The Anglo-Boer war from 1899 to 1902, irrespective of the outcome was always going to etch itself into the history of South Africa. Two of the main reasons arguably is how white South Africans were able to vastly memorialise their war with the English and how the scorched earth policy of the British and use of concentration camps brought apartheid into South Africa.
Within only a matter of years did the Boers manage to set up memorials ranging from heroic generals to memorials to remind people of the atrocities done by the British military such as setting up concentration camps for women and children. One such famous memorial is the ‘Vrouemonument’ (Women’s monument) constructed in 1913 in Bloemfontein which commemorates the women and children who were killed in the various concentration camps set up by the British during the war. Another memorial is that of the Boer general Christiaan de Wet also in Bloemfontein, a formidable Boer general who defeated the British in many battles. The statue depicts him riding a horse with a sword in his hand charging forward showing how quickly the Boers wanted to establish how legendary their people were compared to the British and others.
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The other legacy left by the Second Anglo-Boer war is the racial divide that was created during and after the war. This bigoted legacy can still be seen in the divide of races in South Africa in the current day and age, which you can argue has been reversed because of the oppression that happened during this time. Coloured people during this particularly the time of late 19th and early 20th century have nothing to represent their efforts and struggles during the war, no memorials, nothing, this is largely due to Boer dislike of the native population, this can be seen in the constitution of the Boer colonies at the end of the war. One of the big struggles black people faced was that they worked on Boer farms during the scorched earth policy and were heavily affected by the destruction of Boer farms losing their income and in some cases shelter. Black people were also thrown into concentration camps with Boer families but nothing much was mentioned of that. Achievements that aren’t shown from black people is their service as agterreyers (Auxiliaries) in the British army, nothing to commemorate these brave men has been built making them seem essentially worthless, something the Boer politicians wanted.
Cs.mcgill.ca. (2018). History of South Africa. [online] Available at: http://cs.mcgill.ca/~rwest/wikispeedia/wpcd/wp/h/History_of_South_Africa.htm [Accessed 22 Mar. 2018].
References
Anon, (2018). [online] Available at: https://www.quora.com/What-were-the-consequences-and-lasting-impact-of-the-Second-Boer-War [Accessed 22 Mar. 2018].
Cs.mcgill.ca. (2018). History of South Africa. [online] Available at: http://cs.mcgill.ca/~rwest/wikispeedia/wpcd/wp/h/History_of_South_Africa.htm [Accessed 22 Mar. 2018].
En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Battle of Spion Kop. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Spion_Kop [Accessed 22 Mar. 2018].
En.wikipedia.org. (2018). National Women’s Monument. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Women%27s_Monument [Accessed 22 Mar. 2018].
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