Category: Boer War

The first major conflict between England and the 2 Boer republics of Transvaal (African Republic) and Orange Free State in Southern Africa that is marked on an international scale, most frequently referred to as the Boer War, commenced on 11th October 1899 and terminated on 31st May 1902. Lasting a total of 2 years, 7 months, 2 weeks and 6 days. This war from 121 years ago is also often called many names such as the Second Anglo-Boer War, South African War, Second South African War, Second War for Freedom, or the English War. It was also was called the ‘last gentleman’s war’ which refers to 2 industrialised nations fighting instead of 1 industrialised nation easily defeating a defenceless nation (a nation who has yet to industrialise), and more commonly as the ‘white man’s war’, because of supposed non-involvement of Africans and assumed by historian and author Rayne Kruger in his book of Good-Bye Dolly Gray, 1959, described a phenomenon, so singular and astonishing, of a war, fought across the breadth of a vast region, the majority of whose inhabitants were mere spectators. This was England’s last great colonial conflict and most expensive war (more than 200 million pounds spent), it was an important event for its contribution to World War I and the impacts it made in South Africa after.

The later studies indicate that the conflict was a version of civil war that involved the entire population of the South of Africa and caused fractures in the African society. People of colour fought on all sides, under pressure and/or conviction, and suffered greatly from an army who nearly had 6 times more than them in numbers (South Africa had approx. 88 000 people and Britain had approx. 500 000 men). The earth contained diamonds, gold and other precious metals that were greatly sought after. They played prominent roles in the foundation of the conflict, along with race, nationalism and international power, however, compared to class and gender, they remained subliminal.

Three people have been held responsible for the start of the Boer War; Joseph Chamberlain (leading imperialist), Paul Kruger (president of the South Africa Republic) and Alfred Milner (British High Commissioner in the Cape Colony from 1897-1905). It gives the impression that the British forced the war in 1899 to gain control of Transvaal, the independent republic where Boers had political control and where gold, diamond, etc mining was a new major industry. Since the latter part of the 19th century, gold had been the major sustenance of the world’s expanding market. By 1890, London was known as the financial centre of the world’s trade, and a stable supply of the world’s stock of gold was critical for maintaining this high-class position. Approximately 100 000 migrant black workers from Southern Africa were labouring in the many gold mines of the land, along with 12 000 whites (workers and/or supervisors).

Competitiveness between the British settlers and Boers in these regions had been ongoing for near 50 years as Britain sought to unite its control of South Africa and United Kingdom. At the arrival of warfare, there were about 500 000 people originally from Britain in the Cape Colony and KwaZulu-Natal (African coastal province) and a smaller amount than 250 000 people originally from Dutch in the Transvaal, which was self-governing and self-regulating, and in the Orange Free State, who had limited independence. The Cape Colony was important because it offered an advantage/strategic point to oversee the important sea route to India (imports/exports of goods) and also had approximately 500 000 coloured people. There similarly was an Asian community of 100 000, most of them lived in KwaZulu-Natal. Consequently, this war was unfortunately fought in a terrain where white people made up estimate of one-fifth of the population in Africa at the time. In 1899, there were roughly 1 million white men and settlers in South Africa, compared to 4 million black African people. Throughout the last 3 decades of the 19th century, Britain had subdued and merged the remaining independent African Chiefdoms (hierarchical political organisation in African Tribes based on senior members of select families and become a leader based on kinship) states in Southern Africa.

KwaZulu-Natal soon became a British colony and exported out many of its Boers into the two Boer republics in the north (commonly referred to as the Boer States, Trek-Boers and Voortrekkers). Therefore, they set the design of 2 English-speaking states in the south and 2 Afrikaans-speaking states in the north. By time of the war, some Dutch families had been in South Africa for seven generations and made the Afrikaans language a more common speech as well as English, etc.

Sir Redvers Buller, was a British Army officer, which some historians argue that is to be blamed for the British failure in the Second Boer War of 1899, this would, however, be unrealistic due to the external effects that were on the attack strategies. Some of these issues Buller, was not able to address because he was unaware, for example, the lack of reconnaissance gathering before an attack is what brought the first defeat to the British, Buller was unable to do anything about this because he had not figured this out until it was too late. For these reasons and others, it is unfair to evaluate that Buller’s tactics are to be blamed for the criticism the British Army faced after its failure at the ‘quick victory’ in 1899. Firstly, Buller was known to have great logistical management and preparation skills before the start of and during campaigns. Before his landing in the Army in 1899, the Army lacked topographical information and basic military supplies and provisions. This put the army at a major setback because if their current supplies were to be used up or destroyed, they would most likely die.

