Latest news with #Anglo-Boer
The Citizen
14-05-2025
- The Citizen
Got to hand it to the king
'The Prince of Wales slept here' Two things people know about King Edward VIII of Britain – assuming they know anything – is he had to abdicate his throne to marry an American divorcee and that he was subsequently suspected of having pro-German sympathies during World War II. Few, though, are aware that he toured South Africa as the Prince of Wales in 1925, in an attempt to heal emotional wounds generated by the second Anglo-Boer war a generation earlier, as well as the Boer Rebellion of 1914-15. Or that he was an avid golfer. I discovered both when my lady Rose-Mariè and I checked into the lovely Royal St Andrews Hotel in Port Alfred a few weeks ago. ALSO READ: A holiday to remember The prince who played through pain Taking a stroll through the place – it was built in 1924 by a former sergeant- major in Scotland's Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders – we came across a photograph of the prince. He was dressed in the uniform of a colonel of the Grenadier Guards. Next to it was a framed recollection 'The Prince of Wales slept here' that bears quoting in part: 'His visit was scheduled as a restful interlude during a hectic British Empire tour – so hectic that when he arrived in Port Alfred his right hand was bandaged after so much cordial hand-shaking. 'This, however, didn't affect his golf. He played nine holes before the start of Saturday's ceremonial programme and a full course of 18 holes twice over the same afternoon! 'He then spent all day Sunday on the golf course, with some final rounds on Monday morning 'driving straight and powerfully. There lay the strength of his play… his putting was regarded as less expert.'' NOW READ: Port Edward: A bridge too far
The Guardian
08-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Emily Hobhouse's effect on the 1906 election
There will be great rejoicing in Cornwall and beyond at the opening up of the home of the courageous pacifist and human rights activist Emily Hobhouse, who campaigned so nobly against British atrocities on the veldt, in their concentration camps, during the Anglo-Boer war of 1899-1902 (Anglo-Boer war whistleblower Emily Hobhouse celebrated in Cornish home, 8 April). She was strangely absent from the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography but the then editor, Colin Matthew, readily agreed to include her when I suggested it. She is certainly a figure of national importance, whose articles had a profound impact on radical opinion during the 1906 general election. David Lloyd George introduced her to the then Liberal leader Henry Campbell-Bannerman, who spoke of the 'methods of barbarism' used on the veldt. Hobhouse's record of British army barbarities in South Africa shifted national opinion, and I have a card of one of her pictures of the Transvaal in my home (she was also a skilled artist). It is a constant O MorganLabour, House of Lords Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
The Guardian
08-04-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Anglo-Boer war whistleblower Emily Hobhouse celebrated in Cornish home
She took on the might of establishment and empire to expose the suffering of women and children held in British concentration camps but her story has 'faded' from the history books. From 12 April a series of events are being held at the Cornish home where the pacifist, whistleblower and activist Emily Hobhouse grew up, around the 165th anniversary of her birth, part of efforts to shine a new light on her fight for justice. Hobhouse travelled from Cornwall to South Africa at the turn of the 20th century and reported back on the awful conditions endured in the British bell tent camps set up during the Anglo-Boer war, but was dismissed as a 'hysterical woman' and a traitor. Her life and times are being celebrated at a new historical attraction called The Story of Emily at the rectory in St Ive, near Liskeard, where she grew up. On Saturday a talk will be given by a leading Hobhouse expert, at the lovingly restored rectory. There will also be birthday cake baking and kite-making sessions. Elsabé Brits, who will give the talk, said the British establishment had been embarrassed at what Hobhouse discovered and managed to make her largely 'fade' from history. She said: 'Emily Hobhouse was an eyewitness of the British concentration camps during the Anglo-Boer war. Not only did she provide relief, such as food, clothing, and other necessities, but she also compiled a 40-page report, published in June 1901, detailing all her observations and findings. 'This report was discussed in both [British] Houses of Parliament. It generated a significant amount of negative press and denialism. She was called a traitor and a hysterical woman.' Brits said: 'Much of her criticism had a feminist slant, which was also not appreciated, especially since she dared to challenge the mighty British empire during wartime. 'Eventually, a ladies' commission was appointed to investigate the conditions in the camps, but Hobhouse was not invited to be part of it. This commission's findings were fundamentally the same as those of Hobhouse. 'However, she was never mentioned in their report nor formally recognised for her humanitarian work in England. She faded from British history.' Brits said Hobhouse was very relevant today. 'When she was abused in the press and public, she did not stand down – she kept on fighting for human rights. She is an excellent role model and a true forgotten British activist who should be remembered along with all the other greats.' At the centre of the The Story of Emily attraction is Hobhouse's childhood home, restored to how it would have been when she was 15 in 1875. The 'war rooms' at the attraction gives an insight into the conflict and the camps. More events are planned next year to mark the centenary of Hobhouse's death. For details of The Story of Emily along with admission prices click here. Details of the birthday celebrations can be found here
The Guardian
06-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
As a white Afrikaner, I can claim asylum in Trump's America. What an absurdity
