boer war and diamonds in Africa (south africa)

1. The
Discovery of
Diamonds
The Boer War
T-Dizzle – 2004
revised 2008

2. Colonization and “The
Scramble”• The Scramble for Africa began in the late 1800s with the Berlin Conference.
• With the Scramble, Europeans began entering into African territories,
forcing them to sign treaties, and taking as much land as possible
• Colonization led to a system of racial separation, forced labor, early death,
and exploitation throughout Africa once it started…
• BUT things were different in South Africa.
• South Africa was located on the southern tip of Africa, a valuable piece of
land for traders going to Asia and India to stop and resupply. This piece of
land was colonized much earlier than the rest of Africa.
• Groups of Dutch (Holland), Germans, French, and British all came to set up
colonies as early as the 1500s.
• These groups of people had been living in South Africa for hundreds of years
before the Scramble began and considered themselves to be Africans.
• By comparison, they lived in South Africa longer than our families have lived in
America (1776ish)

3. The World Wide… World…

4.  Under the colonial system, European settlers were
treated better than the people who already lived in East
and Southern Africa.
 New settlers could buy large pieces of the best land at
low prices.
 Native Africans were moved to “reserves” that had less
fertile land.
 Settlers hired Africans to work for them at low wages.

5. Gold and diamonds were discovered
in South Africa in 1867, causing a
large number of people from Great
Britain to move to the colony.
Tensions between the parties led to
the "Boer Wars" from 1899 to 1902.
The British soundly defeated
the Boers.

6.  The Boers (Dutch farmers) were joined by Germans,
Belgium, and French settlers -- Together these groups
were known as Afrikaners.
The British took over Cape Town from the Dutch in 1806
due to its location as a trading capital. The British settlers
came into conflict with the Afrikaners.

7. In 1834 many Afrikaners
moved in the Great Trek
inland to areas north and
east of the cape.
The journey by Afrikaner farmers (Boers) who left the Cape Colony to
escape British domination and restrictions of British rule, and obtain
new land.
“Trek” is an Afrikaans term, originally meaning a journey by ox
wagon. In this most famous trek, 12,000 Boers left the Cape between
1835 and 1843.
Eventually the Boers founded Natal, Transvaal, and
the Orange Free State.

8. The Struggle for South Africa

9. The Voortrekkers (as the Boers were
known) migrated beyond the Orange
River. After defeating resident Africans,
most remained in the high veld of the
interior, forming isolated communities
and small states.

10. Afrikaners
Shaka Zulu (1785 – 1828)
The Great Trek 1836-1838

11. Tensions between the British and the Afrikaners resulted
in war in 1899. The tension resulted in the Boer War.
They fought for rights to gold-rich
land known as Transvaal (beyond the
Vaal River).
The British won in 1902.

12. The lands claimed by Boers and the
British joined to form the Union of South
Africa – a British colony.

13. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold
(1885) European interest in South Africa
soared. The Boers, Tswana, and other
African people claimed the land of these
valuable minerals.

14. Diamonds were discovered in 1867 along the
Vaal and Orange Rivers and in
1870 at what became (1871)
Kimberly.
In 1886 gold was discovered on the
Witwatersrand.

15. DIAMONDS IN SOUTH
AFRICABritish companies paid for the deep mines that were
needed to dig out the valuable minerals.
The British grew rich from the profits.

16. Mineral discoveries (especially gold) spurred great
economic development in South Africa during 1870-1900.
Foreign trade increased dramatically, rail track routes
expanded from 70 mi. (in 1870) to 3,600 mi. (in 1895).
The number of whites rose from about 300,000 in 1870 to
about 1 million in 1900.

17. Diamond mining areas of South
Africa

18. The largest gem-quality diamond ever
discovered weighed 3,106 carats
(about 1 1/3 pounds). It was found by
Frederick Wells.
Dug from Premier Mine in Pretoria,
South Africa 3,106 carats is about
the size of a person’s fist.
This large diamond was named after
Sir Thomas Cullinan, who opened
the mine and was visiting on the day
the mine opened.
Rumor has it that before Frederick Wells sold the diamond to Sir Thomas
Cullinan. Wells broke off a piece sized at about 1,500 to 2,000 carats
(300 to 400 grams). If this were true, then the original Cullinan diamond would
have weighed in at about 5000 carats (1 kg).

19. In 1905, transport from South Africa to England posed a bit of a
problem with regards to security. Detectives from London were
placed upon a steamer ship that was rumored to carry the stone.
The stone on that ship was a fake. The actual diamond was sent to
England in a plain box via parcel post.
Throughout the years, rumors have spread of a second half of the
Cullinan diamond, as certain signs point to the diamond being part
of a larger crystal.

20. The nine largest pieces of the Cullinan
Diamond.
The Cullinan I, known as the Star of Africa,
weighs 530.20 carats. King Edward placed
it in the Sovereign's Royal Scepter (part of
the Crown Jewels - now on display in the
Tower of London.

21. Diamond mine in Kimberly, South
Africa

22. Diamond mine

23. Cross section of a
diamond mine

24. Diamonds are sorted on a white background
by color