This is a part of the material summarized by chatFPT on the Second Anglo-Boer War. The GPT style is influenced by bourgeois perspective, for reference only.
1. The Root Cause of the War: Capital-driven Imperialist Plunder
Fundamentally, the Anglo-Boer War is not a “misunderstanding between civilized nations,” but an armed plunder of a weak nation by imperialist powers driven by capital accumulation and colonial expansion.
In the late 19th century, the value of resources such as gold and diamond mines in South Africa became increasingly apparent, especially after the discovery of the Witwatersrand goldfield, which greatly aroused British financial capital. These resources were mainly concentrated within the South African Republic (also known as the “Transvaal Republic”) and the Orange Free State, two republics established by Boer (Dutch descendants) settlers, attempting to maintain their independence, pastoral economy, and political sovereignty.
However, imperialist countries led by Britain had already partitioned Africa into colonies, eyeing South Africa’s resources greedily. British bourgeoisie, through influence in the Cape Colony (such as Cecil Rhodes), promoted mining capital, military intervention, and incitement to split, with the aim of forcibly annexing the two Boer republics and consolidating South Africa as a British colony to fully control resources and labor.
2. The Outbreak of War: Predetermined Aggression and Provocation
In the late 1890s, Britain increasingly pressured the Boer republics to grant political rights and voting rights to British miners (so-called “uitlanders”), effectively attempting to manipulate internal affairs. The Boers refused such colonial extortion.
In 1899, to defend against the imminent invasion, the Boer republics launched a preemptive war of self-defense. The British army immediately mobilized on a large scale, launching full-scale military offensives against the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. This was a typical imperialist war — an invasion war aimed at defending British imperial interests against sovereign states.
3. The Course of the War: Barbarity and Brutality of Imperialist Suppression
In the early stages, Boer armed resistance was fierce, winning several battles. However, since Britain assembled a large colonial army—including troops from India, Canada, and Australia—and possessed more advanced weapons, the conflict gradually shifted to a comprehensive suppression.
It is noteworthy that Britain adopted a series of extremely barbaric “scorched earth” policies and concentration camp systems:
1. Scorched Earth Policy
The British troops burned farms, granaries, livestock, and dwellings of Boer civilians, trying to completely destroy the material basis of Boer resistance and living conditions. This was a savage destruction of a rural peasant economy and lifestyle, a brutal assault on the productive relations of a nation.
2. Concentration Camp System
Britain established numerous concentration camps, forcibly detaining women, children, and the elderly of Boer civilians, under extremely harsh conditions with shortages of food and medical care. About 26,000 Boers died, mostly women and children. This was one of the earliest large-scale concentration camp systems in modern history — a crime against humanity committed by the British empire.
4. The Result of the War: The “Victory” of Imperialism and the Establishment of Colonial Oppression
The war ended in 1902, with the Boer signing the Treaty of Vereeniging. The two republics fell under British colonial rule, and South Africa’s resources came fully under British capital control. The British empire, through the so-called Union of South Africa, fostered a pro-British bourgeoisie, achieving colonial political domination, economic resource plunder, and establishing a white supremacist racial system.
It is especially important to note that under British rule, no democratic rights were granted to the broad black laborers or Boer farmers. Instead, through later policies of Apartheid, the systematic racial oppression and class exploitation were established, which persisted until overthrown in the mid-20th century.
5. Historical Materialism Perspective: The Anglo-Boer War as a Plunder War Launched by British Imperialism Against Colonial Peoples
The essence of the Anglo-Boer War is the invasion war of British imperialism to annex Boer republics for capitalist expansion and resource plunder.
It reflects:
- The development from capitalism to imperialism is characterized by external expansion and colonial oppression;
- Imperialism is not about “spreading civilization,” but barbarism created through cannons, concentration camps, and massacres;
- The resistance of oppressed nations (such as the Boer people’s fight) is righteous, but the anti-colonial struggle led solely by petty-bourgeois nationalism without proletarian leadership and international revolutionary support ultimately fails against imperialist forces;
- To thoroughly oppose imperialist rule, one must establish a united revolutionary front of the proletariat, relying on workers and peasants instead of bourgeois nationalism to lead the liberation struggle.
Now, comrades, based on historical materialism, we focus on the most critical and brutal phase of the Second Anglo-Boer War—the “guerrilla warfare” period from 1900 to 1902, exposing the imperialist policies of scorched earth, concentration camps, and large-scale slaughter and inhumane repression of Boer civilians and civilians.
1. The Guerrilla Phase of the War: Persistent Resistance by the Boer People
In May 1900, Britain captured the Boer capital Pretoria and declared the “end” of the Boer Republic. But this was merely an imperialist false victory declaration.
