Iain Robertson Smith | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 7 December 2021 82) | (aged
Nationality | British |
Alma mater | University of Edinburgh, University of Wisconsin, University of Oxford |
Occupation(s) | historian, educator |
Employer | University of Warwick |
Spouse | Teresa Halikowska (m. 1968;died 2020) |
Children | 2 sons and 1 daughter |
Iain Robertson Smith (16 July 1939 - 7 December 2021) was emeritus reader in history at the University of Warwick. [1] He was a specialist in the history of South Africa and the South African War in particular. Smith was a member of Council of The Historical Association from 1980 to 1995 and editor of the New Appreciations in History series.
Iain Smith was born on 16 July 1939 in Hull. [1] His father was Alexander Smith, a dentist, and his mother was Amy ( née Cheetham) Smith. He attended Bootham School in York and received his advanced education at the University of Edinburgh (M.A.) and the University of Wisconsin (M.A.) where he was a Fulbright Scholar. He earned his D.Phil. from St. Antony's College, University of Oxford. [2]
Smith was reader in history at the University of Warwick. He was a specialist in the history of South Africa and the South African War in particular. His book on The origins of the South African War, 1899–1902 (1996) was welcomed in Afrikaans circles but criticised by some English speaking scholars as too limited in scope. Kobus du Pisani in H-Net praised it for its "old-fashioned approach, maintaining a strong narrative line" but also criticised the book as "one-sided" and for failing to examine contemporary Boer sources. [3] Smith contributed to a reappraisal of the Siege of Mafeking and was researching the concentration or internment camps, established for Boer and Black civilians in South Africa by the British. [2]
He was a member of Council of The Historical Association from 1980 to 1995 and editor of the New Appreciations in History series. He held visiting academic positions at the University of Cape Town (1989), University of Pretoria (1993, 2001), Institute of Commonwealth Studies London (1987), Mansfield College Oxford (1997), University of Tbilisi, Georgian Republic (1991), and the Institute of Historical Research, Helsinki (1998). [2]
The Second Boer War, also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics over the Empire's influence in Southern Africa.
Mahikeng, formerly known as Mafikeng and alternatively known as Mafeking, is the capital city of the North West province of South Africa.
The Union of South Africa was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange River colonies. It included the territories that were formerly part of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State.
Pieter Arnoldus "Piet" Cronjé was a South African Boer general during the Anglo-Boer Wars of 1880–1881 and 1899–1902.
Ladysmith is a city in the Uthukela District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It lies 230 kilometres (140 mi) north-west of Durban and 365 kilometres (227 mi) south-east of Johannesburg. Important industries in the area include food processing, textiles, and tyre production. Ladysmith is the seat for both the Alfred Duma Local Municipality and Uthukela District Municipality.
The siege of Mafeking was a 217-day siege battle for the town of Mafeking in South Africa during the Second Boer War from October 1899 to May 1900. The siege received considerable attention as Lord Edward Cecil, the son of the British prime minister, was in the besieged town, as also was Lady Sarah Wilson, a daughter of the Duke of Marlborough and aunt of Winston Churchill. The siege turned the British commander, Colonel Robert Baden-Powell, into a national hero. The Relief of Mafeking, while of little military significance, was a morale boost for the struggling British.
The siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 2 November 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal.
The Johannesburg Light Horse Regiment, is a reserve armoured car reconnaissance unit of the South African Army.
The Battle of Magersfontein was fought on 11 December 1899, at Magersfontein, near Kimberley, South Africa, on the borders of the Cape Colony and the independent republic of the Orange Free State. British forces under Lieutenant General Lord Methuen were advancing north along the railway line from the Cape to relieve the siege of Kimberley, but their path was blocked at Magersfontein by a Boer force that was entrenched in the surrounding hills. The British had already fought a series of battles with the Boers, most recently at Modder River, where the advance was temporarily halted.
Opposition to the Second Boer War occurred both within and outside of the British Empire. Among the British public, there was initially much support for the war, though it declined considerably as the conflict dragged on. Internationally, condemnation of the British role in the war came from many sources, predominately left-wing and anti-imperialist commentators. Inside Britain, influential anti-war groups, especially those consisting of members of the opposition Liberal Party, quickly formed. They campaigned ineffectually against British wartime policies, which were supported by the Conservative Party of Prime Minister Lord Salisbury.
The 155 mm CreusotLong Tom was a French siege gun manufactured by Schneider et Cie in Le Creusot, France and used by the Boers in the Second Boer War as field guns.
The siege of Kimberley took place during the Second Boer War at Kimberley, Cape Colony, when Boer forces from the Orange Free State and the Transvaal besieged the diamond mining town. The Boers moved quickly to try to capture the area when war broke out between the British and the two Boer republics in October 1899. The town was ill-prepared, but the defenders organised an energetic and effective improvised defence that was able to prevent it from being taken.
Lady Sarah Wilson DStJ RRC became one of the first woman war correspondents in 1899, when she was recruited by Alfred Harmsworth to cover the Siege of Mafeking for the Daily Mail during the Second Boer War.
The Battle of Elands River was an engagement of the Second Boer War that took place between 4 and 16 August 1900 in western Transvaal. The battle was fought at Brakfontein Drift near the Elands River between a force of 2,000 to 3,000 Boers and a garrison of 500 Australian, Rhodesian, Canadian and British soldiers, which was stationed there to protect a British supply dump that had been established along the route between Mafeking and Pretoria. The Boer force, which consisted of several commandos under the overall leadership of Koos de la Rey, was in desperate need of provisions after earlier fighting had cut it off from its support base. As a result, it was decided to attack the garrison along the Elands River in an effort to capture the supplies located there.
General Jacobus Philippus Snyman was one of the dominant military figures in the South African Republic during the 19th century. He was the District Commissioner, Native Commissioner, and Commandant for the Marico district and led the Rustenburg and Marico commandos during the Second Boer War. Nicknamed Hamerkop, Snyman came to international prominence as the military commander at the Siege of Mafeking from November 1899 to May 1900.
Jan Hendrik Olivier was a Boer general during the Second Boer War who was notable for being the main Boer commander at the Battle of Stormberg.
Marthinus Prinsloo was an Orange Free State Boer farmer, politician and general in the Second Boer War (1899-1902). He was born of Nicolaas Frans Prinsloo (1813-1890) and Isabella Johanna Petronella Rautenbach in the district of Graaff-Reinet, South Africa who migrated to the Orange Free State where they lived in Bloemfontein, Waterval and Bethlehem.
Pieter Daniël de Wet was a Boer general in the Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902) and a younger brother of Boer general and politician Christiaan de Wet. Piet de Wet participated in the Battle of Poplar Grove, the Battle of Sanna's Post for the waterworks there, and defeated the 13th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry at Lindley. In July 1900, he surrendered to the British at Kroonstad, Orange Free State. He became a prominent member of the National Scouts helping the British in the last years of the Boer War.
Christiaan Botha was a younger brother of Louis Botha (1862–1919) and Philip Botha (1851-1901), but an older brother of Theunis Jacobus Botha (1867-1930), and likewise a Boer general in the Second Boer War (1899–1902) who then both fought the British to the end.
Petrus Johannes Liebenberg was a Boer general in the Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902).