British Concentration Camps During the Boer War
British Concentration Camps during the Boer War
The British concentration camps were set up in South Africa during the second Boer War between 1899 and 1902.
Wives and children of Boer soldiers were kept in these camps to keep their husbands from fighting and to end the war this way. This strategy was part of the so called policy of “scorched earth”, brought forward by the republicans, which included the burning of every Boer-farm and crops and the killing of all livestock to deprive the guerrillas from food and shelter. (BBC)
The first two camps were set up as refugee camps for people that had surrendered, but soon they were also used to imprison fighters and mostly the families of fighting boers.
Due to the “Apartheid”, there existed separate Camps for black and for white prisoners. In total there were 109 British concentration camps in South Africa, 45 for white internees and 64 for black people. (geni.com)
Although these camps were not meant to be “death camps” like the Nazi-regime built up during the Second World War, the poor conditions in these camps caused the dead of about 27,000 people, most of them innocent women and children. The biggest problems in the British concentration camps were the poor diet, the bad hygienic conditions and that they were totally overcrowded. This lead to malnutrition and diseases.
Sources:
http://www.geni.com/projects/Anglo-Boere-Oorlog-Boer-War-1899-1902-British-Concentration-Camps/854
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/boer_wars_01.shtml#eight