ABSTRACT
In the late nineteenth century, the focus of the Great Powers energies and aggression had been deflected away from each other and towards the acquisition of overseas empires or towards the south-east European periphery and the chronic Eastern Question. The Boers looked to other governments for support in their war with the British Empire, but found none willing to help them. The attitude of the public was different. British imperial aspirations to the Boers territory and the counter-insurgency policies British forces adopted provoked anger and outrage worldwide. J. A. Hobson's celebrated book-length theory and denunciation of imperialism, Imperialism: A Study was written as a result of the Boer War. A major European war as the result of a regional crisis was more likely because of a realignment of the position of two of the Great Powers, Great Britain and Germany. In both cases the reasons for the realignment centred on imperial realities and imperial aspirations.
