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The Van Rensburg's of Rensburg Siding, Colesberg, Cape part 1
The Anglo-Boer War Introduction part 2
The Anglo-Boer War around Rensburg Siding: Boer Leaders part 3
The Anglo-Boer War around Rensburg Siding Nov 1899 part 4
The Anglo-Boer War around Rensburg Siding Dec 1899 part 5
The Anglo-Boer War around Rensburg Siding Jan 1900 part 6
The Anglo-Boer War around Rensburg Siding Feb 1900 part 7
The Anglo-Boer War in retrospect part 8
Australian units, persons and casualties part 9
MAIN MAP source http://www.mjvn.co.za/anglo-boer/mainmap1.jpg

The Anglo-Boer War: Australians capture De Wet's artillery gun at Rensburgdrift part 10

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The Anglo-Boer War in Retrospect
PAGE 2 CONTINUED

3. THE ERECTION OF BLOCKHOUSES with barbed wire fences with columns sweeping the land trying to trap the Boers. Eventually 8,000 blockhouses which were manned by 50,000 British troops and 16,000 Africans. With 4,000 miles of barbed wire the country was one big spiders web to try and entrap the Boers. This was done in order to divide the country in smaller manageable areas and then try and capture the Boers.

POW Camps
28,000 men and boys were locked up as POW, 25,630 of them were sent to POW camps overseas:
BERMUDA ISLANDS
Approximately 4,619 Boers POW were held on 8 islands: Burt, Darrel, Hawkins, Hinson, Lang, Morgan, Port, Tucker

CEYLON (Sri Lanka)
Approximately 5,126 POW held in the following camps: Diytalawa, Hambantota, Mount Lavina, Ragama, Urugasmanhandiya, Nuwerara Eliya, Welikada

INDIA
More than 9,000 POW held in the following camps: Ahmednaga, Amritsar, Bellary, Bhim Tal, Kaity-Nilgiris, Kakool, Satara, Shahjahanpur, Sialkot, Solon, Trichonopoly, Umballa, Upper Topa, Wellington, Abbottabad, Fort Govindagh, Daghshai.

ST HELENA
Approximately 5,866 POW camps: Broad Bottom, Deadwood No 1, Deadwood No 2, High Knoll, Jamestown.

SOUTH AFRICA
Bellevue (Simonstown), Green point (Cape Town), Tin Town (Ladysmith), Umbilo (Durban)

Cape 'Rebels' banished and incarcerated on Bermuda Island

The eldest and youngest Boer prisoners at Darrell camp, Bermuda.
The old man was 80 years old and one of the children were 8 years old

Old Boer men banished to India as POW

Execution of Boers
The British also executed those Boers who lived in the Cape, who fought on behalf of their families living in the Boer Republics against the English. They were considered to be guilty of treason since they were British subjects. At least 60 men and boys were executed, by being shot or hung by the British as so called "rebels".

A photo taken in secret of the execution of Pieter Willem van Heerden authorized by Kitchener
See more photos taken secretly of this execution

Horatio Herbert Kitchener 1850 - 1916
British commander responsible for the deaths of Boer civilian women and children.
Kitchener's fate was a water grave, when during the World War I the ship HMS Hampshire
was sunk on 6 June 1916 with him on board

Kitchener is remembered for sending innocent Boer women
and children to the concentration camps and causing their deaths

British casualties
7,800 died in battle
14,658 died due to death and accidents

Boer casualties
3,997 died in battle
150 due to accidents
1,800 - 2,200 due to sickness

Black casualties
Exact figures for the military and civilians unknown. Total deaths estimated at between 12,000 and 16,000.

The Boer nation paid a heavy price, with nearly 10 percent of the population dying in the concentration camps. Economically the Boers were to be greatly disadvantaged for many years as a result of the tactics employed by the English. The war cost Britain 230 million pounds and the British agreed to pay 300 million pounds in compensation for repatriation and resettlement, of which they only paid 16 million pounds.

British soldiers inside besieged Mafeking

Runners & messenger boys used during the siege of Mafeking, upon which the concept of
Baden Powell's Boys Scouts was built. Chief Staff Officer Major Lord Edward Cecil
(son of PM Lord Salisbury, and cousin of PM, 1903 Arthur James Balfour) formed the Cadets
and placed them in khaki uniforms and also taught them how to drill. Baden Powell also
instructed them in wood-work, camping and hiking. Baden Powell adopted the Boers
survival skills in the veldt for future training of young boys in the Scouts. The scouts use
symbolic bandoliers with awards pins, similar caps and scarves around the neck, the latter
was used by the British to protect their necks from the hot African sun.
http://www.scouting.org.za/seeds/goodyear.html

Even though the English won the war yet Britain lost the peace, there was no unconditional surrender. As part of the peace terms the English agreed to:
1. The POW had to be repatriated.
2. The Dutch language had to be protected.
3. Future self-government would be worked on.
4. There would be no extension of the franchise to black Africans in the Transvaal or Free State.

The aftermath of the Anglo-Boer war left the black Africans worse off, those living in the rural communities received very little compensation. The dream of receiving more land from the defeat of the Boers were not realized. The working conditions of the Africans on the mines did not improve and they were banned from sitting in the new parliament of the Union of South Africa. South Africans as a whole were worse off after the war because of the imperialist English. The war would be most remembered for the barbarism employed by the English to combat the Boers tenacious will to fight for their independence, family and way of life.

The English however did succeed to get control of the gold and diamonds. With the Union of South Africa in 1910 the Boer General Louis Botha became the first Prime Minister over the whole country.

Boer General Louis Botha (1862-1919) First Prime Minister of South Africa

For an insightful look at the Anglo-Boer War look at:
Donal Lowry, When the World Loved the Boers - Boer War

Interesting sites
http://www.instinsky.de/Boer_War/Stats_and_Facts/stats_and_facts.html
Concentration Camps of the Second Boer War and World War II http://www15.brinkster.com/fleurdiabolique/camps.html

andre@Rensburg.com