Buller saw these issues and constantly tried to rectify them, for example, at Pietermaritzburg, before the battle of Colenso, he spent 10 days organizing transport, supply, and most crucially, medical arrangements for his force. Despite this, Buller’s credit wasn’t seen and in fact, given to the likes of Marshal Sir Frederick Roberts, who hailed as the hero of the Cape. However, even though Roberts was seen as the ‘hero’ he had some major deficiencies in his management of logistics. Before the victory at Bloemfontein in 1900, Marshal Sir Robert forced marched his troops through searing heat on half rations which resulted in hundreds dead due to the spreading of typhoid by consuming foul water. This was the result of Roberts’ lack of sufficient interest in supply. In addition to this, Robert ordered an attack on an area that had a single-track railway line which slowed down the response to supplies even further, this meant that basic necessities such as food and water were unavailable to the standing soldiers as well as lack of effective transportation for the wounded soldiers.

On the contrary, Buller was teeming thoughtful of his force, evidently, he waited to have supplies in order to battle in a hostile environment unlike Robert, the reason for this was because Buller was a professional who was aware of the needs of his men, and acutely aware of the requirements of battle. For this reason, Buller’s tactics cannot be considered the reason why British Army failed their quick victory in 1899, because there were other factors such as unenthusiastic marshalls whom were not willing to put in the effort in order to insure the safety of his troops as well as be well coordinated. In addition to this, Buller was able to see and understand the importance of topographics, this proved to be significant enough for him to visit the battlefield with Lord Dundonald. During his visit, he was able to gain basic topographical knowledge of the area in order to start planning with. This shows the importance Buller paid to intelligence and meant that his preparation was exemplar, therefore it shouldn’t be the reason why the Army’s ‘quick victory’ failed. Due to his dedication to preparation, Buller was able to battle with reason over logic, this was most evidently seen before the battle Tel el Kebir in 1882, where Buller once again ventured off onto the battlefield with a small group of men at night and carried out a detailed approximate of the area. This resulted in a decisive British victory on September 6th.

On the contrary, at the Battle of Magersfontein, the commanding officer; Lord Methuen, attacked with all the Boer positions intact, this was seen as problematic because the Boers, despite usually digging in on the hill, realized that they would avoid the British artillery fire if they were on the flat veld at the foot of the hill. As an unfortunate result of Lord Methuen not conducting proper reconnaissance, he had directed his force into the empty hill slopes, and when the highland brigade attacked the intact Boer positions they were defeated. From this, Buller can be categorized as the most superior for logistical prep in comparison to both Robert and Kitchener. Kitchener’s arrogance in thinking he knew best, by replacing Buller’s proven system, showed the volume of lack of organization that Kitchener held.

During the Second Boer War, at the Battle of Colenso, when Britain was under fire by Boer rifles, Lord Dundonald had noted that Buller’s presence and cool nature instilled confidence in the men and restored self-control. This shows that Buller’s reputation was outstanding within his military profession. However, his overall military commander reputation had been tarnished by the notorious ‘Black Week’ (10 December – 17 December 1899), and because of this event, Buller’s overall abilities of engagement with the war were highly criticized, which have led to many accusing him for the British army’s failure to a quick victory in 1899. However, these accusations were false, primarily because the main ‘Black Week’ events which took place were because of other commanders, for example, the battle of Magersfontein massacre was because Lord Methuen was careless in preparation. In addition to this, the second event – Stormberg – was because Major general Gatacre was arrogant and caused the death of 690 men because of an ill-planned attack on Boer positions on a hill called Kissieberg.

