We were speaking, Dear Reader, of the Boer War....
What about the Boer War? Sh&t. Excuse me, the Second Boer War. How did it start, and why has it been forgotten? Did you know that the English imprisoned hundreds of Boer men, women, and children in what could only be called concentration camps? Goddamn--it must have been a real fashion of the early twentieth century.
***************
Alright. Let's take a wee look at the conflict.
The Second Boer War took place in South Africa, at the beginning of the 20th century. South Africa. Why would that less-than-arable land be so desirable?
Huh. How about this:
If you followed the link, you'd know that this was a complicated and lengthy conflict between two colonizing European nations. Given the mineral resources of the region, it's no surprise, is it, that two predominantly white populations wanted considerable potential wealth. Sigh. What an old, boring story it is. Of course the native population of what would be called South Africa was immediately treated like sh&t, just as soon as the Europeans arrived. Wow, what a total shocker.
Okay, so what did South Africa 'look like' prior to this colonial conflict?
OED
But the Boers weren't really down with the wishes of the British. Gold was discovered in 1886, and the English flocked to Southern Africa, creating a problem. The British were never very good at sharing anything, and these lands were no exception.
One of the main problems with the conflict over South Africa, was each sides attitudes of superiority; the British thought they were the best culture on Earth, and the Boers thought they were the bees knees.
The war was made up of a long series of small battles, so it's a little difficult to isolate one single part of this conflict, because it was messy, and both sides committed atrocities. And, once again, the British Army didn't immediate decimate their enemy, who numbered 88,000, to the English 400,000.
Wow. Those red-coats were some effective warriors, but they sure had scarlet uniforms. Now bearing in mind the relative sizes of both armies, the numbers are still kind of staggering: 22,000 for the Boers, vs. 120,000 for the British.
One of the ghastly aspects of war has to be slaughter of the civilian population. For those supporting the Boer soldiers, approximately 46,000 civilians died (including native Africans), to the British 22,000. Now, these figures are approximate at best. It was an international conflict: Canada, Australian, and even a few Americans were involved, and we must not forget the African tribes who fought and died for white men, such as the Zulu. Never a good idea to fight for the umlungu (Zulu for whites).
Both sides committed atrocities, and both sides regarded the African as something less-than-human.
Even more than killing humans, are other kinds of crimes. Probably one of the most devastating aspects of the war were the concentration camps, in which Boer women and children were held in terrible conditions, by the British. And this is where we have to bring in Emily Hobhouse, but that's for next time.
