Preview

Do you agree with the view that the British Public’s enthusiasm for the Empire increased during the Second Boer War (1899-1902)? Explain your answer using sources 4, 5, and 6 and your own knowledge.

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
894 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Do you agree with the view that the British Public’s enthusiasm for the Empire increased during the Second Boer War (1899-1902)? Explain your answer using sources 4, 5, and 6 and your own knowledge.
Do you agree with the view that the British Public’s enthusiasm for the Empire increased during the Second Boer War (1899-1902)?
Explain your answer using sources 4, 5, and 6 and your own knowledge.
The Second Boer War was a landmark in British imperial history because of its impact on British politics, society and military tactics. The Second Boer War led to drastic reforms amongst the military and amongst the people as the Conservative party was removed from power by the Liberal party in the post-war election of 1906. However, enthusiasm for the war at the time was quite high; patriotism amongst the British was a cause of much of the support the government at the time received during the war. But did it increase or decrease, and why?
Source 4 definitely agrees with the question, “In what was the most famous display of support for late-Victorian imperialism, Liverpool, Newcastle, Birmingham, York and Glasgow celebrated.” This definitely shows that support for the British Empire had increased during the Second Boer War as the celebrations after the relief of Mafeking were described as “The most famous display of support for late-Victorian imperialism.” Source 4 was written by a historian in 1999. This may therefore be an inaccurate interpretation of events that actually happened at the time. Before the relief of Mafeking, the war had been going poorly for the British, so the celebrations may have occurred as a result of Britain finally scoring a decisive victory rather than support the overarching aims of the Empire itself. The source is still useful in discussing the feeling of the British public about the war.
Source 5 however, disagrees with the question, “No normal development of the Empire ought to include the conquest of a white race.” This clearly suggests that the person who wrote this believed that “principles of the Empire.” were based on the subjugation of weaker, less civilised cultures rather than white cultures and nations. This therefore

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful