Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Note on the text
- Introduction
- 1 Colonization and the settler state
- 2 Racial constructs and martial theories
- 3 Precedents of military pragmatism
- 4 Dominion defence acts
- 5 1914: Subjugated spectators
- 6 1915–1916: King and country call
- 7 1917–1918: All the King’s men
- 8 Indigenous soldiers
- 9 The home front
- 10 Peace with prejudice
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
- References
4 - Dominion defence acts
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2014
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Note on the text
- Introduction
- 1 Colonization and the settler state
- 2 Racial constructs and martial theories
- 3 Precedents of military pragmatism
- 4 Dominion defence acts
- 5 1914: Subjugated spectators
- 6 1915–1916: King and country call
- 7 1917–1918: All the King’s men
- 8 Indigenous soldiers
- 9 The home front
- 10 Peace with prejudice
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
- References
Summary
The Boer War exposed the deficiencies in British doctrine and the neglect and inadequacies of Dominion military capacities. After British forces withdrew from the Antipodes and Newfoundland in 1870 and Canada in 1871, military expenditure and reform were left in relative abeyance. Given the experience of the British Army during the New Zealand Wars, the North-West Rebellion, and the striking similarities between Maori, Métis/Cree and Boer tactics, New Zealand Prime Minister Richard Seddon made reference to the New Zealand campaigns of the 1860s. He believed that the British should have adopted modifications, based on Boer threats, similar to those applied against Te Kooti in New Zealand: ‘What is wanted in South Africa at the present time, is some more Von Tempskies [sic].’ Seddon also claimed that, had 5,000 well-trained Maori warriors been dispatched to South Africa under their own war chiefs, the Boers would have been defeated much earlier. Similarly, Aborigine Matthew Kropinyeri remarked to his protector in 1914 that:
The war was in progress in South Africa a few years ago there was great excitement … that was more a ‘blackfellows’ war … I remember when the news came through of some of the mistakes made by the British troops in South Africa because they were not accustomed to the style of warfare adopted, the old men felt that they would be equal to the occasion … They seemed to think they could do better, because they were more accustomed to sneaking on their game.
Between 1904 and 1912, as a consequence of the Boer War, all Dominions enacted new, or amended, national defence acts which drastically altered the structure of their military forces. Included in these new policies were directives pertaining to force strength, mandatory militia and cadet training, compulsory combatant service in times of war, and specific clauses referring to those segments of society not eligible for volunteer or mandatory service, including indigenous men. The clauses specifically mentioning or encompassing indigenes varied, depending on the circumstance and needs of the individual Dominions.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011