Chapter 605 The Orangemen Uprising
The Orangemen in Bloemfontein are easy to talk to, but that does not mean that the Orangemen in the countryside are the same as those in the city.
Because the economies of the Orange Free State and the former Republic of Transvaal are almost similar, most people in the Orange Free State live in rural areas.
And the Orange people in the countryside are each dependent on the big landowners, so the Orange people in the countryside are not easier to manage than in the city, and because of the sudden influx of Transvaal people last time, there were a lot of them. , and further strengthened the power of the Transvaal countryside.
The Transvaal Provisional Government also took a fancy to the Orange countryside, and its minions, the Transvaal Restoration Army, began to "go to the countryside."
In towns such as Bloemfontein, it was relatively easy for the Transvaal Restoration Army to succeed, but outside the city, they encountered a hard nail.
The village of Bosland, west of Bloemfontein.
A group of Transvaal Restoration Army cavalry tried to enter the village of Bosland for tax collection activities.
"What! Taxation?" Karim, the village chief of Bosland Village, looked at this group of evil guests with some humor.
"Chief Karim, this is an order from the Bloemfontein Government House, so I hope you can understand the government's difficulties."
In front of Karim, these Transvaal Restoration Army soldiers did not dare to be arrogant, because there were twenty or thirty people beside Karim, holding weapons and staring at them eagerly.
"This is really a joke. I have lived in Orange for so many years and I have never paid taxes, and you are still the first group of people who dare to ask for money from me."
Karim is not joking. The two Boer countries, like the United States before them, have no tax collection departments at all, so Karim’s grandfather never paid taxes.
“Times have changed now, Chief Karim. Orange used to be ruled by us Boers, but now everyone is under the rule of the British. Natural laws and other aspects also follow the British! So! You can't look at the present with the same old traditions."
"Bah, I didn't agree with the annexation of Cape Town at the beginning. Our Orange Free State was completely betrayed by a group of cowards. Now, as expected, the British. I fell out, and I told you, there is no such thing as tax," Karim said forcefully.
"Chief Karim, I advise you to keep your money connected. The British are much stronger than us Boers!"
"Haha, the British are indeed stronger, but then It depends on where they are. The Orange Free State could have had more autonomy. If it weren't for you Transvaal people who are willing to help others. If you want to be a dog of the British, how can you have so much trouble now?"
"Captain!"
As expected, some soldiers of the Republic of China were very angry under Karim's ridicule. Because the vast majority of the Union Army were Transvaal people, they looked at their captain, hoping to teach the old and immortal Orangeman in front of them a lesson.
But the commander of the Nationalist Army did not do this. The civil forces of the Orange Free State are not bad, especially in the countryside. They have their own spontaneous armed forces. He only has a dozen people under his command, so he does not I don’t want to fall out with this old guy Karim right now.
If you fall out now, then I am afraid that my group will be gone today. Not to mention the 20 or 30 militiamen around Karim. They can continue to call people from the village. If they are surrounded, then I will definitely be in trouble today. Eat the fruit.
This is the benefit of the system of all-people soldiers. The reason why East Africa was able to easily win the Transvaal Republic was entirely based on numerical superiority.
The number of troops in East Africa alone is about to catch up with a quarter of the population of the Transvaal Republic, and they are merciless and give the Transvaal Republic time to prepare, so the Transvaal The Republic was naturally unable to cope. Now Karim's situation in dealing with the Nationalist Army is completely different. After another three months of expansion, the Nationalist Army has only barely reached a scale of more than 6,000 people.
There are many villages in the Orange Free State, and the village of Bosland where Karim is located is one of them. Most of these villages are dominated by Orange people, and The Transvaal had more towns and mines, so they could gain the trust of the British and use it to check and balance the Orangemen.
In the cities, the British stood aside, so the Transvaal people could do whatever they wanted, but in the countryside it was a different story. Even the Orange people had long been dissatisfied with the British's differential treatment. There was ongoing connection between the villages and they wanted to control the situation. The British and their lackeys were driven out of the Orange Free State.
So Karim then shouted: "Humph, you Transvaal people still want to collect taxes. You are really tired of living. Honestly, it is so comfortable to stay in Bloemfontein. Don't think that If you have weapons, you can do evil. Next time you dare to come to Bosland Village, I will make you see blood."
"Okay, very good, Village Chief Karim, it seems that you have already done it. The choice has been made, I hope you will not regret what you said today, let’s go!” The captain of the Transvaal Restoration Army had to order a retreat.
Then this small group of the Nationalist Army entered the village with great pride, and now they could only withdraw to Bloemfontein in despair. Of course, they didn't care. They went back to report to the government, and then came back to find them. Trouble in the village of Bosland.
Not only Bosland Village, this scene was staged in many villages around Bloemfontein today, but the choices in each village were different. Some were as tough as Karim, while others were not. Because they still attracted a large army in Bloemfontein to encircle and suppress them, they chose to swallow their anger. There were also bloody incidents in some villages, but the main ones who suffered were the Transvaal Restoration Army.
And Karim would not sit still and wait for death. Today he offended the Nationalist Army in Bloemfontein, so they, the Orangemen, began to join forces across the country.
Large landowners from all over the Orange began to exchange letters, including the former Orange rulers in the city who had long been ousted by the Transvaal. They also began to prepare to cooperate with the actions in the countryside and retake it. Control of cities such as Bloemfontein.
February 28, 1881.
Unwilling to be seized of power, the Orange Bloemfontein city councilors and Orange citizens took the lead in firing the first shot to overthrow the tyranny of the British and Transvaal people.
Angry Orangemen stormed police stations, barracks, the puppet parliamentary government, and the Transvaal Provisional Government.
The Oranges looted the Transvaal and the British, but soon, under the suppression of the Transvaal Restoration Army, the Orange resistance failed, and the Transvaal Provisional Government took over the British. Longfontein, and retaliated against the Orangemen in the city, and many Orangemen who participated in the riot were executed.
In March, rural areas across Orange announced the establishment of a new Orange Free State government, and defined the British and Transvaal as invaders, and the two sides formally formed a confrontation.
The Cape Town government gave support to the Transvaal Republic, carried out a campaign against the Orange people, and promised to donate part of the Orange people's land to the Transvaal Republic after suppressing the rebellion.
East Africa also received news of the outbreak of civil war in the Orange Free State. In addition to the intelligence from the National Defense and Security Bureau, there was also the reason why the new Orange government sent people across the border to seek help from East Africa.
Facing this unexpected situation, the East African government must also make an immediate decision whether to support the Orange people, how to support the Orange people, and what benefits East Africa can obtain.
There were telegrams from the border to the central government of East Africa, so the East African government received the news on March 12. By this time, the Orangemen had already had several exchanges of fire with the British and German (Lansvaal) forces.
Although the Orangemen have a favorable advantage, they consume supplies and arms very quickly. Without external support, it will be difficult to fight against the British and German forces.
(End of this chapter)