1900 – The War Continues Beyond Kimberley

On 3 August 1900, President Paul Kruger and Commandant-General Louis Botha issued a proclamation promising compensation to Boer burghers who remained with their commandos, assuring them that damage caused to their farms during the war would be repaid after the conflict. The proclamation reflected the changing nature of the South African War (Anglo-Boer War). Although the British had occupied Pretoria and relieved Kimberley earlier that year, the conflict had entered a prolonged guerrilla phase. Boer commandos abandoned conventional warfare and launched mobile attacks across the countryside, while British forces responded with increasingly determined military campaigns.

For Kimberley, these events were followed with keen interest. The city had endured 124 days under siege before being relieved on 15 February 1900. Families who had survived shellfire, food shortages and disease now watched anxiously as husbands, sons and friends continued serving with British forces elsewhere in South Africa.

Although businesses reopened and diamond mining resumed, the war continued to influence everyday life.

Military trains still passed through Kimberley, hospitals remained busy treating casualties, and the Diamond Fields Advertiser carried regular reports from the front. The uncertainty of war lingered over the city long after the siege had ended. Peace would not finally come until the Treaty of Vereeniging was signed on 31 May 1902, bringing nearly three years of conflict to an end and reshaping the future of South Africa.

Did You Know?

Although the Siege of Kimberley ended on 15 February 1900, the South African War continued for another twenty-seven months. During that time, Kimberley remained an important railway, military and supply centre for British operations across the interior.