Although there is no recent book length study of Canada and the South African War there is a growing number of useful articles. The relatively recent publication dates of much of this material suggest the current interest in turn-of-the-century imperialism and Canada's participation in the South African War.
Students will find Carl Berger's The Sense of Power (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1970) an excellent analysis of the ideas of the Canadian imperialists. Berger sees imperialism as one form of Canadian nationalism rather than a divisive foreign importauon completely antithetical to the growth of Canadian nationalism.
Charles-Marie Boissonnault's article "Les Canadiens au Transvaal" La Revue de l'universitÄ Laval, fÄvrier, 1949, pp. 483-494 is a commemorative description of the despatch and campaign experience of Canada's first contingent.
Douglas L. Cole's article "Canada's `Nationalistic' Imperialists" Journal of Canadian Studies/Revue d'Ätudes canadiennes, August, 1970, pp. 44-49 challenges the Berger interpretation of Canadian imperialism. Cole suggests that the Canadian movement constituted a local variant of Britannic pan-nationalism.
James I. Corcoran's "Henri Bourassa et la guerre sud-africaine," Revue d'histoire de l'AmÄrique franìaise, juin, septembre et dÄcembre, 1965, suggests how Henri Bourassa, French Canada's most articulate opponent of Canadian participation in the South African war, worked out his concept of Canadian nationalism during this critical crisis in French-English Canadian relations.
Students interested in contemporary accounts of the Canadian experience in South Africa ought to consult W.C.B. Kerr's article "A Survey of the Literature on Canada's Participation in the South African War" Canadian Historical Review, December, 1937, pp. 419-427.
Carman Miller's article "English Canadian Opposition to the South African War as Seen through the Press" Canadian Historical Review, December, 1974, pp. 422-438 attempts to assess the nature and extent of opposition to the War in English Canada. His article "A Preliminary Analysis of the Socio-Economic Composition of Canada's South African War Contingents Histoire Sociale/Social History, November, 1975, pp. 219-237 is a quantitative description of the national, religious, age and occupational composition of the Canadian contingents together with some speculation on possible recruitment motives.
Desmond Morton's book The Canadian General: Sir William Otter (Toronto: Hakkert, 1974), a biography of the Commanding Officer of Canada's first contingent, contains two chapters on Otter's South African War experience and a great deal on the politics of militia.
Robert J.D. Page's article "Canada and the Imperial Idea in the Boer War Years," Journal of Canadian Studies/Revue d'Ätudes canadiennes, February, 1970, pp. 34-49 provides a comprehensive analysis of the popular literature of imperialism during the Boer War years. His review articles entitled "Carl Berger and the Intellectual origins of Canadian imperialist thought, 1867-1914 Journal of Canadian Studies/Revue d'Ätudes canadiennes, August, 1970, pp. 39-43 questions Berger's emphasis on the intellectual character of Canadian imperialism. Page suggests the economic advantages underlying Canadian imperial enthusiasm and argues that the imperial idea made deeper inroads into rural and urban working class areas than Berger admits. Page's book Imperialism And Canada (Toronto: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1973) is one of the Canadian History Through the Press series. It provides both a succinct introduction and an extensive sampling of Canadian press comment on the subject of imperialism.
In his article "La Presse Canadienne-Francaise et la Guerre des Boers" Recherches Sociographiques, decembre, 1963, Vol. IV, no. 3, Jean-Guy Pelletier describes the nature and extent of French Canadian opposition to the South African War as seen through the French language press.
Norman Penlington's "Ontario's Contribution to the South African War", Ontario History, October, 1950, pp. 171-181 is a short, well-written account of Ontario's participation in the first contingents sent to the South African War.
Robert Rumilly's Histoire de la Province de QuÄbec, Tome IX (Editions Bernard Valiquette, Montreal, n.d.) contains two chapters, IV and V, on the South African War, particularly French Canada's reaction to the War. It also contains the best available detailed description of the Montreal Riot of 1900.
1993 Update
CANADA AND THE BOER WAR
Carman Miller
Students interested in a comprehensive account of Canada's participation in the South African War should consult Carman Miller's Painting the Map Red: Canada and the South African War, 1899-1902 (MontrÄal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1993).
Those who want contemporary accounts of the Canadian experience in South Africa ought to consult W.C.B. Kerr's article "A Survey of the Literature on Canada's Participation in the South African War" (Canadian Historical Review [December 1937]: 419-27). For a more complete list of titles, researchers should consult Roy Maclaren's "Canada's Boer War Literature" (Canadian Notes and Queries 43 [Winter 1990]: 19-20).
Other work by Carman Miller on the subject includes:
"English Canadian Opposition to the South African War as Seen through the Press." Canadian Historical Review (December 1974): 422-38. This article attempts to assess the nature and extent of opposition to the war in English Canada.
"A Preliminary Analysis of the Socio-Economic Composition of Canada's South African War Contingents." Histoire sociale/Social History (November 1975): 219-37. A breakdown of the composition of the Canadian contingents according to nationality, religion, age and occupation, along with speculation on possible recruitment motives.
The Canadian Career of the Fourth Earl of Minto. Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1980. This book (particularly chapters six to nine) contains considerable material on the prewar debate on Canada's participation, especially on the role of Minto in that debate, as well as the war's effect on Canadian militia reform.
"Chums in Arms: Comradeship among Canada's South African War Soldiers." Histoire sociale/Social History 18, no. 36 (November 1985): 359-73. Miller attempts to demonstrate the importance of friendship in recruiting and sustaining men in warfare.
"Research Resources on Canada and the South African War." Archivaria 26 (Summer 1988): 116-21. A useful guide to primary research materials.
"Montreal Militia as a Social Institution before World War I." Urban History Review/Revue d'histoire urbaine 19, no. 1 (June 1990): 57-64. An explanation of the importance of militia units in large urban communities.
Readers may also consult the following by Desmond Morton.
The Canadian General: Sir William Otter. Toronto: Hakkert, 1974. This biography of the commanding officer of Canada's first contingent contains two chapters on Otter's South African War experience and a great deal on the politics of the militia.
The Canadians at Paardeberg. Canadian Battle Series. Ottawa: Canadian War Museum. An excellent account of the Canadian soldiers' best-known Boer War battle.
Robert J. Page has also published extensively on the subject. Readers may consult the following:
"Canada and the Imperial Idea in the Boer War Years." Journal of Canadian Studies/Revue d'Ätudes canadiennes (February 1970): 34-49. A comprehensive analysis of the popular literature of imperialism during the Boer War years.
"Carl Berger and the Intellectual Origins of Canadian Imperialist Thought, 1867-1914." Journal of Canadian Studies/Revue d'Ätudes canadiennes (August 1970): 39-43. This review article questions Berger's emphasis on the intellectual character of Canadian imperialism. Page suggests the economic advantages underlying Canadian imperial enthusiasm and argues that the imperial idea made deeper inroads into rural and urban working-class areas than Berger admits.
The Boer War and Canadian Imperialism. Historical Booklet No. 44. Ottawa: Canadian Historical Association, 1987. This booklet examines the political debate surrounding the dispatch of Canadian troops and its political repercussions.
Imperialism And Canada. A general discussion on the subject.
Finally, Brereton Greenhous's Dragoon: the Centennial History of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, 1883-1983 (Belleville, Ontario, 1983) contains an account of this unit's part in the war and, in particular, in the Battle of Leliefontein.
