Abstract
So wrote Rudyard Kipling in his poem, ‘The Lesson’, published soon after the conclusion of the South African War.l Recent military defeats and revelations of administrative bungling had given the country a nasty fright, but many contemporaries preferred to interpret what had happened as a salutary warning. In December 1901, even the Royal Family, in the person of the Duke of York, felt it incumbent to abjure England to ‘Wake Up!’.2 But what, exactly, was the country being called to wake up from, and what were these ‘lessons’ which patriotic supporters of the war, dismayed by the military upsets, hoped that the British people and government would learn?3 KeywordsMilitary ExpenditureConservative PartyGeneral StaffBritish PeopleTariff ReformThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
