Today in Kimberley's History
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The siege of Mafikeng (called Mafeking at the time) starts - 1899
During the first week of Anglo-Boer War 2, Boer forces besieged the small town of Mafeking (now Mafikeng) in the Northern Cape (now North West Province), situated on the main railway line to Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and the Bechuanaland British Protectorate (Botswana). The town was protected by a British force, comprising of both Whites and Blacks under command of Col. Robert Baden-Powell. In the fight preceding the siege two British soldiers were killed and sixteen wounded, while the Republicans suffered five wounded. The first real attack on the town was made under Field-Cornet Sarel Eloff in April 1900, though General P.A. Cronje repeatedly shelled the town in the meantime, causing only minimal damage. From January 1900 food stocks in Mafeking fell low, but Baden-Powell remedied this difficulty by withholding rations from the sizeable Baralong town adjacent to Mafeking.
Sol Plaatje, well-known Black author and political publicist and at that time a court interpreter in Mafeking, was caught up in the siege. He kept a diary, the Mafeking Diary: A Black Man's View of a White Man's War, which was published more than seven decades later. The news of the relief of Mafeking 217 days later caused such scenes of unruly elation in London that the term 'to maffick' was introduced into the English language
During the first week of Anglo-Boer War 2, Boer forces besieged the small town of Mafeking (now Mafikeng) in the Northern Cape (now North West Province), situated on the main railway line to Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and the Bechuanaland British Protectorate (Botswana). The town was protected by a British force, comprising of both Whites and Blacks under command of Col. Robert Baden-Powell. In the fight preceding the siege two British soldiers were killed and sixteen wounded, while the Republicans suffered five wounded. The first real attack on the town was made under Field-Cornet Sarel Eloff in April 1900, though General P.A. Cronje repeatedly shelled the town in the meantime, causing only minimal damage. From January 1900 food stocks in Mafeking fell low, but Baden-Powell remedied this difficulty by withholding rations from the sizeable Baralong town adjacent to Mafeking.
Sol Plaatje, well-known Black author and political publicist and at that time a court interpreter in Mafeking, was caught up in the siege. He kept a diary, the Mafeking Diary: A Black Man's View of a White Man's War, which was published more than seven decades later. The news of the relief of Mafeking 217 days later caused such scenes of unruly elation in London that the term 'to maffick' was introduced into the English language
Pretoria receives city status - 1931
The settlment was established in 1855 by Marthinus Pretorius, a leader of the Voortrekkers who named it after his father Andries Pretorius. Andries Pretorius became a hero of the Voortrekkers after he defeated the Zulus in the Battle of Blood River. The city became the Administrative Capital of the Union of South Africa which was constituted in 1910 with the merger of the Transvaal Colony (former Boer Republic of the ZAR), the Orange Free State Colony (former Boer Republic of the Orange Free State), the Cape Colony and Natal Colony. Thirty years later, in 1961, when the Union of South Africa became completely independent of England and became a republic, Pretoria retained its position of Administrative Capital of the Republic of South Africa. While Johannesburg was the scene of many dramatic incidents, Pretoria was the place where apartheid was actually administered from.
The settlment was established in 1855 by Marthinus Pretorius, a leader of the Voortrekkers who named it after his father Andries Pretorius. Andries Pretorius became a hero of the Voortrekkers after he defeated the Zulus in the Battle of Blood River. The city became the Administrative Capital of the Union of South Africa which was constituted in 1910 with the merger of the Transvaal Colony (former Boer Republic of the ZAR), the Orange Free State Colony (former Boer Republic of the Orange Free State), the Cape Colony and Natal Colony. Thirty years later, in 1961, when the Union of South Africa became completely independent of England and became a republic, Pretoria retained its position of Administrative Capital of the Republic of South Africa. While Johannesburg was the scene of many dramatic incidents, Pretoria was the place where apartheid was actually administered from.