1/ Fight or flight? A question facing Americans today - to recoil from the cities, from institutions, from society or to fight. It is a question the Boers also faced when the British gained control of South Africa in 1806.
2/ For half a century the ununified, individualistic Boers, who just wished to just be left alone, fled. That is until the First Boer War in 1880 when for the first time, the Boers decided not to run from British oppression but to fight.
3/ The Boers who had been fleeing the British Empire across the frontier, from Natal to the Orange Free State to Transvaal decided they would flee no more.
4/ Recognizing that unity was their strength after the Zulu War, where Boers fought and died under British command, and that their individualism had led them to be annexed by the British in 1877, the Boers decided to unify and fight.
5/ Their longing for freedom reignited - their passive resistance came to an end. Fed up with the British violating their treaties, the Boer leaders unified and declared Transvaal independent.
6/ When British reinforcements entered Transvaal they were met by commandos who informed them they were trespassing, and to continue on would be casus belli. Disregarding the threat, the British troops took up arms and were quickly massacred, beginning the First Boer War.
7/ Over the next month, the British under the command of Sir George Colley would attempt to relieve the besieged forts in Transvaal and would face defeat at every turn. The redcoats were no match for the superior marksmanship and guerilla warfare of the hardened Boers.
8/ Colley, and his troops, were thoroughly defeated on February 27, 1881 at the Battle of Majuba Hill. The British took the high ground, but left their artillery in the rear.
9/ Filled with a desire for freedom after decades of fleeing, the Boers stormed the hill, using whatever cover they could, firing on the panicked British with their superior marksmanship. One of those well aimed shots hit Colley in the head.
10/ Their commander down the British troops collapsed. The Boers pushed forward fighting for the land they loved, clearing the British off the summit and into retreat in thirty minutes. Gaining them their freedom*.
11/ The story of the Boers is one that is relatable not just to the pioneers, the Irish or anyone else that fled their home in search of a better life and freedom, but of us, as Americans, today. We are at a crossroads.
12/ We can flee and build new, with the hope of keeping the long arm of the "empire" at bay, or we can turn and fight. We can work to take back our cities, our institutions, our culture. Unified, working towards to same goal, we can begin chipping away.
13/ While the Boers waited until the only solution was to take up arms, we are blessed to have other options to prevent our children, our families and our communities from the horrors of war in our backyards. The answer is not to flee, but to unify and dig in.
14/ To fight for our beloved land.
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.