IndexIntroductionEarly lifeContributions to South AfricaThe Anglo-Boer WarKruger becomes presidentConclusionBibliographyIntroductionStephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, known to us as Paul Kruger, he played an important role in shaping the history of South Africa with his contribution and involvement during the Angelo-Boer War and a strong sense of struggle for the independence of the Transvaal against the British. He was not only an important military figure but also a great politician. Taking a detailed look at his early life, contributions to South Africa and what was happening in South Africa at the time will allow us to see how his contexts and circumstances shaped him into the historical icon that he became. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Early lifeStephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger was born on 10 October 1825 on his grandparents' farm in Bulhoek, Cape Colony. Kruger had little to no education other than learning the Bible, which was common among Boers. Father Casper Jan Hendrik Kruger and Mother Elsie Steyn. At the age of 10, Kruger and his family joined the Voortrekkers, in 1836, led by Hendrick Potgieter. During this time, he was raised according to the strict principles of Dutch Calvinism as the Boers were extremely religious. The Boers also had a tradition that at the age of 16 young men had to establish a home on a farm. Kruger left and became the owner of land he called Waterkloof in 1842. In 1836, Kruger fought at the Battle of Vegkop, where the Boers fought the Mzilikazi, and in February 1838 he witnessed the massacre of the laagers by the Zulus. warriors in Natal, which led to his family moving and taking up farming at Rustenburg in the Transvaal. Kruger married Maria Du Plessis and together they had a son. Unfortunately, both the child and Maria died. Kruger then married Du Plessis' cousin, Gezina Du Plessis, and together they had 17 children, some of whom died as infants. Gezina died in 1901. Contributions to South Africa As previously stated, at a young age Kruger was exposed to the many battles that took place in South Africa during that time period, which is what could be seen as character building and training him in the fort, the icon he has become. He fought many battles and "fought in three battles before thirteen". Like many young Afrikaners, Kruger became a field cornet at the age of just 17 and took part in the Battle of Dimawe against the Tswane people. At such a young age Kruger was already building characteristics and possessed the qualities of a leader. Kruger was then promoted to command lieutenant in 1852 and then promoted to commanding general. Kruger was also selected to be part of the Volksraad and was given the task of helping to write a constitution for the Transvaal. Even then, Kruger had already built a strong name for himself and not only had a great military profile but also a promising future in politics. The Anglo-Boer War The First Anglo-Boer War was the result of British expansion, problems within the government of the Transvaal at the time as well as the Boers opposing British rule in the Transvaal and consisted of several battles between Boers and British. The Boers were already experiencing financial difficulties and were also at war with the Pedi people. This was the perfect opportunity for the English to intervene and gain control of the Transvaal. The English sent Sir Theophilus Shepstone to the Transvaal to talk to the Boers and subsequently annexed the Transvaal. The English began to tax the Boers, whichfurther increased tension between the two groups. On 8 December 1880, a large group of Boers gathered on a farm and held meetings and discussions on how to get rid of British rule over the Transvaal. Kruger was elected vice president during this period. The meetings ended on 16 December 1880 and the Boers were ready. The first attack occurred when the Boers ambushed the British, where most of the British soldiers were killed or wounded. This was called the Battle of Bronkhorstpruit in which the Boers were successful. On 26 January 1881, more than 1000 British soldiers marched towards Mount Prospect to attack the Boers, however, they were unsuccessful as the Boers fought back and achieved a victory. This was called the Battle of Laignsnek. Due to the killing and wounding of so many British soldiers, the British declared a truce as their wounded soldiers had to be treated and the dead buried. Kruger made a trip to Britain in 1877 in an attempt to persuade the British government to withdraw the annexation. , but the outcome was unfortunately negative. After attempting a passive approach which also failed, there was then a battle between the Boers and the English, the gruesome Battle of Majuba which the Boers won in 1881. This attracted the attention of the English and allowed Kruger to negotiate with the English. and gained independence, which was a step in the right direction for the Boers. The result of Transvaal independence meant that the English would not financially support the Transvaal government, which led to the economy suffering a rapid decline which left Kruger with a huge problem to solve. This led Kruger to think about a new way to generate revenue. The First Anglo-Boer War was successful for the Boers. Kruger became presidentKruger became president of the Transvaal on 16 April 1883 and was driven by the desire to achieve an independent South Africa. Three years