This attack was carried out despite Buller ordering it not to take place with his current force. Both this events show that it is highly unfair to criticize Buller for the ‘Black Week’ losses because both losses were the result of the respective commanders rushing their preparation and not using the right tactics required for the situation. Similarly, in Colenso, the Second Brigade was supported by twelve artillery pieces under the command of Colonel C J Long, whose exact position had been pointed on the map Buller in person the night before. Buller took time to present this because the Boers would have had an easy target at the artillery if they were in close proximity. Nevertheless, Colonel Long pushed the guns to within a thousand yards of the river crossing and was soon fired upon by Boer rifle fire. As a result of this Buller was forced to intervene himself, ordering the men to withdraw and leave their artillery behind. He was heavily criticized for having left the artillery behind rather than recovering them as the reverence crews had their guns. However, Buller recognized that there was a greater chance at casualties and wasting lives, therefore his awareness of the battlefield allowed him to successfully preserve the lives of many soldiers, not only this but he also proved his capabilities and judgment by saving lives. Ultimately shows that criticizing him for the British Army’s failure at the quick victory is inadequate and highly unfair because most of the issues caused in the Second Boer War were due to incompetent commanders who did not follow given orders. Overall, Buller was able to analyze the needs of his men and provide efficient and better tactics than any other Officer, showing that his tactics were not flawed but rather underestimated and strange because strategies such as topography were highly unknown and unused, especially in the Boer. Also, Buller recognized the value of intelligence and always factored this in when preparing, unlike other officers such as Lord Methuen, therefore, Buller can easily be said to not be the reason for the failed quick victory criticism that took place in Britain in 1899.

Introduction

The establishment of an offshore processing centre on Nauru was based on the Statement of Principles, signed on 10 September 2001 by the President of Nauru and the Australian Minister for Defence. The statement opened the way to establish a detention centre for up to 800 people and was accompanied by a pledge of A$20 million for development activities in Nauru. The initial detainees were to be people rescued by the MV Tampa, with the understanding that they would leave Nauru by May 2002. In August 2001, a diplomatic dispute broke out between Australia, Norway, and Indonesia after Tampa under Captain Arne Rinnan rescued 438 Afghans from a distressed international fishing vessel (for that act, Captain Arne F. Rinnan and the crew of the MV Tampa vessel received the Nansen Refugee Award for 2002 from UNHCR). The Afghans wanted to go to Christmas Island nearby. In order to prevent this development, the Australian government refused to let Tampa pass through their waters, insisting on its disembarkation elsewhere and deploying the Special Air Service Regiment on board the ship. Tampa was carrying cargo worth A$ 20 million and 27 crew members at the time of the incident. Subsequently, a memorandum of understanding was signed on 11 December 2001, boosting accommodation to 1,200 and the promised development activity by an additional $10 million (Stuart).​

There were riots and hunger strikes in the camp starting from 2003. The centre was closed in 2007 but it reopened in 2012. Under President Obama, the US agreed to take some 1,250 detainees from the Nauru camp. In 2015, several staff members from the detention centre wrote an open letter claiming that multiple instances of sexual abuse against women and children had occurred. The letter claimed that the Australian government had been aware of these abuses for over 18 months. There were cases when ‘guards had traded marijuana for sexual favours with asylum seeker children​(Caville).

The main question of my paper is the following: Is there any substantial difference between the Nauru Regional Processing Centre and the concentration camps during the Second Boer War?

The practice of concentration camps by various states

Concentration camps were first practiced during the Civil war in America. Due to the lack of means to deal with big numbers of captured troops early in the American Civil War, both the Union and the Confederate Governments developed a traditional European system of parole and prisoner exchange. The Union and the Confederacy operated American Civil War Prison Camps to handle 409,000 soldiers captured during the war from 1861 to 1865. In 1901, the Record and Pension Office counted 211,000 captured northern residents. Most were immediately paroled in 1861-1863; however, the parole exchange system broke down in 1863 and more than 195,000 people ended up in prison camps (My Civil War).

The system of exchange worked as follows: ‘a prisoner on parole promised that he would not fight again until his name was ‘exchanged’ on the other side for a similar man’. Then they could both rejoin their units. Prisoners were briefly confined to permanent camps while waiting for exchange. In mid-1863, the exchange system collapsed when the Confederacy refused to treat captured black prisoners as white prisoners. On both sides, the prison populations then soared. There were 32 major Confederate prisons, including 16 in Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina’s Deep South states. In regions with high disease rates, many Southern prisons were short of food, medicine, and doctors. Northerners often believed that their men were deliberately weakened and killed in Confederate prisons and demanded equally harsh conditions in Northern prisons, although shortages were not a problem in the North. During the war, approximately 56,000 soldiers died in prisons, accounting for nearly 10 percent of all deaths in the civil war. ‘More than 45,000 Union soldiers were sent to Andersonville during the 14 months of the prison’s existence. Of these, 12,912 died from disease, malnutrition, overcrowding, or exposure’ (nps.gov).

