the Boer War
/ðə ˌbɔː ˈwɔː(r)/
/ðə ˌbɔːr ˈwɔːr/
(British English) (also the South African War)
- a war (1899-1902) between the British and the Boers, Dutch farmers who had settled in southern Africa. The Boers had established two independent republics (Transvaal and Orange Free State) in what is now South Africa, and the British wanted to control the whole region. The British won, but only after much bitter fighting.