Louis Botha (; 27 September 1862 – 27 August 1919) was a South African politician who was the first
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
of the
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Tran ...
– the forerunner of the modern South African state. A
Boer
Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this are ...
war hero during the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), 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 (the South ...
, he eventually fought to have South Africa become a British
Dominion.
Early life
Louis Botha was born in
Greytown,
Natal
NATAL or Natal may refer to:
Places
* Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil
* Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa
** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843)
** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...
one of 13 children born to Louis Botha Senior (26 March 1827 – 5 July 1883) and Salomina Adriana van Rooyen (31 March 1829 – 9 January 1886). He briefly attended the school at
Hermannsburg before his family relocated to the
Orange Free State. The name Louis runs throughout the family, with every generation since General Louis Botha having the eldest son named Louis. Botha had a younger brother
Chris
Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common.
People with the given name
*Chris Abani (born 1966), Nige ...
(1864-1902), who was a police officer and like Louis a military commander in the Second Boer War.
Zulu conflict
Louis Botha led "
Dinuzulu's Volunteers", a group of Boers that had supported
Dinuzulu against
Zibhebhu
Zibhebhu kaMaphitha Zulu (1841–1904) (also called Usibepu/Ziphewu) was a Zulu chief. After the defeat of the Zulu Kingdom by the British, he attempted to create his own independent kingdom. From 1883 to 1884, he fought the Zulu king Cetshwayo, ...
in 1884.
Politician
Botha later became a member of the parliament of
Transvaal in 1897, representing the district of
Vryheid
Vryheid ( zu, IVryheid) is a coal mining and cattle ranching town in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Vryheid is the Afrikaans word for "freedom".
History
After Boer farmers, who lived in the Vryheid area, had helped King Dinuzulu defeat his ...
.
Second Boer War
Early battles
In 1899, Louis Botha fought in the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), 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 (the South ...
, initially joining the
Krugersdorp Commando,
continuing to fight under
Lucas Meyer in Northern Natal, and later as a general commanding and leading Boer forces impressively at
Colenso and
Spion Kop. On the death of
P. J. Joubert, he was made commander-in-chief of the
Transvaal Boers, where he demonstrated his abilities again at
Belfast-Dalmanutha. After the
battle at the Tugela, Botha granted a twenty-four-hour armistice to
General Buller to enable him to bury his dead.
Capture of Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill revealed that General Botha was the man who captured him at the ambush of a British
armoured train
An armoured train is a railway train protected with armour. Armoured trains usually include railway wagons armed with artillery, machine guns and autocannons. Some also had slits used to fire small arms from the inside of the train, a facili ...
on 15 November 1899. also claims that Botha captured Churchill at train ambush 15 November 1899. Churchill was not aware of the man's identity until 1902, when Botha travelled to London seeking loans to assist his country's reconstruction, and the two met at a private luncheon. The incident is also mentioned in
Arthur Conan Doyle's book, ''
The Great Boer War'', published in 1902. However more recent sources claim that Field-Cornet Sarel Oosthuizen was in fact the Boer soldier who, at gunpoint, captured Churchill.
Another version claims that the unit to capture Churchill was the
Italian Volunteer Legion and its commander,
Camillo Ricchiardi.
Later campaigns
After the fall of
Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa.
Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...
in June 1900, Louis Botha led a concentrated
guerrilla campaign against the British together with
Koos de la Rey and
Christiaan de Wet. The success of his measures was seen in the steady resistance offered by the Boers to the very close of the three-year war.
Role after the Boer War
Botha was prominent in efforts to achieve a peace with the British, representing the Boers at the peace negotiations in 1902, and was signatory to the
Treaty of Vereeniging
The Treaty of Vereeniging was a peace treaty, signed on 31 May 1902, that ended the Second Boer War between the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, on the one side, and the United Kingdom on the other.
This settlement provided f ...
. In the period of reconstruction under British rule, Botha went to Europe with de Wet and de la Rey to raise funds to enable the Boers to resume their former avocations.
Botha, who was still looked upon as the leader of the Boer people, took a prominent part in politics, advocating always measures which he considered as tending to the maintenance of peace and good order and the re-establishment of prosperity in the Transvaal. His war record made him prominent in the politics of Transvaal and he was a major player in the postwar reconstruction of that country, founding with
Jan Smuts
Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Af ...
the
Het Volk Party in the
Transvaal Colony in 1904, which served as a springboard to campaign for responsible self-government for the colony.
After the grant of self-government to the Transvaal on 6 December 1906 and the success of his Het Volk Party at the
first elections in February 1907, Botha was called upon by
Lord Selborne to
form a government as
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
on 4 March 1907, and in the spring of the same year he took part in the
conference of colonial premiers held in London.
