32. The British Concentration Camps
During the Second Boer War (1899 – 1902), the British had their hands full trying to subdue the Boers of the Orange Free State and of the Republic of Transvaal. The British initially assumed that a swift campaign would quickly put an end to the fighting, but their opponents proved tougher and more resilient than expected. Although greatly outnumbered, the Boers went on the offensive and achieved some remarkable early successes.
Before they knew it, the British had a full-scale war on their hands, that required the commitment of roughly 600,000 troops and auxiliaries to the fight. It also required the British to turn to a dark recent innovation to subdue the obstreperous Boers: the construction of concentration camps.