Fables and Alternatives: the Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902
3rd September 2026
Like the history of so many wars, the history of the Boer War has been written by the losers, assisted also by those hostile to the British empire in general. There is an alternative version and interpretation as set out here by Alistair Parker.
The Second Anglo-Boer War is amongst the most debated events in British history. The contested aspects include the ‘scorched-earth’ strategy, the British concentration camps, the numbers involved and the motivations behind the war. Yet the most striking feature of many narratives is how they are cast through the prism of our contemporary ethics, economics and politics. Prompted by pre-conceived conclusions on globalisation, imperialism, and racism, and energised by the selective search for evidence that fits, these narratives often fail to ‘add up the numbers’, assess the overall context, or judge human agency by the actual constraints of the time.