Fifth Grade
Worksheets
The Boer War
What would it be like to go to war in another land? The native language might be different, and so might the customs and climate. All these things can make war much harder. The war in South Africa was like that.
In 1899, two small republics in Africa declared war on Great Britain. Those republics were Transvaal and the Orange Free State (#2 and #4 in the picture).
Both countries were once Dutch colonies. Many of the people were farmers. The Dutch word for farmer was Boer. During the war, the people were all called Boers.
Those people were angry with Britain. They declared war. The British thought they could win the war easily. Then they could take the land with all its gold. The British thought the Boers were backward farmers, but they did not fight that way.
The British and Canadian newspapers wrote stories about the Boers. They got people excited about the war. Many of the English-Canadians wanted Canada to help Britain. Many of the French-Canadians did not.
Canada was divided. Prime Minister Laurier came up with a plan. Canada would send men who wanted to fight. They would have uniforms and weapons.
Canada would get them to South Africa. After that, Britain would take care of them and their pay.
Over 1,000 men went in November 1899. It was almost two months after war was declared.
