Editing Joseph Chamberlain (section)

====Peace====
{{Main|Treaty of Vereeniging}}
Despite the concerns of Chancellor of the Exchequer [[Michael Edward Hicks Beach, 1st Earl St Aldwyn|Michael Hicks Beach]] over the increasing cost of the war, Chamberlain maintained insistence on [[unconditional surrender]] with the support of Salisbury. Though [[Horatio Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Lord Kitchener]], commanding British forces in South Africa, was eager to make peace, Milner was content to wait until the Boers sought terms. In April 1902, Boer negotiators accepted Chamberlain's conditions, dissolution of the South African Republic and Orange Free State, in exchange for amnesty for Cape Afrikaner rebels and a payment of the republics' war debts. Chamberlain accepted over Milner's objection, arguing that the cost of continuing the war justified the expenditure. The [[Treaty of Vereeniging]] ended the Boer War on 31 May 1902. The end of war and the annexation of Boer territory presented Chamberlain an opportunity to remodel Britain's imperial system, though at a high cost: the British had put nearly 450,000 troops into the field and had spent nearly £200 million.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}