Active Verbs from the Essay: Cats Chase Mice, Second Boer War Resembled Cat and Mouse, War Objective Outweighed Gold Mines, Public Support Dropped, International Support Dropped, Jameson Raid Cau

Here is your essay with the active verbs highlighted: Title: Where is your creative title??? Cats have always been **chasing** mice, whether that be in shows or in real life, they strive to **capture** their prey finally, and when they finally do, they will never **let** them go. The Second Boer War resembled a cat **playing** tag with a mouse, **catching** it but then **letting** it go. To start, the war objective was to acquire gold mines in Witwatersrand, however, the catastrophic cost of the war in currency and death toll far outweighed the gold mines that the British lost dominion of later on. Public support for the war **dropped** after the revelation of the military campaign and its scarce success. Resulting from the questionable tactics used during the war, international support **dropped** as well. From the high death toll and cost of the Second Boer War rendering the gold mines acquired hardly worth it, to the humiliating and costly warfare, the public national/international backlash in favor of anti-imperialism concerning the treatment of Boers with concentration camps, and the later reinstatement of self-government, the Second Boer War was rendered completely redundant. The reason behind the Second Boer War was the newly discovered gold deposits in Witwatersrand. “All roads lead to Rome” is a famous quote representing the influence of the Roman Empire during its time; this quote intertwines with the reasons for the war as they all lead to one underlying reason. On Dec. 29, 1895, Sir Leander Starr Jameson, **led** an unauthorized uprising of 500 into the Transvaal, **was met** with resistance, **taken** hostage, and **released**. It came to be known as the Jameson Raid and was a major cause of the upcoming war (“Jameson, Sir Leander Starr.”). The Jameson raid **played** a big role in the start of the war, and a representation of the unease and tension still **held** by the Uitlanders () and the Boers since the first Boer war. A member of the Jameson Raid, and the prime minister of the Cape Colony, Cecil Rhodes (The planner of the Jameson Raid) **plotted** his participation during the Jameson Raid **risking** his political power to progress his economic power in the region as it had valuable and rich diamond and gold mines he had no access to (Blainey). The Jameson raid as all other causes to the war has a deep link to the rich mineral deposits in the Boer Nations. (Insert Newfound Uitlander mistreatment over gold mine info here). Uitlander’s mistreatment after the rise of immigrants in the country due to the newfound gold **led** to high tensions having also **fueled** the Jameson Raid. Although the conflicts between Uitlanders and Boers may seem to have been the majority cause of the Second Boer War, nothing can stress enough the difference in relations before and after the discovery of gold. According to Willis, “The Boer republics mattered because they were so wealthy. Since the discovery of the Witwatersrand goldfield in 1886, the Transvaal became the economic powerhouse of southern Africa” (Willis). All the causes of the war including previous tensions from the past war and skirmishes between the Uitlanders and the Boers **reduced** to the riches found in the Boer colonies. The British war program **led** to humiliation and heavy casualties. The beginning of dawdPaardberg ("Paardeberg, February 1900"). However, the lingering effects such as the heavy death toll as well as casualties **led** to the battle’s infamous title as the bloodiest during the entire course of the war. The first assault on the Boers, Bloody Sunday, having been **led** by Lord Kitchener following Robert’s illness, the imperial forces **charged** a full frontal assault on the Boer lines executed in an uneven manner **leading** to the force's heavy casualties, henceforth named “Bloody Sunday” ("Paardeberg, February 1900"). The British’s success was not a common theme throughout the war. The battle of Spioenkop was humiliating to the British, **defeating** 24,600 soldiers to a measly 8,000 (Coetzer). Spioenkop was very preventable however, having spread out leadership, the British were spread thin (Coetzer). Now not only was there no unified leader, but the command tactics were awful. They had **attacked** the area of the highest elevation in the entire area (Coetzer). Of course, its elevation **made** it a very strategic area to exploit, the Boers doing this perfectly and **laying** waste to the British. Although the British were renowned for their world-class military, they **blundered** countlessly in South Africa **leading** to winnable losses and bittersweet victories. Britain's Military and Political Tactics **led** to public backlash from its people and severely **damaged** its international reputation. The overall semblance of the war for Britain was loss. They had interned specifically Boer women and children as a method to stop the Guerilla war movement (During the Guerrilla war phase, Boers *operated* off the veldt [], **being** supported by their families) and as a psychological element of war to destroy morals (Abdelfatah, Martin). This tactic was brilliant and cunning, however, it had a shadow, the mistreatment of captives **led** to an egregious amount of deaths and caused public outrage. These tactics aiming to overwhelm their opponent had completely **blindsided** prisoner treatment. In these concentration camps, the conditions were brutal and malicious, with over 48,000 deaths between July 1901 and February 1902 (Rosen). British negligence of their conditions when informed (By Emily Hobhouse, an antiwar primary source) was borderline genocidal, **refusing** to provide better conditions until a thorough military report was conducted practically accomplishing nothing as it was at the war's end (Abdelfatah, Martin). The actions performed by the British *went* against the Hague Conventions, an international lawful association that created an international code to be followed what is this for(). The following is *being* a mass international and local backlash against imperialism specifically targeting Britain. The Elgin Commission’s report (1903), which *revealed* the military operational shortcomings of the war, coupled with the short drift from imperialism due to public backlash, and the placement of self-government for the Boers *made* the war seem pointless. Pointless and negative to the British, enhanced by the faulty political and military strategies, the victory over the Boers did not resemble victory, instead a pitiful defeat. The Second Boer War was waged for gold mines, in the process, tens of thousands of people died, billions of British Pounds were spent, and international and national relations with the British government were tarnished, the war after the victory seemed empty, not a victory at all. The gold seemed very enticing at the beginning of the war, yet at the end, it seemed as though it was not there. Wasted lives and wasted currency, not just that but the Second Boer War was one of the main reasons the British Empire fell apart. Being one of the most pointless Britain waged wars, It progressed humans as a race backward due to the invention of concentration camps. At the end of it all Britain got what they wanted, but at what cost?