Anglo Boer War

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Recommended: The consequences of the Boer war in South Africa

The Role of Women during the Anglo Boer War (1899-1902) ‘The Anglo Boer War remains the most terrible and destructive modern armed conflict in South Africa’s history. It was an event that in many ways shaped the history of the 20th Century South Africa. The end of the war marked the end of the long process of British conquest of South African societies, both Black and White'. (Gilliomee and Mbenga, 2007:). The impact of the 1899 – 1902 Anglo Boer War in South Africa upon the Afrikaner people has often been viewed as the defining feature of the bitter conflict. The Anglo Boer War was more than just a war that was powered by conflict between armies on the battlefield – it was a time that affected many women and children as they were confronted by massive upheaval and suffering. Women played a role in the Anglo Boer War that is often over-looked as historians tend to focus upon the war itself rather than the role women had to play in it. A historian, George McCall Theal, observed that the Anglo Boer War was no ordinary European-style conflict because the women were the fiercest advocates of the War to the bitter end. He concluded: ‘for independence, the Boer women will send husband and son after son to fight for the last’. (Bradford , 2013). Some Boer women preferred their husbands and sons’ to die rather than surrender this was partly due to the depth of religious faith in a male almighty. Boers were seen as the most prolific Bible readers in the world, the position of men and women in relation to God was not the same. Many women having been left by their male protectors moved their hope to an Almighty masculine deliverer. (Bradford, 2013:62) Anti-imperialist sentiment during the Anglo Boer War was significantly influenced by gen... ... middle of paper ... ... – most war memorials conform to the masculine stereotype of the warrior or hero. (Grundlingh, 2013). It is appropriate to quote Emily Hobhouse in noting the role of women in the Anglo Boer War that it was not just the living who had significant roles to play in the actual Anglo Boer War but the dead whose memories live on: ‘Your visible monument will serve to this great end- becoming an inspiration to all South Africans and to the women in particular. Generation after generation it will stand here pressing home in silent eloquence these great thoughts – In our hands and those of your children lie the power and freedom won; you must not merely maintain but increase the sacred gift. Be merciful towards the weak, the down-trodden, the stranger. Do not open your gates to those worst foes of freedom – tyranny and selfishness.’ (Grundlingh, 2013:255).

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