Letterklip | |
---|---|
"Lettered rock" | |
Garies, South Africa | |
Coordinates | 30°33′20″S17°58′33″E / 30.55556°S 17.97583°E Coordinates: 30°33′20″S17°58′33″E / 30.55556°S 17.97583°E |
Type | Natural rock formation, Dry Wall construction. |
Site information | |
Controlled by | South Africa |
Open to the public | Yes |
Condition | Intact |
Site history | |
Built | 1901 |
Materials | Local stone. |
Events | Second Boer War |
Garrison information | |
Garrison | British Forces |
The Letterklip, Afrikaans for "lettered rock", is a provincial heritage site in Namaqualand in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. The unique rock formation was fortified by dry stone walling; it was occupied from 1901 to 1902 by British forces during the Anglo-Boer War. Various regimental badges and officers' names are engraved in the rockface. [1]
In 1980, it was described in the Government Gazette of South Africa :
This unique rock formation was fortified and occupied from 1901 to 1902 by the British forces during the Anglo-Boer War. Various regimental badges and officers' names are engraved in the rockface.
The Second Boer War, also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics over the Empire's influence in Southern Africa from 1899 to 1902. Following the discovery of gold deposits in the Boer republics, there was a large influx of "foreigners", mostly British from the Cape Colony. They were not permitted to have a vote, and were regarded as "unwelcome visitors", invaders, and they protested to the British authorities in the Cape. Negotiations failed and, in the opening stages of the war, the Boers launched successful attacks against British outposts before being pushed back by imperial reinforcements. Though the British swiftly occupied the Boer republics, numerous Boers refused to accept defeat and engaged in guerrilla warfare. Eventually, British scorched earth policies, and the poor conditions suffered in concentration camps by Boer women and children who had been displaced by these policies, brought the remaining Boer guerillas to the negotiating table, ending the war.
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