Blog Entry 3

Blog 3

Throughout the whole book but especially near the beginning there are a lot of references to the Boer War. Peekay is subject to persecution because of this conflict. The Anglo-Boer War, more commonly known as the Second Boer War was fought between the British Empire and the Afrikaners, (the Dutch speaking settlers in South Africa). The Boer War started in 1899 and ended in 1902. The Boers were the Dutch settlers in South Africa who held on tightly to their mother language and created a ‘new’ dialect calling it Afrikaans. In 1871 they discovered diamonds in Kimberley, prompting a diamond rush and a flood of foreigners came in, pretty much invading South Africa. Gold was also found in the Republic of South Africa and another wave of fortune seekers came. Basically what happened was that the settlers that lived in Kimberly and the Republic were mostly the Dutch speaking Afrikaners and they became known as the Boers. They were excellent fighters and exceptional with a rifle. On the other hand there were the British or the Rooineks which is translated because they would get burnt necks because their helmets and coats did not cover their necks. This war was a war for land between skill and numbers. The skill going to the Afrikaners and the numbers going to the Rooineks. However the one thing that really tore up the Boers was the fact that they were fighting against their fellow Christians and this unsettled them. The numbers of the Boers were between 35,000 and 43,000 whereas the British ended up getting around 250,000 men. Everyone knew back then, how the British fought and won their wars, they lined up their men and shot at each other. The only reason the British would win was because of sheer numbers and the Boers realised this. To turn the tide in their favour they resorted to something called guerrilla warfare, which was basically where they would hide in the bush and pop out unexpectedly, cut down the unaware Rooineks and disappear before the Rooineks could regroup and mount a successful offensive. This caused a lot of problems for the British as you can imagine so the British pretty much lay siege to the individual towns, cutting off communications with others, cutting off supplies of food and especially fresh water and ammunition. In the end the groups of Boers surrendered because they could no longer sustain themselves. Group by group the British took the Boers and put them into concentration camps, treating them cruelly. It is believed that around 26,000 men women and children died of starvation and unhygienic conditions in these camps. This is the background to Pisskop’s torture sessions with the Judge and the Jury. They were taking out all the wrong which had happened to their parents onto the next generation.