back then keep up the good work
Cracking good story. Well told as always.
Glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks for your support.
Well done! Your pronunciation of Afrikaans words is the best I have heard from a Brit in England itself.
Thank you. If you would like to be my Afrikaans advisor, please send me an email via my website, www.thehistorychap.com
It's interesting, as an Australian, to see how many of our citizens fought in the Boer War; on BOTH sides ! Some historians say up to 30% of the population at the end of the 19th Century were of 1st or 2nd generation were of Irish descent, others, only 25%. The unanimous fact was that the Irish loathed the British, so, many Irishmen joined the Boers against the Queen's soldiers who were considered the worst specimens, both North and South of the Equator ( many of the Old Folk still recalled the harsh treatment by the Redcoats in the Penal Settlements and Goldfields, which lead to the rebellion at the Eureka Stockade, or even as far back as the Great Famine in Ireland) Needless to say, the very British Government in Australia hushed up the matter, and whitewashed this History to appease their opposites in "The Old Country" !
Thanks for adding that perspective, Ashley.
Check out the book "McBrides Brigade-Irish Commandos in the Anglo-Boer War" by Donal P. McCraken. It tells the story of the Irish Brigade fighting with the Boers. It is the most famous foreign unit. However this military unit was not exclusively Irish and numerically was not a brigade. It was commanded by Irish/American Colonel John Blake a former US Calvaryman who was a veteran of the Indian wars including the campaign against Geronimo. A lot of the Irishmen had worked in the mines and used these demolition skills to great effect during the guerilla phase of the conflict by destroying bridges and railways and slowing the British advance. They formed part of the rearguard covering the Boers retreat from Natal in 1900. The Boers affectionately referred to them as the "Wreckers Corp". Ironically at times they would find themselves up against Irish regiments in the British army. There was also an Irish Brigade in the true military sense of the word serving in the British army which took heavy casualties at Colenso. Winston Churchill was travelling with soldiers from the Royal Dublin Fusiliers and Durham Light Infantry when the armoured train he was travelling in was ambushed by the Boers.
While many Irishmen did join the boers, vastly more served in the British army. Historically, Ireland has always been over represented in the British army, and they fought as volunteers not conscripts.
Great video ✌️
Many thanks.
Brilliantly told.
Many thanks. Forgotten (unknown) to a lot of folk crucial to what happened afterwards.
The majority of Jameson's troops were the disbanded Bechuanaland Border Police force, the feared and respected professional paramilitary horsemen. Only a third of the force participated in the raid, which has always perplexed me. Maybe the others were kept in reserve for their original purpose of protecting the railway? Or did they not follow orders or had lacking confidence in the raid due to zero Imperial support???
Thank you for taking the time to comment.
It's cause of the unrest in Zimbabwe that they had to leave the rest of the force behind, says at the end of the video no?
A good background to the Boer War chat, a topic not normally covered.
Glad you enjoyed.
czcams.com/users/TheHistoryChap
An interesting story about the folly of underestimating the effectiveness of the Boers. Kruger was a wily and shrewd politician. Rhodes reminds me of the character in the movie, The Ghost and the Darkness. Well done, amigo y gracias! 😊
Rhodes is a very interesting character, although arguably not necessarily someone to love
Great vid as always. I often think what did the original owners of the land thought when all this was going on. Touched on it at the end with the uprisings.
The Nbele and Shona were no fools. They spotted their opportunity.
They weren't the "owners"...they drove the San people off and took the land,then the white man arrived and ditto.
Absolutely fantastic video
Thant's very kind, thank you.
Brilliantly narrated ..short and staight to the point.....
Very kind of you. Please sign up for my weekly history newsletter at www.thehistorychap.com
I met a Boer War veteran, a crusty old Englishman without a high opinion of Winston Churchill. It was in the early 1960s at the Fort Sam Houston officer's club. I was a grade school boy at the time.
Thganks for sharing. I bet he had some stories to tell.
Have heard of Paul Kruger before. Would be interesting to hear a biography piece on him!
hmmm...that would be a good topic.
Again, brilliant
Many thanks.
Great Video
Many thanks.
Please subscribe so you don't miss my next video.
That was a great chapter and something I always wanted to understand better
Those damn Mausers
Thanks Don.
As a piper I might recommend the pipe tune "Mac Donalds awa tae the wars", remembering Pipe Major Mac Donald who was a member of Jamesons raid
...
Thanks for sharing
Fascinating stuff
And pretty much forgotten by many people.
Excellent expose of sheer greed and utter cynicism ! Admirable !
Jack, I find Cecil Rhodes fascinating - not as a hero but as someone who felt he could get away with anything.
Do you have anything on Riley ace of spies? I seem to remember a story of him having the war ship drawings for tge german navy
No I don’t but a great suggestion. Will add to my list.
Very interesting. I wonder if these events inspired H.G. Wells to write his novel War Of The Worlds which was a dig at British imperialism.
Duncan, that is an interesting thought.
Chris
Yes because places like South Africa and Zimbabwe have just gone splendly since.
The Boer used a mix of 1895 Mausers, 1888 Mausers, Martini-Henry mkiii, Krag-Jørgensens, Veterli, Winchester repeating rifles and Lee Metfords/speeds. The most popular arm at the outbreak of hostilities was the Westley-Pritchard rifle, a falling-block rifle chambered in a .450 calibre. A good hunting rifle, it soon fell out of favour as modern small-bore rifles offered a flatter trajectory and complimented the Boers incredible marksmanship.