During his visit to England on this occasion General Botha declared the wholehearted adhesion of the Transvaal to the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
, and his intention to work for the welfare of the country regardless of racial differences. The following year Botha participated in the
National Convention (South Africa)
The National Convention (Dutch: ''Nationale Conventie'', Afrikaans: ''Nasionale Konvensie''), also known as the Convention on the Closer Union of South Africa or the Closer Union Convention, was a constitutional convention held between 1908 and ...
which opened up the way for the passage of the
South Africa Act of 1909 by the
British parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...
which in turn allowed for the formation of the
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Tran ...
.
When South Africa obtained
dominion status in 1910, Botha became the first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa. In 1911, together with another Boer war hero,
Jan Smuts
Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Af ...
, he formed the
South African Party
nl, Zuidafrikaanse Partij
, leader1_title = Leader (s)
, leader1_name = Louis Botha,Jan Smuts, Barry Hertzog
, foundation =
, dissolution =
, merger = Het Volk South African PartyAfrikaner BondOrangia Unie
, merged ...
, or SAP. Widely viewed as too conciliatory with Britain, Botha faced revolts from within his own party and opposition from
James Barry Munnik Hertzog
General James Barry Munnik Hertzog (3 April 1866 – 21 November 1942), better known as Barry Hertzog or J. B. M. Hertzog, was a South African politician and soldier. He was a Boer general during the Second Boer War who served ...
's
National Party. He was a
South African Freemason.
Later career
After the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
started, he sent troops to take
German South-West Africa, a move unpopular among Boers, which provoked the
Boer Revolt.
Praise for the British
At Versailles on 1 June 1919, 17 years after the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging, General Botha, now a member of the British Empire Delegation, put his hand on
Lord Milner's shoulder, and said "Seventeen years ago my friend and I
made peace at Vereeniging – it was a bitter peace for us, bitter hard. We lost all for which we had fought – our independence, our flag, our country. But we turned our thoughts and efforts then to saving our people; and they, the victors, helped us. It was a hard peace for us to accept, but as I know it now, when time has shown us the truth, it was not unjust – it was a generous peace that the British people made with us, and that is why we stand with them today side by side in the cause which has brought us all together."
At the end of the War he briefly led a
British Military Mission to Poland during the
Polish–Soviet War. He argued that the terms of the
Versailles Treaty
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 19 ...
were too harsh on the
Central Powers, but signed the treaty. Botha was unwell for most of 1919. He was plagued by fatigue and ill health that arose from his robust waistline.
Death
General Louis Botha died of
heart failure at his home following an attack of
Spanish influenza
The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...
on 27 August 1919 in the early hours of the morning. He was 56. His wife
Annie was at home and was joined by Engelenburg who had acted as a private secretary to Botha. Botha was laid to rest in the Heroes' Acre of the Church Street Cemetery in Pretoria.
Of Botha, Winston Churchill wrote in ''Great Contemporaries'' "The three most famous generals I have known in my life won no great battles over a foreign foe. Yet their names, which all begin with a 'B', are household words. They are
General Booth, General Botha and
General Baden-Powell...."
Honours
Sculptor
Raffaello Romanelli won the competition to create the equestrian statue of Botha that stands in front of the South African Parliament building but died before completing it. His son
Romano Romanelli
Romano Romanelli (14 May 1882 – 25 September 1968) was an Italian artist, writer, and naval officer. He is best known for his sculptures and his medals.
Romanelli was born in Florence, the son of sculptor Raffaello Romanelli. Romano's wor ...
was contracted to finish his father's work.
Sculptor
Anton van Wouw created a statue of Botha in Durban unveiled in 1921.
Sculptor Coert Steynberg was commissioned to create the equestrian statue of Botha in front of the Union Buildings in Pretoria. It was unveiled in 1946.
The
General Botha Regiment
The General Botha Regiment (formerly Regiment Botha) is a reserve infantry regiment of the South African Army. The Regiment was named after General Louis Botha, the first prime minister of South Africa.
History
The regiment was formed in Erme ...
of the
South African Army is named after Botha.
References
Sources
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Further reading
Biographical
*
Historical
* (insights of Botha)
* (comprehensive commentaries on Smuts and Botha, or as William's titled them in the last chapter of this book ''par nobile fratrum''
*
Fiction
* (a heroic Boer character in this Australian/Boer War novel)
External links
*
* Anne Samson
Botha, Louis in
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Botha, Louis
Prime Ministers of South Africa
Members of the House of Assembly (South Africa)
South African Republic generals
South African Republic military personnel of the Second Boer War
1862 births
1919 deaths
Afrikaner people
Boer generals
South African Party (Union of South Africa) politicians
South African people of World War I
Deaths from Spanish flu
Infectious disease deaths in South Africa
People from Greytown, KwaZulu-Natal
South African people of Dutch descent
1900s in the South African Republic
1900s in Transvaal
1910s in South Africa
20th-century South African people
South African members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
South African Freemasons