Siege of Ladysmith Begins

Date: November 2, 1899 • Location: uThukela District Municipality, South Africa

This milestone marked the outbreak and beginning of this historic period, which spanned 1899–1902.

The Boers begin their 118-day siege of British-held Ladysmith during the Second Boer War.

Boers are the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled the Dutch Cape Colony, which the United Kingdom incorporated into the British Empire in 1806. The name of the group is derived from Trekbœr then later "boer", which means "farmer" in Dutch and Afrikaans.