Nicolaas Jacobus Smit (May 5, 1837 - April 4, 1896) was a South African politician and general responsible for defeating the British at the battle of Majuba Hill, bringing an end to the conflict known as the First Boer War.
Biography[]
Smit was born near Graaf Reinet in May of 1837. His family was descended from some of the first Dutch settlers in South Africa. In his twenties Smit enlisted in the Boer Army and eventually entered the veldt with a group of comrades. He married Hendrika Stephina in 1865; they had five children.
In 1880, the First Boer War broke out due to attempts by the British Empire to annexe the Transvaal Republic (later to be known as the Republic of South Africa). Smit, who by now was a lieutenant-general, helped to organise the resistance against British occupation. He proved himself to be a capable commander at the Battle of Ingogo Hights, where he forced General George Colley into retreat. However, he also failed to capture the British guns during the battle, the only major error by the Boers during the entire multi-year conflict.
At the decisive Battle of Majuba Hill, Smit's troops gained the advantage over the British by using the long grass and scrub on the battlefield for camouflage as they advanced. Smit assembled a group of 450 storming parties to advance uphill and attack the enemy forces. In part due to failures by the British commanders to prepare for the terrain and close-quarters combat of the battle, the British redcoats were left with no option but to retreat. General Colley himself was killed in action at Majuba Hill, and the defeat was so humiliating that British prime minister William Ewart Gladstone was forced to order an armistice. Under the terms of the 1881 Pretoria Convention, South Africa gained self-government under the nominal control of the British. Smit was later one of the signatories of the London Convention which declared the republic fully independent.
In 1888 Smit was elected as Vice President of the South African Republic. He died in 1896.