I am a blue-blood Afrikaner, at least in terms of ancestry: both my grandfathers were young Boer soldiers in the Anglo-Boer war and I am directly related to the president of the old Transvaal Republic, Paul Kruger. I am a descendant of Dutch, French and German settlers who were brought to the southern tip of Africa in the 17th century. Unlike other colonial societies in Africa, my ancestors never left. They occupied the whole country, displacing and oppressing the Indigenous inhabitants. Eventually, their concept of white supremacy developed into a formal state policy, apartheid. The UN classified this as a crime against humanity. Miraculously, my country has been a thriving democracy and open society ever since the formal end of apartheid in 1994. Imagine my bewilderment when Donald Trump and his 'first buddy', South African-born Elon Musk, declared that we Afrikaners are a threatened species; that our black compatriots are engaged in a 'genocide'; that we are victims of oppression and discrimination and as such offered special refugee status in the United States – at the very point in time that thousands of migrants to that country are being repelled or deported. The US state department is even preparing 'refugee centres' in Pretoria to house these 'victims'. The criticisms and threats coming from Trump, his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and Musk outraged the majority of South Africans because the claims were patently false and were seen as unacceptable meddling with internal affairs. A section of the white population, however – the ethnic Afrikaner nationalists and separatists – welcomed the US intervention, leading to harsh exchanges with racial undertones on social and other media. Just for the record: Afrikaners are generally better off today than prior to 1994, when they gave up political power; materially, culturally and in terms of personal freedom. South Africa's progressive constitution with its extensive bill of rights is intact; the rule of law is maintained and the judiciary is independent and functioning; we are a genuinely open society with free speech and media that many other democracies, especially Trump's America, can be jealous of. Whites (about 7.3% of the population) still dominate the economy and own about half the land – and not one square inch of it has been confiscated from white owners. White unemployment stands at 7% with the national figure at more than 30%. The crime rate in the predominantly white suburbs is minuscule compared with that in the vast black townships. South Africa is ruled by a government of national unity, a coalition between the ANC and the white-led Democratic Alliance, whom the president, Cyril Ramaphosa, chose to partner with instead of the two black nationalist parties, the MK and the Economic Freedom Fighters. The former leader of the predominantly Afrikaner party, the Freedom Front Plus, Pieter Groenewald, is one of several white members of Ramaphosa's cabinet. Genocide? Victims? It's true that the ANC-led governments of the last two decades have, to put it mildly, not performed brilliantly. We had a decade (2009 to 2018) of scandal known as 'state capture' under the previous president, Jacob Zuma, and the country hasn't yet recovered from that completely. There was a deterioration of infrastructure and inner cities, there are almost daily reports of corruption, crime is not under control and economic growth has been at around 1%. But these are our problems, effecting all our citizens. We don't need Trump's or Musk's help. Where does their interest in our country come from? South Africa irritated the US and other western governments when it took Israel to the ICJ (international court of justice), alleging genocide in its war in Gaza – Trump made this clear in his executive order on South Africa. The scale of that conflict demanded that someone took the matter for international adjudication, and it was appropriate that it be done by a nation that had overcome dehumanisation, forced removals from land, and gross human rights abuses. History, I believe, will be kind to my country on this score. But Trump's expressed anger is mainly directed at the treatment of Afrikaners, a group of people he's probably never thought of before Musk became his confidant. Why this fixation? Three letters: DEI. Diversity, equity and inclusion. In South Africa, it is called black empowerment and affirmative or corrective action: attempts to speed up the recovery from centuries of dehumanisation, exclusion from the economy, and job reservation. South Africa has been blessed and cursed because its history and demographics reflect the great themes of human experience. Blessed because the crudeness and cruelty of racial apartheid offended so many people around the world that the international anti-apartheid movement became powerful and white-run South Africa was isolated through sanctions and boycotts. Cursed because the global hard-right has found a seductive narrative – in the current era of immigration pressures and rising ethnic nationalism – in a white minority that is portrayed as endangered. The message is that the supposed fate of Afrikaners in South Africa will be that of white conservatives in the US unless something is done. I get the sense that fellow Afrikaners are bemused by the offer of refugee status. I think the overwhelming response is 'thanks for asking, but no thanks'. We named our tribe after the African continent. Most of us, even those who deeply resent our government and its policies, regard ourselves as pale-skinned Africans. We passionately love our expressive, earthy language, Afrikaans, that is only spoken here and in neighbouring Namibia; it is the most important part of our ethnic identity. The Trump administration's threatened sanctions against our country are going to hurt. The best among us Afrikaners and other white South Africans join the rallying call against this foreign interference to galvanise our entire society and to show ourselves and the world that we can be a harmonious and successful country. Donald Trump and Elon Musk don't speak for us. Max du Preez was the founding editor of Vrye Weekblad, an anti-apartheid, Afrikaans weekly newspaper
