Verskroeide Aarde - Fransjohan Pretorius

Tafelberg, 2017, hardcover, illustrated, Afriikaans text, index, 272 pages, 22.2 cms x 28.6 cms x 3.9 cms, condition: new.

The Scorched Earth Policy was initially introduced by Lord Roberts and later expanded by General Kitchener during the Second War of Independence. According to this policy, almost all the Boers ' farmhouses in the OFS were burnt down, livestock killed, fields set on fire and the women and children sent to concentration camps .

On June 16, 1900, in the midst of the Anglo-Boer War, Lord Frederick Roberts devised a devastating plan to win the war he could not end. The tactic is known as the scorched earth policy and began when proclamation number 5 was issued by Roberts. The tactic involved burning down the houses and farms of the enemy, in this case the citizens of the Boer Republic. This was done to strangle the life out of commandos by taking away the food supply, shelter and moral support their homes provide. This is said to be the main reason why the Boers lost this war.

During the Second War of Independence (18991902), approximately 48,000 people died as a direct result of the scorched earth policy. 30,000 farms were burnt down and due to a shortage of food, moral support and shelter, many Boers and civilians lost their lives. To commemorate all the women and children who died as a result of the policy, a monument known as the Women's Monument was erected in Bloemfontein. 

      Fransjohan Pretorius is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Pretoria, and the author or editor of eight books on the Anglo-Boer War. His book Commando: Life during the Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902 received several awards, and the English translation was runner-up for the Sunday Times Alan Paton Prize.    

                                                                                                      A large sumptuous coffee table book.