Abstract:
In this article, the variety of experiences of Natal Afrikaner women as British
subjects who were related by blood and culture to the Boers of the Republics of
the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, with which the British Empire was at
war with, are analysed. This is done in a blended, thematic, and chronological
manner. Drawing on primary and secondary sources, the encounters of Natal
Afrikaner women with the Boer commandos, the British Army, the Natal
colonial authorities as well as other wartime encounters are scrutinised. For
the period of the South African War from 1899-1902, as per social history,
this paper attempts to give an authentic voice to Natal Afrikaner women in
what is a gendered history. In so doing, the article contributes to the neglected
historiography of the unique war experiences of Afrikaner women. More
specifically, the difficult relationships of Natal Afrikaner women with both the
invading Boer commandos and the British Army as well as the Natal colonial
authorities are laid bare. At the same time, economic and other hardships,
removals, imprisonment in concentration camps, and general physiological
and physical hardships are investigated. The end result was an alienation of
Natal Afrikaner women from the Natal authorities and a drift towards an
emerging post-war Afrikaner Nationalism.
