Second Boer War concentration camps
| Second Boer War concentration camps | |
|---|---|
| Part of Second Boer War | |
Tents in the Barberton concentration camp, c.1901 | |
| Date | 1899–1902 |
Attack type | Internment |
| Deaths | 42,081 (minimum) to 47,900 (estimated) deaths:
|
| Victims | 154,000 interned in British concentration camps |
| Perpetrators | British Empire; particularly under the command of Lord Kitchener |
During the Second Anglo–Boer War (1899–1902), the British operated concentration camps in the South African Republic, Orange Free State, Colony of Natal, and Cape Colony. In February 1900, Lord Kitchener took command of the British forces and implemented controversial tactics that contributed to a British victory.
The Boers lived off the land and used their farms as a source of food in their guerrilla warfare strategy, a key aspect of their many successes at the beginning of the war. When Kitchener realized that a conventional warfare style would not work against the Boers, he began initiating plans to destroy their farms and detain them, which later caused much controversy among the British public.
More than 100,000 Black South Africans—many of whom opposed the Boers in their war—were held in camps in worse conditions, but their treatment elicited little outrage.