Table of Contents
Why did Britain use concentration camps during the Boer War?
These camps were set up to get black people off the land so that the Boers couldn’t get supplies from them. In addition, forcing black farmers off their land also enabled the British to use black men as labourers on gold mines.
Why did Britain have concentration camps?
The British created the first-ever concentration camps. These camps were set up originally as refugee camps for civilians forced to flee due to the conflict. However, after Kitchener started the Scorched-earth campaign, refugees flocked to the camps in large numbers.
When did British use concentration camps?
In southern Africa, the concept of concentration camps had simultaneously taken root. In 1900, during the Boer War, the British began relocating more than 200,000 civilians, mostly women and children, behind barbed wire into bell tents or improvised huts.
Which country first used concentration camps?
Between 1933 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its allies established more than 44,000 camps and other incarceration sites (including ghettos). The perpetrators used these sites for a range of purposes, including forced labor, detention of people thought to be enemies of the state, and for mass murder.
Did the UK ever have concentration camps?
Channel Islands. Alderney in the Channel Islands was the only place in the British Isles where the Germans established concentration camps during their Occupation of the Channel Islands.
How many Boers were killed in the Boer War?
At least 25,000 Afrikaners died in the war, most of them in concentration camps. The war also claimed 22,000 British and 12,000 African lives. This set of records details the injuries of 23,000 British soldiers.
What were the worst concentration camps?
Death toll
| Camp | Estimated deaths | Occupied territory |
|---|---|---|
| Auschwitz–Birkenau | 1,100,000 | Province of Upper Silesia |
| Treblinka | 800,000 | General Government district |
| Bełżec | 600,000 | General Government district |
| Chełmno | 320,000 | District of Reichsgau Wartheland |
What is a Boer woman?
Boer women, children and men unfit for service were herded together in concentration camps by the British forces during Anglo-Boer War 2 (1899-1902). As the families of combatant burghers were also driven into these and other camps, they ceased to be ‘refugee’ camps and became ‘concentration’ camps.