Louis Botha (27 September 1862 – 27 August 1919) was an
AfrikanerAfrikaners are White Afrikaans speakers who have been established in Southern Africa since the 17th century. They are mainly of northwestern European descent , but their native tongue is Afrikaans, a purported close relative of Dutch...
and first
Prime MinisterA prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. The position is usually held by, but need not always be held by, a politician. In many systems, the prime minister selects and can dismiss other members of the cabinet, and...
of the
Union of South AfricaThe Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day state of the Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unity of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
—the forerunner of the modern
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
n state. He was born in
GreytownGreytown is a town situated on the banks of the Umvoti River in a richly fertile timber-producing area of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.-History:...
(now in
KwaZulu-NatalKwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994 the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and all pieces of territory that made up the homeland of KwaZulu....
) as one of 13 children born to Louis Botha (26.3.1827 - 5.7.1883) and Salomina Adriana van Rooyen (31.3.1829 - 9.1.1886).
He became a member of the parliament of
TransvaalThe Transvaal is the name of an area of northern South Africa. Originally the bulk of the independent Boer South African Republic, after the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902 it became the Transvaal Colony, and one of the founding provinces of the Union of South Africa, with its regional capital in...
in 1897, representing the district of Vryheid. Two years later Botha fought in the
Second Boer WarThe Second Boer War , commonly referred to as The Boer War and also known as the South African War , the Anglo-Boer War and in Afrikaans as the Anglo-Boereoorlog or Tweede Vryheidsoorlog , or the Engelse oorlog was fought...
, initially under Lucas Meyer in Northern Natal, and later as a general commanding and fighting with impressive capability at
ColensoThe Battle of Colenso was the third and final of the battles fought during the Black Week of the Second Boer War. It was fought between British and Boer forces from the independent South African Republic and Orange Free State in and around Colenso, Natal, South Africa on 15 December,...
and Spioen kop.
Louis Botha (27 September 1862 – 27 August 1919) was an
AfrikanerAfrikaners are White Afrikaans speakers who have been established in Southern Africa since the 17th century. They are mainly of northwestern European descent , but their native tongue is Afrikaans, a purported close relative of Dutch...
and first
Prime MinisterA prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. The position is usually held by, but need not always be held by, a politician. In many systems, the prime minister selects and can dismiss other members of the cabinet, and...
of the
Union of South AfricaThe Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day state of the Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unity of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
—the forerunner of the modern
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
n state. He was born in
GreytownGreytown is a town situated on the banks of the Umvoti River in a richly fertile timber-producing area of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.-History:...
(now in
KwaZulu-NatalKwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994 the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and all pieces of territory that made up the homeland of KwaZulu....
) as one of 13 children born to Louis Botha (26.3.1827 - 5.7.1883) and Salomina Adriana van Rooyen (31.3.1829 - 9.1.1886).
He became a member of the parliament of
TransvaalThe Transvaal is the name of an area of northern South Africa. Originally the bulk of the independent Boer South African Republic, after the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902 it became the Transvaal Colony, and one of the founding provinces of the Union of South Africa, with its regional capital in...
in 1897, representing the district of Vryheid. Two years later Botha fought in the
Second Boer WarThe Second Boer War , commonly referred to as The Boer War and also known as the South African War , the Anglo-Boer War and in Afrikaans as the Anglo-Boereoorlog or Tweede Vryheidsoorlog , or the Engelse oorlog was fought...
, initially under Lucas Meyer in Northern Natal, and later as a general commanding and fighting with impressive capability at
ColensoThe Battle of Colenso was the third and final of the battles fought during the Black Week of the Second Boer War. It was fought between British and Boer forces from the independent South African Republic and Orange Free State in and around Colenso, Natal, South Africa on 15 December,...
and Spioen kop. On the death of
P. J. JoubertPetrus Jacobus Joubert , better known as Piet Joubert was Commandant-General of the South African Republic from 1880 to 1900.-Early life:...
, he was made commander-in-chief of the
TransvaalThe Transvaal is the name of an area of northern South Africa. Originally the bulk of the independent Boer South African Republic, after the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902 it became the Transvaal Colony, and one of the founding provinces of the Union of South Africa, with its regional capital in...
Boers, where he demonstrated his abilities again at Belfast-Dalmanutha. Claims exist that Botha captured
Winston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He served as Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer...
at the armoured train ambush in Natal on 15 November 1899; but this may be a fabrication. Certainly Churchill did not mention it in his book on The Boer War London to Ladysmith via Pretoria (1900), though later he made such a claim. It is, however, mentioned in Arthur Conan Doyle's book,
The Great Boer Warright|thumb|Title page from The Great Boer WarThe Great Boer War is a non-fiction work on the Boer War by Arthur Conan Doyle and first published in 1900. By the end of the war in 1902 the book had been published in 16 editions, constantly revised by Doyle...
, published in 1902. After the fall of
PretoriaPretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, he led a concentrated guerrilla campaign against the British together with
Koos de la ReyJacobus Herculaas de la Rey , known as Koos de la Rey was a Boer general during the Second Boer War and is widely regarded as being one of the strongest military leaders during that conflict....
and
Christiaan de WetChristiaan Rudolf de Wet was a Boer general, rebel leader and politician.He was born on the farm Leeuwkop, in the district of Smithfield in the Boer Republic of the Orange Free State and later resided at Dewetsdorp, the latter which was named after his father, Jacobus Ignatius de Wet...
. The success of his measures was seen in the steady resistance offered by the Boers to the very close of the three years' war.
