The Anglo-Boer war: 1899-1902

The Power of One talks many times of the Boer War and how the English had killed 28,000 Boer women and children, using it as an excuse for bullying. This Boer War refers to the war between the English and Afrikaners from 1899-1902 where the British felt the need to extend their colonies and have more dominance in all of Africa. This and the discovery of gold in the Transvaal caused High Commissioner Milner and his generals to declare war which turned into a bloody and violent conflict, with 22,000 soldiers slaughtered during the first stages of the war. This war lasted for 3 years; however the British Empire was deeply humiliated as 100,000 Boer farmers held back the 450,000 men army of the British in the final years.

The Boers further invaded other British cities of the Cape Province and Natal, taking Ladysmith, Mafeking and Kimberly rapidly with ease. However although the Boers had captured this land the British, during mid-1900, recaptured the capital cities of the areas.

Warfare consisted of guerrilla fighting and espionage, blowing up trains and conducting ambushes. The British burned Boer property, confiscating food and carrying Boer women and children to concentration camps where they died of diseases such as black water fever, or of hunger. Farmers and labourers were also put in concentration camps and made to labour for the British army until the end of the war when the Boer commandos had run out of food, clothing and ammunition and forced to accept the treaty terms in May 1902.

Even though the British won the Boers lost a lot of respect for the British. The Boers had to endure pain and suffering from the British and felt the harsh conditions of the concentration camps were unacceptable. This led to bitterness that lasting much longer than the war itself as displayed in the book, hatred still strong by the late 1930s.