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The Afrikaner rebellion 1914-15: Internal conflict and the counterinsurgency campaign

Fedorowich, Kent; Van der Waag, Ian

Authors

Kent Fedorowich Kent.Fedorowich@uwe.ac.uk
Associate Professor in British Imperial & Comnwealth History

Ian Van der Waag



Contributors

Martin Thomas
Editor

Gareth Curless
Editor

Abstract

The Afrikaner rebellion of 1914-1915 is an under-studied but significant event in South Africa’s troubled history. At its core was the struggle for the leadership and direction of an increasingly polarised Afrikaner community, elements of which were becoming gradually more impoverished and politically marginalised as the young dominion developed into a highly urbanised and modern industrial society. For those bywoners or ‘poor whites’ who were being economically side-lined, the origins of discontent originated in the politics of rural Afrikaner poverty that had been gripping specific regions of the country since the turn of the twentieth century. This essay explores the ‘geography of dissent’ and the multifaceted reasons surrounding the outbreak of the rebellion. It also investigates how a new generation of progressive Afrikaner leaders, epitomised by Louis Botha and Jan Smuts, sought to conciliate those of their brethren who rose up in 1914 to preserve the old patriarchal order. In the end, although the government’s counterinsurgency operations were overwhelmingly successful, it was the political settlement that followed which would define a new national identity.

Citation

Fedorowich, K., & Van der Waag, I. (2023). The Afrikaner rebellion 1914-15: Internal conflict and the counterinsurgency campaign. In M. Thomas, & G. Curless (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Late Colonial Insurgencies and Counter-Insurgencies (784). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198866787.001.0001

Acceptance Date Jul 17, 2020
Online Publication Date Nov 2, 2023
Publication Date Nov 2, 2023
Deposit Date Jun 17, 2021
Publicly Available Date Nov 3, 2025
Publisher Oxford University Press
Pages 784
Series Title Oxford Handbook
Book Title The Oxford Handbook of Late Colonial Insurgencies and Counter-Insurgencies
ISBN 9780198866787
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198866787.001.0001
Keywords Afrikaner rebellion, civil war, Louis Botha, insurgency, poor white, geography of dissent
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/6286603
Publisher URL https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-handbook-of-late-colonial-insurgencies-and-counter-insurgencies-9780198866787?cc=us&lang=en
Additional Information This is a co-authored chapter with Professor Ian van der Waag who is a member of the Military History Department, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.