Visits by representatives of the Boer republics to Russia in the context of the armed resistance to British imperialism
https://doi.org/10.26907/2541-7738.2025.5-6.58-69
Abstract
During the Anglo-Boer War of 1899–1902, representatives of the South African Republic (Transvaal) and the Orange Free State sought diplomatic support in Europe. They hoped for diplomatic intervention from Russia, given its rivalry with Great Britain and no colonial interests in Africa. In the summer of 1900, a Boer deputation visited Saint Petersburg to request Russian mediation in the conflict with Great Britain. However, despite a warm public reception, the delegates did not get official support from the Russian government. A planned visit to Russia by the president of the Transvaal, P. Kruger, did not take place. In 1901, a secretary of the Transvaal mission in Brussels, F.A. van der Hoeven, arrived in Saint Petersburg and attended the court celebrations, which caused diplomatic friction. The Russian government, while formally recognizing the Boer republics, consistently avoided steps that could harm its relations with Great Britain and restricted press coverage of the visits by representatives of these states. The Boers’ diplomatic efforts failed to secure any effective assistance from Russia.
About the Author
B. M. Gorelik
Institute for African Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences
Россия
Россия
Boris M. Gorelik, Cand. Sci. (History), Senior Researcher, Centre for Sub-Saharan Africa
Moscow, Russia
References
1. Morozov E.V. Vneshnyaya politika Efiopii i rossiisko-efiopskie otnosheniya v kontse XIX–nachale XX vv. [The Foreign Policy of Ethiopia and the Russia–Ethiopia Relations in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries]. St. Petersburg, Gelikon Plyus, 2007. 335 p. (In Russian)
2. Tsypkin G.V. The first Russian embassy in Tropical Africa. 120 years of establishing diplomatic relations between Russia and Ethiopia. Novaya i Noveyshaya Istoriya, 2018, no. 2, pp. 113–124. (In Russian)
3. Golikov A.G., Rybachenok I.S. …And we do not need Africa? Rodina, 2011, no. 1, pp. 97–102. (In Russian)
4. Lowry D. ‘The Play of Forces World-Wide in their Scope and Revolutionary in their Operation [J.A. Hobson]’: The South African War as an international event // S. Afr. Hist. J. 1999. V. 41, No 1. P. 83–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/02582479908671886.
5. Pretorius F. Boer propaganda during the South African War of 1899–1902 // J. Imp. Commonw. Hist. 2009. V. 37, No 3. P. 399–419. https://doi.org/10.1080/03086530903157607.
6. Grigor’eva S.V. Russian private and state initiatives concerning Ethiopia in the 1880s–1890s. Cand. Sci. (History) Diss. Nizhny Novgorod, 1997. 210 p. (In Russian)
7. Davidson A.B., Filatova I.I. The Anglo-Boer War and Russia. Novaya i Noveyshaya Istoriya, 2000, no. 1, pp. 31–51. (In Russian)
8. Davidson A., Filatova I. The Russians and the Anglo-Boer War 1899–1902. Cape Town, Pretoria, Johannesburg: Human & Rousseau, 1998. 287 p.
9. Gorelik B.M. A Russian protectorate for the Boer republics. A rejected idea for countering British imperialism. Vostok (Oriens), 2023, no. 5, pp. 44–56. https://doi.org/10.31857/S086919080024664-7. (In Russian)
10. Scholtz G.D. Europa en die Tweede Vryheidsoorlog: 1899–1902. Johannesburg, Pretoria: Voortrekkerpers, 1939. 224 p.
11. Scheibert J. Der Freiheitskampf der Buren und die Geschichte ihres Landes. Bd. 3. Berlin: A. Schröder, 1903. 472 S.
12. Wessels A. The Anglo-Boer War: White Man’s War, Black Man’s War, Traumatic War. Bloemfontein: Sun Press, 2011. 213 p.
Review
For citations:
Gorelik B.M. Visits by representatives of the Boer republics to Russia in the context of the armed resistance to British imperialism. Kazan Journal of Historical, Linguistic, and Legal Research. 2025;167(5-6):58-69. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.26907/2541-7738.2025.5-6.58-69
Views:
11
JATS XML
Email this article 