Maritz rebellion
The Maritz rebellion, also known as the Boer revolt, Third Boer War, or the Five Shilling rebellion,[2] was an armed insurrection in South Africa in 1914, at the start of World War I. It was led by Boers who supported the re-establishment of the South African Republic in the Transvaal. Many members of the South African government were themselves Boers who had fought with the Maritz rebels against the British in the Second Boer War, which had ended twelve years earlier. The rebellion failed, and its ringleaders received heavy fines and terms of imprisonment. One of them, Jopie Fourie, was executed.
First World War starts[edit]
The outbreak of hostilities in Europe in August 1914 had long been anticipated,[4] and the government of the Union of South Africa was well aware of the significance of the common border South Africa shared with the German colony of South-West Africa. Prime Minister Louis Botha informed London that South Africa could defend itself and that the imperial garrison could depart for France; when the British government asked Botha whether his forces would invade German South-West Africa, the reply was that they could and would.
South African troops were mobilised along the border between the two countries under the command of General Henry Lukin and Lieutenant Colonel Manie Maritz early in September 1914. On 19 September 1914 another force occupied the German port of Lüderitz.[5]
Aftermath[edit]
After the Maritz rebellion was suppressed, the South African army continued their operations into German South West Africa and conquered it by July 1915.
Compared to the fate of the ringleaders of the Easter Rising in Ireland in 1916, the leading Boer rebels got off relatively lightly with terms of imprisonment of six and seven years and heavy fines. Two years later they were released from prison, as Louis Botha recognised the value of reconciliation.
One notable exception was Jopie Fourie, a Union Defence Force officer who had failed to resign his commission before joining the rebellion. He was executed.