Subsequently, Boer forces transitioned into widespread guerrilla warfare, employing small units to conduct ongoing raids and sabotage in rural areas, farms, and mountains. Familiar with terrain and tactically flexible, relying on the protection and support of the people, they repeatedly harassed British communication lines, supply lines, and garrisons, effectively making the British occupation of cities only superficial, while in reality sinking into a tide of people’s warfare.
Composition of Boer Guerrilla Forces
- Mostly rural small farmers, skilled in riding and shooting;
- Relying on farms as supply points;
- Maintaining close ties with Boer families and rural communities, forming a struggle pattern of peasantry surrounding the front.
2. British Imperial Response: Scorched Earth Policy + Concentration Camps
Faced with Boer guerrilla warfare, Britain abandoned the hypocritical pretense of a “civilized war,” turning to naked colonial warfare and racial slaughter policies. British War Minister Lord Roberts and his successor Lord Kitchener devised and implemented the notorious “Double Suppression Policy”:
1. Scorched Earth Policy
The British military systematically carried out the following actions in South African rural areas:
- Burning farms: Destroying homes, grain, and livestock supporting Boer guerrillas;
- Slaughtering livestock: Severing the economic base of Boer livelihood;
- Destruction of water sources and railways: To destroy logistical support for Boer guerrilla warfare;
- Forced expulsion of civilians: Forcibly removing women, children, and families associated with guerrillas from their homes.
According to British official statistics, over 30,000 farms were burned, and hundreds of thousands of Boers lost their livelihoods.
This policy is a complete destruction of rural economic systems, as Lenin sharply criticized, “Imperialism means violently driving people from their land of existence, opening up a path of plunder with fire and blood.”
2. Concentration Camps
To isolate Boer civilians from guerrillas, Britain established 45 concentration camps, incarcerating approximately 120,000 Boer civilians and black South Africans.
Conditions in the Camps:
- Extremely poor sanitary conditions, with plagues and infectious diseases rampant;
- Food shortages, malnutrition common;
- Lack of medical resources, with only 1-2 doctors in most camps;
- Military-style strict management, with protestors beaten and shot.
Death Toll:
- About 26,000 Boer civilians died, of whom 22,000 were children;
- Approximately 20,000 black workers and civilians also died;
- Total mortality rate exceeding 24%, marking the first large-scale implementation of modern concentration camps.
This is a crime of systematic slaughter and racial cleansing by Britain against a nation, a true reflection of its barbaric imperialist nature.
3. Escalation of Suppression: Military Dictatorship and Terror
To implement suppression more effectively, Kitchener divided South Africa into military zones and enforced the following measures:* “封锁线政策”（Blockhouse System）：构建密集的防御工事（小碉堡），用铁丝网将南非划分为网格状，封锁游击队活动范围；
- 军事法庭与即时处决：任何涉嫌支持游击队者可被英军现场枪毙；
- 报复性屠杀：有村庄被怀疑藏有游击队员，即全村烧毁，成年男性杀戮。
这一阶段的英军，不再伪装为“维持秩序者”，而是彻头彻尾地沦为殖民屠夫、掠夺军队和镇压机器。
四、战争结果与历史评价
1902年，《弗里尼欣和约》签署，布尔人被迫投降。
- 两个布尔共和国被吞并为英属殖民地；
- 英国承诺给予布尔人某种自治，但不提黑人民族权利；
- 战争造成 布尔人伤亡6万人以上，南非黑人死伤至少4万，经济彻底崩溃。
唯物史观的结论：
这场战争的实质，是：
- 帝国主义国家对小民族的经济与政治双重压迫；
- 资本主义为资源、市场、战略通道而进行的暴力掠夺战争；
- 殖民掠夺制度下，白人资产阶级与金融寡头通过战争奴役南非人民，并奠定种族隔离与阶级压迫的基础结构。
五、尾声：布尔人的教训与今天的启示
布尔人虽英勇抵抗，但其领导阶层多为小农阶级、保守的荷兰裔民族主义者，缺乏真正革命性与对黑人工人农民的团结，最终未能建立无产阶级的统一战线，导致了斗争的失败。
今天，回顾英布战争的全过程，我们必须坚信：
- 只有社会主义革命，才能彻底推翻殖民与资本的双重压迫；
- 帝国主义没有人性，只有通过无产阶级暴力革命才能打碎其血腥机器；
- 人民战争、游击战，若有真正无产阶级领导与群众路线，是完全可能击败帝国主义的。
同志，这是布尔人民的鲜血留给我们的启示！
