The Boer War Concentration Camps: Emily Hobhouse's Campaign
The Story of South Africa: Empire, Apartheid, and Transformation — Fexingo HistoryPlay episode
Show notes
During the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), the British army implemented a scorched-earth policy that herded Boer civilians—mostly women and children—into concentration camps. Conditions were catastrophic: disease, malnutrition, and neglect killed over 26,000 Boers and thousands more Black Africans in separate camps. This episode focuses on the British humanitarian Emily Hobhouse, who visited the camps, documented the suffering, and published a damning report that forced the British government to reform the camps—though not before tens of thousands had died. We explore Hobhouse's background as a social campaigner, her journey to South Africa, her confrontations with British officials, and the legacy of her work in the shaping of Afrikaner nationalism. We also touch on the controversy around the term 'concentration camp' and the historical memory of this trauma in South Africa today. #EmilyHobhouse #BoerWar #ConcentrationCamps #SecondAngloBoerWar #SouthAfricanHistory #BritishEmpire #Afrikaner #ScorchedEarth #Bloemfontein #Kitchener #Milner #Humanitarian #WarCrimes #FeministHistory #BoerWomen #SouthAfrica #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
