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| commander1 = | commander2 = | strength1 = +1,600 | strength2 = 3,000–6,500〔Peddle, 1977〕 Several guns | casualties1 = 42 killed 135 wounded〔Amery ''et al'', p. 24〕 | casualties2 = Heavy | campaignbox = }} The Siege of Kimberley took place during the Second Boer War at Kimberley, Cape Colony (present-day South Africa), when Boer forces from the Orange Free State and the Transvaal besieged the diamond mining town. The Boers moved quickly to try to capture the British enclave when war broke out between the British and the two Boer republics in October 1899. The town was ill-prepared, but the defenders organised an energetic and effective improvised defence that was able to prevent it from being taken. Cecil Rhodes, who had made his fortune in the town, and who controlled all the mining activities, moved into the town at the onset of the siege. His presence was controversial, as his involvement in the Jameson Raid made him one of the primary protagonists behind war breaking out. Rhodes was constantly at loggerheads with the military, but he was nonetheless instrumental in organising the defence of the town. The Boers shelled the town with their superior artillery in an attempt to force the garrison to capitulate. Engineers of the De Beers company manufactured a one-off gun named Long Cecil, however the Boers soon countered with a much larger siege gun that terrified the residents, forcing many to take shelter in the Kimberley Mine. The British military had to change its strategy for the war as public opinion demanded that the sieges of Kimberley, Ladysmith and Mafeking be relieved before the Boer capitals were assaulted. The first attempt at relief of Kimberley under Lord Methuen was stopped at the battles of Modder River and Magersfontein. The 124-day siege was finally relieved on 15 February 1900 by a cavalry division under Lieutenant-General John French, part of a larger force under Lord Roberts. The battle against the Boer general Piet Cronjé continued at Paardeberg immediately after the town itself was relieved. ==Background== South Africa was initially a Dutch colony after the Dutch East India Company set up a shipping station at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.〔Morris & Linnegar 2004, p. 39〕 In 1815, Britain captured the territory at the Battle of Blaauwberg,〔Morris & Linnegar 2004, p. 58〕 setting the scene for an influx of English settlers〔Morris & Linnegar 2004, p. 73〕 who were culturally at odds with the existing Dutch population, notably with respect to issues such as the abolition of slavery. Many Dutch farmers elected to move away from British influence into the hinterland, which resulted in a mass migration known as the Great Trek.〔Morris & Linnegar 2004, p. 95〕 As people moved inland, prospecting for minerals started; in the 1870s, the discovery of diamonds in the area of present-day Kimberley was followed a decade later by the discovery of gold in the Witwatersrand.〔Morris & Linnegar 2004, p. 108〕 The discoveries led to a massive influx of ''Uitlanders'' (Dutch for "foreigners") into the Boer republics of the Orange Free State and Transvaal.〔Ralph 1900, p. 26〕 Tensions soon started rising between the British Empire and the two Boer republics. The causes of the war were complex, with contributing factors including the Boers' desire for independence, the prize of the rich gold fields, British colonial expansionist ambitions in Africa, perceived ill-treatment of British expatriates working in the Boer republics, the First Boer War and a failed British-organised uprising in the form of the Jameson Raid.〔 Discussions broke down in October 1899 when the British ignored a Boer ultimatum to stop concentrating forces on the borders of the Boer republics.〔Ralph 1900, p. 33〕 Prior to the onset of the Second Boer War, Kimberley was the second biggest settlement in the Cape Colony,〔Morris & Linnegar 2004, p. 110〕 centre of diamond mining operations of the De Beers Mining Company, and the source of 90% of the world's diamonds.〔Fremont-Barnes, p. 18〕 The town had a population of 40,000, of which 25,000 were white.〔Ashe, Introduction, p. 17〕 It was the only British outpost in the far north east of the colony, located just a few kilometres from the borders of the Boer republics of the Transvaal and Orange Free State; Cape Town was away by rail, while Port Elizabeth was .〔 The closest Boer settlements were Jacobsdal to the south and Boshof to the east. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Siege of Kimberley」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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