later, in 1886, a massif arose. The discovery of gold in the Witwatersrand area attracted the attention of many "uitlanders" which was called the gold rush. “Kruger saw this as a threat to the separate national identity of his people, the people of God.”Kruger, therefore, sought to limit the number of uitlanders. Unfortunately Kruger was unable to stop the uitlanders and in 1884 the scramble for Africa occurred which left South Africa full of foreigners. There have been many complaints about train fares being too expensive, especially from uitlanders. The reason for this was because it was a great way for the Transvaal to generate revenue and limit the number of uitlanders as many did not qualify for citizenship, which Kruger used to keep as many as possible out of the Transvaal. This however led to the Jameson Raid as it angered Cecil Rhodes, who was Prime Minister of the Cape Colony at the time. The Jameson Raid was led by Leander Starr Jameson, who was a friend of Cecil Rhodes, it was a complete disaster as well as a disaster. embarrassment to the English. Jameson set out for Johannesburg on 29 December 1895 with around 600 men to start a rising as requested by Rhodes, but unfortunately encountered Transvaal soldiers who blocked the road to Johannesburg. Despite their efforts, the British soldiers failed to get through and therefore had to surrender on January 2, 1896. This made the already difficult relationship between the Boers and the British even more unstable, however, to keep the peace Rhodes, Jameson, as well as the soldier who took part in Jameson's raid, were imprisoned, of which Jameson was found guilty of treason. Tension grew between the 2 Boer republics, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, and the British as there was still a problem with the many uitlanders in South Africa which Kruger was quite wary of.“Some Uitlanders felt that they were contributing to the exploitation of the republic's wealth and that they had a right to have a say in how the country was run.” Kruger realized that to a certain extent this was true and therefore called for a second Volksraad in 1890 where new laws were put in place allowing uitlanders to apply for citizenship if they have remained in South Africa for 5 or more years. However, it was made clear that the First Volksraad still had a majority say in how the Transvaal was managed. “Only uitlanders who had been in the country for a full 14 years or more could vote for the first Volksraad.” This was the perfect opportunity for the English to try to influence voters to try to redeem themselves and regain their dominion over the Transvaal again after the embarrassment caused to them by Jameson's raid. The English were quite adamant about taking part in Transvaal affairs and therefore sent Lord Milner to South Africa to put an end to the Boer expansion, which the English feared. Milner knew that the only way the English would stop the Boers was to start a war. The first battle took place at Tulane in October 1899. The British won the second Battle of Elandslaagte. Many other battles occurred during this period. A significant turn of events was called "Black Week" where the Boers were successful in their attacks in the battle between the Sponsors and the Vaalkrans. The Transvaal and Orange Free State united and in 1900 changed their attacks to guerrilla warfare. The British felt intimidated and called in more soldiers and began fighting the Boers. Eventually the British managed to conquer Bloemfontein, Johannesburg and Pretoria. At this point, many Boers felt there was no reason for them to continue fighting the English and surrendered as the English already had control of most of the Boer colonies. Kruger at this point telegraphed to Marthinus Steyn, who was the president of the Orange Free State, with the idea of ​​surrendering, but Steyn along with other Boers did not agree. Kruger, at the age of 73, was unable to fight in the war due to his declining health and had to leave South Africa. He left on a ship and went into exile in the Netherlands. Although he was not physically in South Africa and did not fight in the war, he never stopped trying to get help and support from other counties for the Boers. After many Boers surrendered, the British assumed that the rest of the war would be quick and easy. The Boers who continued the war, however, were prepared to see this war through and persevered. The Boer soldiers could be seen as admirals as they did not give up and fought to the end. These soldiers were called the "bitter einders". In 1902 the war ended. The success of the English was also a bittersweet feeling as, although they had defeated the Boers, many lives were lost on both sides. The war was extremely costly and long. Two years after the war ended, Kruger died in Clarens, Switzerland, where he moved after being in exile in the Netherlands. His body was later sent back to South Africa and buried on South African soil for which he never stopped fighting until his death. The way South Africa paid tribute to the iconic leader Paul Kruger was by erecting a statue in his honour, which is located in Pretoria, Church Square, as well as maintaining his house and turning it into a museum which is also located in Pretoria. . Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Conclusion Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger played an important role in the history of South Africa. Despite many difficult challenges,