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War and British Society c.790 to c.2010

The Crimean War and the Boer Wars

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 2

Overview

The Charge of the Light Brigade, disease in the Crimea, Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole, war reporting and its effects, Majuba Hill, the causes of the second Boer War, Black Week and Mafeking, farm burning and the camps, and the unfit recruits of 1899.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Numbers

What made the Second Boer War break out in 1899?

Numbers

What were Black Week and the relief of Mafeking?

Key term

What did army recruiting during the Boer War reveal about Britain itself?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Which episode of the Crimean War became a byword for brave men badly led?

    Model answer

    The Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava in 1854, when a misunderstood order sent cavalry down a valley against Russian guns.

  2. 2

    Why did more British soldiers die of disease than of Russian fire in the Crimea?

    Model answer

    Supplies, clothing, shelter and medical care broke down completely, and cholera and dysentery swept camps and hospitals.

  3. 3

    How did the public at home learn what was going wrong, and what did that cause?

    Model answer

    War correspondents telegraphed reports and photographers brought back images, and the outcry over the mismanagement brought down Lord Aberdeen’s government in 1855 and pushed reform of army supply and medical services.

  4. 4

    How did the first war against the Boers end in 1881?

    Model answer

    With a British defeat at Majuba Hill and a settlement that gave the Transvaal back its self-government under loose British oversight.

  5. 5

    What made the second war break out in 1899?

    Model answer

    Gold on the Witwatersrand drew in foreign incomers who were denied the vote, the Jameson Raid of 1895 destroyed what trust was left, and both sides moved troops until the Boer republics struck first.

  6. 6

    What were Black Week and the relief of Mafeking?

    Model answer

    Black Week in December 1899 was three British defeats in six days, and the relief of the besieged town of Mafeking in May 1900 set off wild street celebrations across Britain.

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