Role after the Boer War
He was the chief representative of his countrymen in the peace negotiations of 1902, and was signatory to the
Treaty of VereenigingThe Treaty of Vereeniging was the peace treaty, signed on 31 May 1902, that ended the South African War between the alliance of the South African Republic and the Republic of the Orange Free State and the British Empire on the other.- Terms of the settlement :This settlement entailed the end of...
. After the grant of self-government to the Transvaal in 1907, General Botha was called upon by Lord
SelborneSelborne is a village in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is south of Alton. It will be just within the extreme northern boundary of the proposed South Downs National Park, which is due to take effect in mid-2010....
to form a government, and in the spring of the same year he took part in the conference of colonial premiers held in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
. During his visit to
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on this occasion General Botha declared the whole-hearted
adhesionAdhesion is the tendency of certain dissimilar molecules to cling together due to attractive forces.-Mechanisms of adhesion:Five mechanisms have been proposed to explain why one material sticks to another:-Mechanical adhesion:...
of the Transvaal to the
British EmpireThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was...
, and his intention to work for the welfare of the country regardless of (inter-white) racial differences (in this era referring to Boers/Afrikaners as a separate race to British South Africans).
He later worked towards peace with the British, representing the Boers at the peace negotiations in 1902. In the period of reconstruction under British rule, Botha went to Europe with de Wet and de la Rey to raise funds to enable the Boers to resume their former avocations. Botha, who was still looked upon as the leader of the Boer people, took a prominent part in politics, advocating always measures which he considered as tending to the maintenance of peace and good order and the re-establishment of prosperity in the Transvaal. His war record made him prominent in the politics of Transvaal and he was a major player in the postwar reconstruction of that country, becoming Prime Minister of Transvaal on 4 March 1907. In 1911, together with another Boer war hero,
Jan SmutsField Marshal Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM, CH, PC, ED, KC, FRS, GCTE was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various cabinet posts, he served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924 and from...
, he formed the
South African PartyThe South African Party was a political party that existed in the Union of South Africa from 1911 to 1934.The outline and foundation for the party was realized after the election of a 'South African party' in the 1910 South African general election under the leadership of Louis Botha...
, or SAP. Widely viewed as too conciliatory with Britain, Botha faced revolts from within his own party and opposition from
James Barry Munnik HertzogJames Barry Munnik Hertzog, better known as J. B. M. Hertzog was a general on the Boer side during the second Anglo-Boer War and the Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1924 to 1939...
's
National PartyThe National Party was the governing party of South Africa from June 4, 1948 until May 9, 1994, and was disbanded in 2005. Its policies included apartheid, the establishment of a republic, and the promotion of Afrikaner culture...
. When South Africa obtained
dominionA dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of semi-autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, from the late 19th century. They included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the...
status in 1910, Botha became the first Prime Minister of the
Union of South AfricaThe Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day state of the Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unity of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
.
Later career
After the
First World WarWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
started, he sent troops to take German South West Africa, a move unpopular among Boers, which provoked the Boer Revolt.
At the end of the War he briefly led a
British Empire military missionThe British Military Mission to Poland was an effort by Britain to aid the nascent Second Polish Republic after it achieved its independence in November, 1918, at the end of the First World War....
to the
Second Polish RepublicThe Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; from the creation of an independent Polish state in the aftermath of World War I, to the invasion of Poland in 1939 by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and the Slovak Republic,...
during the
Polish-Soviet WarThe Polish–Soviet War was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine against the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic, four states in post-World War I Europe. The war was the result of the belligerents' desire to expand their territories and their influence...
. He argued that the terms of the Versailles Treaty were too harsh on the
Central PowersThe Central Powers was one of the two sides that participated in World War I, the other being the Entente Powers.-Member states:...
, but signed the treaty.
Botha was unwell for most of 1919. He was plagued by fatigue and ill-health that arose from his robust waist-line. That he was fat is certain as related in the marvellous account of Lady Mildred Buxton asking General Van Deventer if he was bigger than Botha, to which Van Deventer replied: “I am longer, he is thicker.” (In Afrikaans thicker literally means fatter.)
General Louis Botha died of Heart Failure on 27 August 1919 in the early hours of the morning. His wife Annie was at home and was very soon joined by Engelenburg who had acted as a private secretary to Botha. While other speculative theories of his death may exist they remain speculative and entirely unsubstantiated. Botha was laid to rest in Heroes Acre Pretoria.
Of Botha, Winston Churchill wrote in
Great Contemporaries, "The three most famous generals I have known in my life won no great battles over a foreign foe. Yet their names, which all begin with a 'B", are household words. They are
General BoothWilliam Booth was a British Methodist preacher who founded The Salvation Army and became its first General...
, General Botha and
General Baden-PowellRobert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell OM, GCMG, GCVO, KCB , also known as B-P or Lord Baden-Powell, was a lieutenant-general in the British Army, writer, and founder of the Scout Movement.After having been educated at Charterhouse School, Baden-Powell served in the British...
..."
Historical
- Coetzer, Owen, The Anglo-Boer War: The road to Infamy, 1899-1900, Arms and Armour, 1996 (Claimed (p. 30) that Botha captured Churchill at train ambush 15 Nov 1899)
- Farwell, Bryon. The Great Boer War, Allen Lane, London, 1976. (insights of Botha)
- Williams, Basil. Botha Smuts and South Africa, Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1946. (comprehensive commentaries on Smuts and Botha, or as William's titled them in the last chapter of this book par nobile fratrum(p. 203)
Fiction
- O'Brien, Antony. Bye-Bye Dolly Gray, Artillery Publishing, Hartwell, 2006. (an heroic Boer character in this Australian/Boer War novel)
External links
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