European Conquest of South Africa

http://prospectjournal.ucsd.edu/index.php/2010/05/crushing-south-africa-the-collective-impact-of-european-conquest/
           In this source, the writer, Narisa Silver, analyzes the complex relationship among the British, Boers, and native Africans in the South African War, or the Boer War. Silver explains how the relations among the groups affected the result of the war. Although the British won the war and were the primary force in the conquest of South Africa, Silver argues that the Boers also contributed to the loss of the native Africans. To support this argument, she compares the goals that the British and the Boers had with South Africa and how each European group fought for their interests. The British were imperialistic and highly aggressive to take over the country because of their rich mining resources, while the Boers also believed in white supremacy but were nationalistic and felt destined to protect the country they had lived in for years from the British imperialists. Silver explains the strategy of the British to first educate the natives on the European way of life and then assume authoritarian rule over them. The natives tried to fight back against the British through violent guerilla attacks, but they also had the Boers to deal with. Silver argues that the Boers felt threatened by the British influence and felt degraded that they were treated as inferior as the black natives. Thus, it can be argued that the Boers helped the British conquer the natives by also profiting off the mines and taking their resources. However, Silver also points out that this is not a strong argument because the two European groups had different intentions for being in South Africa and in conflict with the natives. Overall, Silver presents a persuasive argument on the importance of understanding the specific roles that the British and the Boers had in the conquest of South Africa. She argues that, like the British, the Boers fought for superiority over the black natives and took resources from them as well.

          Narisa Silver is an Undergraduate Researcher at the University of California, San Diego. She incorporates scholarly sources in her argument and is clearly not biased as she examines both European groups in the war and does not exactly take a side between the two groups. The information she presents about the British and the Boers roles in the war were effective support for her argument on how both the British and the Boers contributed to the conquest of South Africa. Altogether, her writing is a reliable source and is published on the Prospect Journal of International Affairs at University of California, San Diego.