It had undoubtedly been hastened by the
ill-fated and ill-advised raid in 1896 of Dr Jameson, the
administrator of Rhodesia.
It is scarcely necessary to review the details of this war at any
length. It proved conclusively that the Government of this country
had vastly underrated the resisting powers of the Boers. For three
years the British army was forced to wage a guerilla warfare, and
adapt itself to entirely new methods of campaigning.
On May 28, 1900, the Orange Free State was annexed under the name
of the Orange River Colony. In June Lord Roberts entered Pretoria,
but the war dragged on until 1902, when a Peace Conference was held
and the Boer Republics became part of the British Empire. Very
liberal terms were offered to and accepted by the conquered Dutch.
But long before this event took place Queen Victoria had passed away.
She had followed the whole course of the war with the deepest interest
and anxiety, and when Lord Roberts returned to this country, leaving
Lord Kitchener in command in South Africa, the Queen was desirous
of hearing from his own lips the story of the campaign.
The public was already uneasy about the state of her health, and on
January 20th it was announced that her condition had become serious.
On Tuesday, January 22, she was conscious and recognized the members
of her family watching by her bedside, but on the afternoon of the
same day she peacefully passed away.
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