Editing Second Boer War (section)

== Conclusion ==

[[File:Kitchener at the Peace Conference that ended the Second Boer War.png|thumb|Peace conference at [[Vereeniging]]]]
[[File:The Transvaal War 12 lantern slides Queen Victoria - no. 01, early 1900s.jpg|thumb|"Transvaal War". Queen Victoria on her throne among various Commonwealth subjects in front of London. First British magic lantern slide in an educational series for children, 1900s.]]

Towards the end of the war in the early months of 1902, British tactics of containment, denial, and harassment finally began to yield results against the Boer guerrillas. The sourcing and co-ordination of intelligence became increasingly efficient with regular reporting from observers in the blockhouses, from units patrolling the fences and conducting "sweeper" operations, and from native Africans in rural areas who increasingly supplied intelligence, as the Scorched Earth policy took effect and they found themselves competing with the Boers for food supplies. Kitchener's forces at last began to seriously affect the Boers' fighting strength and freedom of manoeuvre, and made it harder for the Boers and their families to survive. Despite this success, almost half the Boer fighting strength, around 15,000 men, were still in the field fighting by May 1902. However, Kitchener's tactics were very costly: Britain was running out of time, patience, and money needed for the war.{{sfn|O'Brien|1988|p={{page needed|date=February 2017}} }}

The British offered terms of peace on various occasions, notably in March 1901, but were rejected by Botha and the "Bitter-enders" among the Boers. They pledged to fight until the bitter end and rejected the demand for compromise made by the "Hands-uppers". Their reasons included hatred of the British, loyalty to their dead comrades, solidarity with fellow commandos, an intense desire for independence, religious arguments, and fear of captivity or punishment. On the other hand, their women and children were dying nearly every day in prison camps and independence seemed more and more impossible.{{sfn|Grundlingh|1980|pp=258–278}}

The last of the Boers finally surrendered in May 1902 and the war ended with the Treaty of Vereeniging signed on 31 May 1902. After a period of obstinacy, the British reneged and offered the Boers generous terms of conditional surrender in order to bring the war to a victorious conclusion. The Boers were given £3,000,000 for reconstruction and were promised eventual limited self-government, which was granted in 1906 and 1907. The treaty ended the existence of the Transvaal and Orange Free State as independent Boer republics and placed them within the [[British Empire]]. The Union of South Africa was established as a [[dominion]] of the British Empire in 1910.