September 1900 · Throughout South Africa Theater
September 1900
As guerrilla resistance continued despite all efforts, Lord Kitchener implemented a policy of systematically destroying the farms and communities that sustained the Boer commandos. Boer women, children, and elderly were removed from burned farms and concentrated in camp settlements — initially simply to deny guerrillas access to supplies and intelligence, but rapidly evolving into a population-wide internment policy. At their peak, the camps held over 116,000 Boer civilians and approximately 115,000 Black Africans in separate facilities. Overcrowding, inadequate rations, contaminated water, and virtually no medical provision combined to produce catastrophic mortality. By the time the war ended, approximately 28,000 Boer civilians had died in the camps — 22,000 of them children — along with an estimated 20,000 Black Africans in the 'native camps.'
Commanders