The term ‘concentration camp’ was first used during Boer war, more than 115,000 people were imprisoned in these camps and at least 25,000 of them were killed. The British have introduced a policy of ‘scorched earth.’ Boer farms were burned to the ground, salted, and poisoned by every field. The men were sent out of the country to prevent them from fighting, but their wives and children were forced into the camps, which soon became overcrowded. These camps were built by British soldiers in the midst of the Boer war, during which the British rounded up Dutch Boers and indigenous South Africans and locked them up in cramped camps, where thousands died. In fact, in these camps, more men, women, and children died of hunger and disease than men actually fought in the Second Boer war from 1899 to 1902, a territorial struggle in South Africa. Soon, South Africa had more than 100 concentration camps, imprisoning more than 100,000 people. There were no resources to deal with the numbers. They could barely feed them. The camps were filthy and overrun with disease, and the people inside started to die off in droves. The children suffered the most. Of the 28,000 Boers that died, 22,000 were children. They were left to starve, especially if their fathers were still fighting the British in the Boer war. With so few rations to pass around, the children of fighters were deliberately starved and left to die (Pakenham).

Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps in the territories, which were controlled before and during the Second World War. The first Nazi concentration camps were built in March 1933, immediately after Hitler became Chancellor and Reich Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick and Prussian Interior Minister Hermann Goring gave his Nazi Party control of the police. The camps initially held approximately 45,000 prisoners. These camps were used to hold and torture political opponents and union organizers. Before the war began, in 1933-1939, most of the prisoners were German Communists, Socialists, Social Democrats, Roma, and persons accused by the Germans of ‘asocial’ or socially ‘deviant’ behavior as well as their family members. More than 1.3 million people were sent to Auschwitz out of which 1.1 million people died either from the gas chambers or harsh conditions of detention (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum).

Functioning of Nauru concentration camp

‘Since 2013 the Australian government has operated a policy of refusing to allow settlement of any refugees attempting to reach Australia by boat. Instead, refugees and asylum seekers are routinely sent to Nauru and Papua New Guinea where they are at risk of violence. They also have restricted access to food, medical care, and sanitation, and have not been issued with local documentation, which means their freedom of movement within those countries is restricted’. These extremely harsh conditions of detention lead to many cases of death and diseases and moral breakdown among detainees (UNHCR, a).

In November 2012, an Amnesty International team visited the camp and described it as ‘a human rights catastrophe a toxic mix of uncertainty, unlawful detention, and inhumane conditions'(Mallinson). The conditions are so unbearable that the refugees prefer to kill themselves rather than continue living in the camp. More than ’60 percent had suicidal thoughts and 30 percent had attempted suicide, including children as young as nine(UNHCR, a) and ‘among 12 deaths that have occurred to date under the so-called “offshore processing” approach, half of which have been confirmed or suspected suicides, are various refugees and asylum-seekers who should have been transferred to Australia’ (UNHCR, b). A nurse visited the Nauru camp and described it as a ‘concentration camp’ (News.com). Conditions of detention aren’t suited for refugees. A lot of people are cramped in a small room, and toxic mold is covering the walls of the tents, because of which skin and other diseases are spread among the detainees. The Nauru camp guards do not pay attention to these facts (UNHCR, c).

Comparison of Nauru Regional Processing Centre with the US, UK, and Nazi concentration camps

Nauru Concentration camp and the US, UK, and Nazi concentration camps share a lot of substantial similarities. In all the cases there are human rights abuses, deaths, and illnesses. The guards in Nauru abuse their power and harass detainees, especially women and children. Like under the British practice, the detainees are contained in small filthy rooms covered with mould. There is not enough provision of food to feed the refugees, nor enough clean water for basic use. Children do not receive education due to the lack of teachers, needs, and rooms in the camp. Similar to Nazis, refugees in Nauru are mentally drained by the guards and have suicidal thoughts, and are regularly threatened if they refuse to do what the guards ask from them (Bacon, Curr, Lawrence, Macken, O’Connor). Several detainees set themselves on fire in order to bring attention of the international community (Business Human Rights Resource) and continue to make similar actions in hopes to achieve the same objective. In the Nazi concentration camps, every 4th person may have committed suicide, “it is estimated that the suicide rates in the camp were most likely 25,000 per 100,000 per year or higher and, therefore, enormous!” (Lester), in the Nauru camp out of 37 deaths 16 were suicides (Asylum Insight). The detainees were controlled the majority of time, they had a schedule that they must follow: ‘Refugees and asylum seekers described conditions in these detention camps as “prison-like,” with regular searches of their tents by guards and regular confiscation of “prohibited” items including food and sewing needles. Food was distributed at set times, and no one was allowed to bring any food into the tents, even for young children. Until early 2015, asylum seekers could take one two-minute shower a day. There were long lines for toilets that quickly became so dirty that staff refused to clean them. They could use the internet once a week at most, and could not leave the camp’ (Human Rights Watch).

