Everything about The Maritz Rebellion totally explained
The
Maritz Rebellion or the
Boer Revolt or the
Five Shilling Rebellion, occurred in
South Africa in
1914 at the start of
World War I, in which men who supported the recreation of the old
Boer republics rose up against the government of the
Union of South Africa. Many members of the government were themselves former Boers who had fought with the Maritz rebels against the British in the
Second Boer War, which had ended twelve years earlier. The rebellion failed, and the ringleaders received heavy fines and terms of imprisonment.
Lead-up
At the end of the
Boer War twelve years earlier, all Boer soldiers had been asked to sign an undertaking that they'd abide by the peace terms. Some, like
Deneys Reitz, refused and were exiled from South Africa. Over the following decade many returned home, and not all of them signed the undertaking upon returning. At the end of the Boer War those Boers who had fought to the end were known as "bitter enders"; by the time of the rebellion, those who hadn't taken the oath and wanted to start a new war had also become known as the "bitter enders".
A German journalist who interviewed the former Boer general
J.B.M. Hertzog for the
Tägliche Rundschau wrote:
» "
Hertzog believes that the fruit of the three-year struggle by the Boers is that their freedom, in the form of a general South African Republic, will fall into their laps as soon as England is involved in a war with a Continental power."
Paraphrasing the Irish Nationalists' "England's misfortune is the bitter enders' opportunity", the "bitter enders" and their supporters saw the start of World War I as an opportunity, particularly since England's enemy, Germany, was their old supporter.
The First World War starts
The outbreak of hostilities in
Europe in August
1914 had long been anticipated, and the government of the Union of South Africa was well aware of the significance of the common border South Africa shared with the
German colony of South-West Africa. Prime Minister
Louis Botha informed London that South Africa could defend itself and that the imperial garrison could depart for
France; when the British government asked Botha whether his forces would invade German South-West Africa, the reply was that they could and would.
South African troops were mobilised along the border between the two countries under the command of General
Henry Lukin and Lieutenant Colonel
Manie Maritz early in September
1914. Shortly afterwards, another force occupied the German port of
Lüderitz.
The rebellion
When the South African government had offered to invade the German colonies, the commander-in-chief of the Union Defence Force General
Christiaan Beyers resigned, writing "
It is sad that the war is being waged against the 'barbarism' of the Germans. We have forgiven but not forgotten all the barbarities committed in our own country during the South African War", referring to the atrocities committed during the Boer War. A nominated senator, General
Koos de la Rey, who had refused to support the government in parliament over this issue, visited Beyers. On
15 September they set off together to visit Major
J.C.G. Kemp in
Potchefstroom, who had a large armoury and a force of 2,000 men who had just finished training, many of whom were thought to be sympathetic to the rebels' ideas.
Although it isn't known what the purpose of their visit was, the South African government believed it to be an attempt to instigate a rebellion, as stated in the Government Blue Book on the rebellion. According to General Beyers it was to discuss plans for the simultaneous resignation of leading army officers as protest against the government's actions, similar to what had happened in Britain two years earlier in the
Curragh incident over the
Irish Home Rule Bill. On the way to the meeting de la Rey was accidentally shot by a policeman at a road block set up to look for the
Foster gang. At his funeral, however, many Nationalist Afrikaners believed and perpetuated the rumour that it was a government assassination, which added fuel to the fire; this was even further inflamed by
Siener van Rensburg and his controversial prophecies.
General Maritz, who was head of a commando of Union forces on the border of
German South-West Africa, allied himself with the Germans and issued a proclamation on behalf of a provisional government which stated that "the former South African Republic and Orange Free State as well as the Cape Province and Natal are proclaimed free from British control and independent, and every White inhabitant of the mentioned areas, of whatever nationality, are hereby called upon to take their weapons in their hands and realize the long-cherished ideal of a Free and Independent South Africa." It was announced that Generals Beyers,
De Wet, Maritz, Kemp and Bezuidenhout were to be the first leaders of this provisional government. Maritz's forces occupied
Keimoes in the Upington area. The
Lydenburg commando under General De Wet took possession of the town of
Heilbron, held up a train and captured government stores and ammunition. Some of the prominent citizens of the area joined him, and by the end of the week he'd a force of 3,000 men. Beyers also gathered a force in the
Magaliesberg; in all, about 12,000 rebels rallied to the cause.
The government declared martial law on
14 October 1914, and forces loyal to the government under the command of General Louis Botha and
Jan Smuts proceeded to destroy the rebellion. General Maritz was defeated on
24 October and took refuge with the Germans. The Beyers commando was attacked and dispersed at
Commissioners Drift on
28 October, after which Beyers joined forces with Kemp, but drowned in the
Vaal River on
8 December. General De Wet was captured in
Bechuanaland, and General Kemp, having taken his commando across the
Kalahari desert, losing 300 out of 800 men and most of their horses on the 1,100 kilometer month-long
trek, joined Maritz in German South-West Africa, but returned after about a week and surrendered on
4 February 1915.
Aftermath
After the Maritz rebellion was suppressed, the South African army continued their operations into German South-West Africa and conquered it by July of
1915 (see the
South-West Africa Campaign for details).
Compared to the fate of leading Irish rebels of the
Easter Rising in
1916, the leading Boer rebels got off lightly with terms of imprisonment of six and seven years and heavy fines. Two years later, they were released from prison, as Louis Botha recognised the value of reconciliation. After this, the "bitter enders" concentrated on working within the constitutional system and built up the
National Party which would come to dominate the politics of South Africa from the late
1940s until the early
1990s, when the
apartheid system they'd constructed also fell.
Further Information
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