Timeline Saturday 31 May 1902

Events on Saturday 31 May 1902 2

• 1899 – 1902 The Second Boer War Where the concentration camp got its name The British Empire takes nearly three years and close to half a million troops to defeat two small Afrikaner republics. After losing the conventional war the Boers turn to commando raids, and Kitchener answers with blockhouses, farm burning and the internment of civilians in camps where around 28,000 Boers, most of them children, and at least 20,000 black Africans die of disease and hunger. Emily Hobhouse's reporting on the camps causes a scandal in Britain. The war ends at Vereeniging with annexation, and lays the groundwork for the Union of South Africa.
• 1902 Treaty of Vereeniging Ends Boer War Boer republics surrender to British rule Representatives of the Transvaal and Orange Free State signed the Treaty of Vereeniging on May 31, ending the Second Boer War. The Boer republics were absorbed into the British Empire, with Britain promising eventual self-government and funds for reconstruction.