In all the cases people cannot move freely, they are imprisoned in their camps. In Nauru people’s documents are being taken away, so they cannot escape or return to their home country. They are trapped in this camp for years. There is a high rate of sexual assault and abuse of women and children. More than 40% of women in Nauru camp have experienced physical or sexual violence. Due to frequent rapes happening in the camp some women became pregnant; however, their demands for abortion were declined due to abortion being forbidden in Nauru (Bacon, Curr, Lawrence, Macken, O’Connor). The freedom of expression is close to non-existent. Refugees aren’t allowed to exit the camp and are forbidden to use the internet or any other source of self-expression.

Reaction and opinion of the International Community

The Nauru government is in no position to refuse refugees, and besides, the massive stimulus of hundreds of millions of Australian dollars, and jobs for an under-employed workforce, outweighs the fierce hostility that many – not all – in the Nauruan community hold for the refugees imposed upon their island. Australia pays to Nauru sums which are equivalent to 25 percent of Nauru’s gross domestic product. That is why Nauru supports this agreement. Nauru and Australia need each other, they need the detention centre and those detained therein: one for economic survival, the other for deterrence of refugees seeking sanctuary in Australia (ABC News).

In order to alleviate this situation, the US offered to resettle Australia’s refugees from Nauru and Manus Island on the understanding that in exchange Australia would “do more” to help other refugees. The agreement was sharply criticized by President Trump who reduced the number of refugees taken (Isaacs).

UNHCR visited the Nauru camp multiple times and made reports concerning harsh conditions imposed on the detainees. UNHCR criticized Australia for not providing help for the refugees. Agencies like International Health and Medical Services and the Offshore Service for Survivors of Torture provide medical help for refugees working under contracts with the Australian government (Human Rights Watch).

Conclusion

There is a difference in terms of scale between the centre in Nauru and previous camps, including those used by the British in the Second Boer war. This centre is smaller than the camps used in America during the Civil War or in Nazi Germany. However, according to a number of criteria of inhuman conditions of detention, including the level of mortality, the numbers of suicides, and mental breakdowns, camps in Nauru and in South Africa show similar characteristics. This gives reason to conclude that the centre in Nauru fits well into the practice of concentration camps of the late 19th and mid-20th centuries. This means that the practice of confinement in Nauru does not correspond to the contemporary standards of human rights and should be revised.

