By the beginning of 1914 the high economic expectations of the unification of South Africa had been dashed. Three to four years of drought had devastated farms in parts of the Orange Free State. The government suppression of the 1913 and 1914 strikes on the Witwatersrand alienated Afrikaner workers. This created a fertile ground for rebellion. The trigger for the rebellion was Britain's declaration of war in 1914, which also put South Africa in a state of war. As a result of this, Britain asked the South African cabinet to seize the German colony of South West Africa. The 1914 Revolt, occurred because the men who supported the re-creation of the old Boer republics rose up against the government of the Union of South Africa as they did not want to side with the British against Germany. Many Boers had German ancestry and many members of the government were themselves former Boer military leaders who had fought with the rebels against the British in the Second Boer War. The rebellion was put down by Louis Botha and Jan Smuts, the ringleaders received fines and terms of imprisonment.
Execution
The only death sentence was Jopie Fourie, an Active Citizens Force officer in the Union Defence Force, who without resigning his commission, led a band of rebels that inflicted 40% of the government's casualties. His commando also fired on South African security forces during a brief truce. Fourie and his brother Hannes were captured at Nooitgedacht in the district of Rustenburg on 16 December 1914. An Afrikaner delegation that included future prime minister D.F. Malan unsuccessfully petitioned Minister of Defence, Gen. Smuts, to extend leniency. Fourie was executed without a blindfold on 20 December 1914.
Legacy
The execution of Fourie was a divisive event in white politics. To many Afrikaner nationalists, Fourie was a hero and Jan Smuts a traitor. His death caused an outrage in conservative circles, and was a potent factor in the rise of the National Party. Fourie was one of the martyrs and legends produced by the Rebellion which would inspire the Afrikaner right wing afterwards. The Jopie Fourie Primary School in Pretoria is named after him.