Jameson royally screwed up. His raid gave Boer troops a handful of Lee-Speed (civilian production Lee-Metford) rifles and ammunition. While not a huge capture, these weapons were certainly put to use and with the ability to lob a projectile nearly 2000m off the volley sight, they more than trippled the potential range of a typical Boer Komando while increasing his rate of fire from one round every 2.5 seconds to 8 rounds every 10 or even faster.
Thanks for taking the time to post your very detailed comment.
@@TheHistoryChap thank you for your response. It's nice to know there are still some content creators interacting with their fans. 😊
Chamberlain looks the model of an archetypal victorian villain
Pantomime villain! Although an incredibly interesting family. Would love to find out more about them.
By the Boer war you mean the second Boer war, because in the first one Britain had got their asses handed back to them.
That will be the one.
One of the defendants alongside Jameson was Sir Percy Fitzpatrick. He wrote Jock of the Bushveld and is responsible for the Two Minute Silence on Armistice Day
I knew the first point about Sir Percy Fitzpatrick but not the second. Thanks for enlightening me.
@@TheHistoryChap always happy to share knowledge with a fellow historian
The 2 minutes silence was practiced in Cape Town, and it spilled over to the rest of the world from there.
Again, "By God and by Mauser".
Forgotten Weapons did an up load with a captured Lee Speed from this very failed raid.
Thank you for taking the time to share.
very interesting, thanks
My pleasure as always.
Have a great weekend, Tim.
I just bought a South Africa company medal for Bechuanland. Gives me 5 in total including Rhodesia
Interesting collection.
The matabele war was not exactly unprovocked.
Thank you for taking the time to post your comment.
Yeah! This was great!
Many thanks. i think this period is not very well understood in modern-day Britain.
@@TheHistoryChap: If it’s not well understood in Britain, just think of how it is here in the colonies of America. 😩
@@TheHistoryChap: This video convinced me to click on your subscribe button!
Great video thanks. Not much to find about the Jameson raid on youtube sadly, therefore I am doubly grateful for your efforts.
I am currently reading novels authored by "colonials" as they refer to themselves, people such as Wlibur Smith and the likes. Great way to learn the history of that time period in Africa.
I learnt about the Jameson Raid after reading "a century of wrong" by F. W. Reitz just before the Anglo/Boer war.
Reading and watching telly are way different i have sadly come to discover. I always thought Hitler created death camps, but come to discover that the British invented them in South Africa, telly told me Aprtheid was created by Boers but come to discover Cecil Rhodes and the British created Apartheid which was simply continued as is by the Boers. I was always told by the telly that Brits are none racist, liberals but reading British literature from the time shows that Hitlers perceptions of superiority and inferiority were kindergarden , sesame street childs play compared to the British
Thanks for watching and for taking the time to comment too.
You don't hear much about Smutts on youtube. I've always wanted to know more about him.
Will add to my list. Thanks for the suggestion
I am Positive, Sir, POSITIVE that these brave men believed they were striking a mighty blow for the protection of kittens, preventing them being crucified on church doorsteps. God save the Queen!
Thanks for commenting.
The Bechuanaland Protectorate was established by Britain in March 1885 following the Warren Expedition to protect the local tribes from Boer incursions and foreign powers, principally Germany, and was administered from Mafeking. The Bechuanaland Border Police (BBP) the forerunner of the British South Africa Company Police was formed in August 1885 using British taxes through the Cape Colony Administration.
Thanks for taking the time to share.
That description of Kruger wins all😆
Glad you enjoyed that description!
What happened to the artillery and machine guns used by the British in the Jameson raid
I guess that they were commandeered by the Boers.
Thanks
I suspect "friendly country" is a rather questionable description of the Boer Republics !in the context of the Zulu and 1st Boer War.
Oh plenty of history but at this stage the British government did not consider them a specific threat - hence why Chamberlain was concerned that his political career was about to end in ruins.
There's a dreadful poem - a parody of one by the Poet Laureate - about the raid. One might feel that the Chamberlain family did more harm to Britain between 1895 and 1940 than any other.
An interesting family generally and Joe Chamberlain a very interesting chap. Managed to split Liberal party and then created a Protectionist lobby within the Conservative that lost them the 1906 General election.
And it was all about The Boer's who just wanted to live in peace separate due to having to flee from France ( French Hugenotes(Protestants) from the Catholics and the Dutch doing mainly the same
One of the main reasons the Boers trekked north was because they disagreed with the British desire to stop slavery. And when they moved north they carved out their land by conquering local Africans and forcing others to flee the Nbele in Zimbabwe), so whilst the Boers were victims of British aggression they were themselves oppressors.
I think Catholics were rather scarce in the Netherlands so I suspect another reason for their presence. The same reason as in the East Indies. Colonialist greed.
Cecil old boy, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. That's wot!
An audacious plan. What could possibly go wrong? 😳
I hope that the Zulus and other indigenous peoples didn't become involved in this conflict.
If they did......... THEY WERE A BUNCH OF DAMN FOOLS!!!!😞😞
Black Africans were recruited by both sides but the Boers, in particular, tried to keep it as a white mans war.
@@TheHistoryChap 😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞
They didn't trek inland to escape the end of slavery?
Thank you for taking the time to comment
@@TheHistoryChap My wife is a distant reklative of Oom Paul.
The Uitlanders lack of political franchise was exaggerated by the British. It was pure propaganda. Only in the newspapers of the day did the uitlanders feel unhappy with the status quo.
Maybe exaggerated but it became a casus belli
5:01
The whole point of the ‘Jameson Raid’ was for it to fail.
A humiliation would force the British Empire to attack the Boers.
Not sure that I agree but thank you for sharing your point of view.
Rhodesia was Zambia and Zimbabwe
Thank you for pointing that out.