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15. Pakenham, Thomas. (1979). The Boer War. books.google.ch. Accessed the 23.02.2019 https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=UARMCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT11&dq=Boer+war&ots=aU9zq83FWF&sig=GSkeLlcNSFJshMTgeLeqHoWXwCY&redir_esc=y’& HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=UARMCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT11&dq=Boer+war&ots=aU9zq83FWF&sig=GSkeLlcNSFJshMTgeLeqHoWXwCY&redir_esc=y’lr= HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=UARMCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT11&dq=Boer+war&ots=aU9zq83FWF&sig=GSkeLlcNSFJshMTgeLeqHoWXwCY&redir_esc=y’& HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=UARMCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT11&dq=Boer+war&ots=aU9zq83FWF&sig=GSkeLlcNSFJshMTgeLeqHoWXwCY&redir_esc=y’id=UARMCgAAQBAJ HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=UARMCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT11&dq=Boer+war&ots=aU9zq83FWF&sig=GSkeLlcNSFJshMTgeLeqHoWXwCY&redir_esc=y’& HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=UARMCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT11&dq=Boer+war&ots=aU9zq83FWF&sig=GSkeLlcNSFJshMTgeLeqHoWXwCY&redir_esc=y’oi=fnd HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=UARMCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT11&dq=Boer+war&ots=aU9zq83FWF&sig=GSkeLlcNSFJshMTgeLeqHoWXwCY&redir_esc=y’& HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=UARMCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT11&dq=Boer+war&ots=aU9zq83FWF&sig=GSkeLlcNSFJshMTgeLeqHoWXwCY&redir_esc=y’pg=PT11 HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=UARMCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT11&dq=Boer+war&ots=aU9zq83FWF&sig=GSkeLlcNSFJshMTgeLeqHoWXwCY&redir_esc=y’& HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=UARMCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT11&dq=Boer+war&ots=aU9zq83FWF&sig=GSkeLlcNSFJshMTgeLeqHoWXwCY&redir_esc=y’dq=Boer+war HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=UARMCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT11&dq=Boer+war&ots=aU9zq83FWF&sig=GSkeLlcNSFJshMTgeLeqHoWXwCY&redir_esc=y’& HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=UARMCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT11&dq=Boer+war&ots=aU9zq83FWF&sig=GSkeLlcNSFJshMTgeLeqHoWXwCY&redir_esc=y’ots=aU9zq83FWF HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=UARMCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT11&dq=Boer+war&ots=aU9zq83FWF&sig=GSkeLlcNSFJshMTgeLeqHoWXwCY&redir_esc=y’& HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=UARMCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT11&dq=Boer+war&ots=aU9zq83FWF&sig=GSkeLlcNSFJshMTgeLeqHoWXwCY&redir_esc=y’sig=GSkeLlcNSFJshMTgeLeqHoWXwCY HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=UARMCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT11&dq=Boer+war&ots=aU9zq83FWF&sig=GSkeLlcNSFJshMTgeLeqHoWXwCY&redir_esc=y’& HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=UARMCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT11&dq=Boer+war&ots=aU9zq83FWF&sig=GSkeLlcNSFJshMTgeLeqHoWXwCY&redir_esc=y’redir_esc=y#v=onepage HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=UARMCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT11&dq=Boer+war&ots=aU9zq83FWF&sig=GSkeLlcNSFJshMTgeLeqHoWXwCY&redir_esc=y’& HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=UARMCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT11&dq=Boer+war&ots=aU9zq83FWF&sig=GSkeLlcNSFJshMTgeLeqHoWXwCY&redir_esc=y’q=Boer%20war HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=UARMCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT11&dq=Boer+war&ots=aU9zq83FWF&sig=GSkeLlcNSFJshMTgeLeqHoWXwCY&redir_esc=y’& HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=UARMCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT11&dq=Boer+war&ots=aU9zq83FWF&sig=GSkeLlcNSFJshMTgeLeqHoWXwCY&redir_esc=y’f=false
16. Pitzer, Andrea. (2017). One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps. books.google.ch. Accessed the 23.02.2019 https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=jlMRDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT7&dq=Functioning+of+Nauru+concentration+camp&ots=9fyfVNLZmj&sig=BaC1N-HU2yZ_kv4Tuqw1cNNoXsQ&redir_esc=y’& HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=jlMRDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT7&dq=Functioning+of+Nauru+concentration+camp&ots=9fyfVNLZmj&sig=BaC1N-HU2yZ_kv4Tuqw1cNNoXsQ&redir_esc=y’lr= HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=jlMRDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT7&dq=Functioning+of+Nauru+concentration+camp&ots=9fyfVNLZmj&sig=BaC1N-HU2yZ_kv4Tuqw1cNNoXsQ&redir_esc=y’& HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=jlMRDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT7&dq=Functioning+of+Nauru+concentration+camp&ots=9fyfVNLZmj&sig=BaC1N-HU2yZ_kv4Tuqw1cNNoXsQ&redir_esc=y’id=jlMRDgAAQBAJ HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=jlMRDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT7&dq=Functioning+of+Nauru+concentration+camp&ots=9fyfVNLZmj&sig=BaC1N-HU2yZ_kv4Tuqw1cNNoXsQ&redir_esc=y’& HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=jlMRDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT7&dq=Functioning+of+Nauru+concentration+camp&ots=9fyfVNLZmj&sig=BaC1N-HU2yZ_kv4Tuqw1cNNoXsQ&redir_esc=y’oi=fnd HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=jlMRDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT7&dq=Functioning+of+Nauru+concentration+camp&ots=9fyfVNLZmj&sig=BaC1N-HU2yZ_kv4Tuqw1cNNoXsQ&redir_esc=y’& HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=jlMRDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT7&dq=Functioning+of+Nauru+concentration+camp&ots=9fyfVNLZmj&sig=BaC1N-HU2yZ_kv4Tuqw1cNNoXsQ&redir_esc=y’pg=PT7 HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=jlMRDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT7&dq=Functioning+of+Nauru+concentration+camp&ots=9fyfVNLZmj&sig=BaC1N-HU2yZ_kv4Tuqw1cNNoXsQ&redir_esc=y’& HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=jlMRDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT7&dq=Functioning+of+Nauru+concentration+camp&ots=9fyfVNLZmj&sig=BaC1N-HU2yZ_kv4Tuqw1cNNoXsQ&redir_esc=y’dq=Functioning+of+Nauru+concentration+camp HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=jlMRDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT7&dq=Functioning+of+Nauru+concentration+camp&ots=9fyfVNLZmj&sig=BaC1N-HU2yZ_kv4Tuqw1cNNoXsQ&redir_esc=y’& HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=jlMRDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT7&dq=Functioning+of+Nauru+concentration+camp&ots=9fyfVNLZmj&sig=BaC1N-HU2yZ_kv4Tuqw1cNNoXsQ&redir_esc=y’ots=9fyfVNLZmj HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=jlMRDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT7&dq=Functioning+of+Nauru+concentration+camp&ots=9fyfVNLZmj&sig=BaC1N-HU2yZ_kv4Tuqw1cNNoXsQ&redir_esc=y’& HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=jlMRDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT7&dq=Functioning+of+Nauru+concentration+camp&ots=9fyfVNLZmj&sig=BaC1N-HU2yZ_kv4Tuqw1cNNoXsQ&redir_esc=y’sig=BaC1N-HU2yZ_kv4Tuqw1cNNoXsQ HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=jlMRDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT7&dq=Functioning+of+Nauru+concentration+camp&ots=9fyfVNLZmj&sig=BaC1N-HU2yZ_kv4Tuqw1cNNoXsQ&redir_esc=y’& HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=jlMRDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT7&dq=Functioning+of+Nauru+concentration+camp&ots=9fyfVNLZmj&sig=BaC1N-HU2yZ_kv4Tuqw1cNNoXsQ&redir_esc=y’redir_esc=y#v=onepage HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=jlMRDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT7&dq=Functioning+of+Nauru+concentration+camp&ots=9fyfVNLZmj&sig=BaC1N-HU2yZ_kv4Tuqw1cNNoXsQ&redir_esc=y’& HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=jlMRDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT7&dq=Functioning+of+Nauru+concentration+camp&ots=9fyfVNLZmj&sig=BaC1N-HU2yZ_kv4Tuqw1cNNoXsQ&redir_esc=y’q=nauru HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=jlMRDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT7&dq=Functioning+of+Nauru+concentration+camp&ots=9fyfVNLZmj&sig=BaC1N-HU2yZ_kv4Tuqw1cNNoXsQ&redir_esc=y’& HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=jlMRDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT7&dq=Functioning+of+Nauru+concentration+camp&ots=9fyfVNLZmj&sig=BaC1N-HU2yZ_kv4Tuqw1cNNoXsQ&redir_esc=y’f=false’ HYPERLINK ‘https://books.google.ch/books?hl=ru&lr=&id=jlMRDgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT7&dq=Functioning+of+Nauru+concentration+camp&ots=9fyfVNLZmj&sig=BaC1N-HU2yZ_kv4Tuqw1cNNoXsQ&redir_esc=y’&Stuart, David. (2001). Statement by H.E. Mr David Stuart. at UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY 56th SESSION Accessed the 23.02.2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20090704053220/http://www.australiaun.org/unny/il_271101.html
17. a UNHCR (2018). The Refugee Brief – 3 December 2018. unhcr.org. Accessed the 23.02.2019 https://www.unhcr.org/refugeebrief/the-refugee-brief-3-december-2018/
18. b UNHCR. (2018). UNHCR urges Australia to evacuate off-shore facilities as health situation deteriorates. unhcr.org. Accessed the 23.02.2019 https://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing/2018/10/5bc059d24/ HYPERLINK ‘https://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing/2018/10/5bc059d24/unhcr-urges-australia-evacuate-off-shore-facilities-health-situation-deteriorates.html’unhcr-urges-australia-evacuate-off-shore-facilities-health-situation-deteriorates.html
19. c UNHCR. (2018). The Refugee Brief – 27 Feb 2018. unhcr.org Accessed the 23.02.2019 http HYPERLINK ‘https://www.unhcr.org/refugeebrief/refugee-brief-27-feb-2018/’s://www.unhcr.org/refugeebrief/refugee-brief-27-feb-2018/
20. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (2016). Auschwitz. Holocaust Encyclopedia. Accessed the 23.02.2019 https://enc HYPERLINK ‘https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/auschwitz’yclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/auschwitz

