Would the Boers have lost the Second Boer War if the British did not make use of concentration camps?
Introduction
The second Boer War also known as the Anglo Boer War which started in October 1899 and ended with the signing of the Treaty of Vereenigingin in May 1902, the war was between the British Empire and the two Boer republics these being the Orange Freestate and the Transvaal. Both these states were independent while Cape Town and Durban were British who now were fighting for these predominantly Boer sates. The reasons for the war are complex but the most important reason was the discovery of gold in the Northern Transvaal which led to many British people relocating to South Africa to find their fortunes this created tension and eventually lead to the war. The reasons for Boers eventual loss of the war were; the Boers were not trained soldiers, the Boers were vastly outnumbered, the British had superior technology toward the end of the war and finally the implementation of the scorched earth policy. On the other hand the British were expecting an easy win and were proven wrong by the tenacity of the Boers who relied on guerrilla tactics and their expert marksmanship (both of which was supported by a good knowledge of the terrain) learned through a lifetime of hunting or target shooting on farms, these tactics and skill decimated the British forces for much of the war. There is debate to whether the Boers would have won the war if the British did not make use of concentration camps for the Afrikaner women and children this was a morale blow to the Boers and also made it impossible for them to resupply at now burned down farms. It is true that whether the camps were there or not the Boers would still have the skill they had before the camps but would also still have fewer; numbers, trained soldiers and weapons, therefore the question is rather “did the concentration camps tilt the war in favour of the British Empire?” This question is of great importance...