The Boer War (1899-1902): Britain's Wakeup Call
Geopolitically, Britain found herself in 1899, at the start of the conflict, without any friends in Europe, and a series of adversaries, who would turn on Britain if they had the chance. (12) It became readily apparent that the ideal of "Splendid Isolation," which had permeated British foreign policy until then, was hopelessly outdated and should not be used a s a foreign policy. Instead, British strategic planners went back to a more active role in foreign policy, practicing pure balance of power. Thus, only two years after the Boer War was ended, Britain and France signed the historic Entente Cordiale. Three years later, the British came to an understanding with Russia, and seven years later, or only 12 years after the Boer War, Britain went to war to defend the idea of balance of power. The Boer War provided the wakeup call for this transformation.
Lastly, the Boer War demonstrated to British politicians the need to have broad political support for Boer War-like colonial wars in the future. The British government embarked on educating the public about the Empire. They also tried to make amends for the actions of the Kitchener forces. Less than eight years after the Boer War was ended, the Union of South Africa was created, with Dominion (self-government) status. This magnamity paid off, for only four years later, South Africa joined the British war effort, despite its having a significant German population.
Footnotes:
(1) Lawrence James, The Rise and Fall of the British Empire, 2nd ed., (New York: St. Martin's, 1995), p. 259.
(2) Ibid.
(3) A.J.P. Taylor, The Struggle For Mastery In Europe, 1848-1918, 2nd ed., (New York: Oxford University Press, 1971), p. 387.
(4) Ibid., ed. by Chris Wrigley, From the Boer War to the Cold War: Essays on 20th Century Europe, (New York: Viking Penguin, 1995), p. 36.
(5) Ibid.
(6) James, p. 267.
(7) Ibid.
(8) Taylor, From the Boer War to the Cold War, p. 36.
(9) The Third Marquess of Salisbury, Prime Minister (PM) from 1895-1902, was the last PM in British history to serve in the House of Lords instead of the Commons.
(10) Peter Clarke, Hope and Glory: Britain, 1900-1990, 2nd ed., (New York: Penguin, 1997), p. 405.
(11) The 1900 General Election is commonly referred to today as the "Khaki Election." Other instances of the same electoral strategy include the 1918 "Hang the Kaiser Election," the 1931 "Save the Pound Election," the 1935 General Election in the midst of the
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