The Impact of Arthur Conan Doyle on American Culture

“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” (Doyle). During the late 19th century, the Second Boer War was a major conflict in Britain. According to the official biography of Arthur Conan Doyle, Doyle published many works which were inspired by the war including The Great Boer War (2019). The growing popularity of medical studies allowed Doyle to enroll in the University of Edinburgh. Doyle’s highly inspirational and famous works have been transformed into movies and shows which were highly anticipated by many people in Britain as well as America, following his death. the show Sherlock Holmes is still airing today with new seasons coming out every year. The movies and shows which feature Sherlock Holmes substantiate the fact that Doyle’s works continue to affect people to this day. Arthur Conan Doyle was one of the most influential writers of the 19th century, and his works continue to have an impact on American culture today.

Arthur Conan Doyle was born on May 22, 1859, in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was raised by a wealthy Irish Catholic family. His dad was a successful artist but was considered a chronic alcoholic while his mom was a well-educated woman who had a passion for books and storytelling. According to Arthur Conan Doyle’s official online biography, when Arthur Conan Doyle reached his ninth birthday, the wealthy members of the Doyle Family paid for his studies. Arthur loathed the bigotry surrounding his studies and rebelled at corporal punishment, which was prevalent and incredibly brutal in most English schools of that epoch. During those grueling years, Arthur’s only moments of happiness were when he wrote to his mother, a regular habit that lasted for the rest of her life, and also when he practiced sports, mainly cricket (2019). Although he initially decided to pursue medical school, a couple of years later he decided to write short stories. After college, Conan Doyle married Louise Hawkins, who was the sister of a former patient. Years later, he fell deeply in love with Jean Leckie. According to the official biography of Arthur Conan Doyle, Conan Doyle and Jean Leckie got married very publicly in front of 250 guests, on September 18, 1907 (2019). When the Boer War started, Conan Doyle volunteered to join the war. During the Boer War, he served in an army hospital, and he earned his knighthood after writing a defense of the British conduct in that conflict. During the war, he experienced the conflicts of war and the deaths which result from it. Following the war, he wrote The Great Boer War containing scrupulous commentary concerning the conflict. Conan Doyle decided to go back to England to pursue politics; his time with politics was short-lived due to him losing in the election. After politics, he consorted back to writing. According to his official online biography, for two decades following the war, he wrote many of his most famous works. Following his last Psychic tour, Arthur Conan Doyle died on July 7, 1930 (2019).

Over the course of his career, Doyle wrote many well-known stories in his lifetime, which have impacted people all over the world. ”[Arthur Conan Doyle’s works] are almost textbook examples of honor and of logical deduction, appealing to what we all want to believe: decency and reason will prevail” (Hipple 1997). Many of his works have inspired many people throughout the whole world. Many television shows and movies have been based on his writings. “In ‘Sherlock Holmes,’ Robert Downey Jr. plays the famous Sir Arthur Conan Doyle detective as a kind of kung fu Ratso Rizzo (Rainer 2009).” Later in his life, Arthur Conan Doyle drifted away from fictional writing and started to write about spiritualism. According to the official biography of Arthur Conan Doyle, writing incessantly, looking after Louisa, no longer a wife, but a patient, and then losing his father, deeply troubled Conan Doyle. It may well have been his resulting depression, which caused him to become more and more fascinated by ‘life beyond the veil’. He had long been attracted to Spiritualism. After 1918, because of his deepening involvement in the occult, Conan Doyle wrote very little fiction, writing arduously about spiritualism (2019). Doyle is known for writing mystery novels, which has influenced many writers and has been converted into television shows as well as a movie.

One of Doyle’s most famous works is The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes. According to the official biography of Arthur Conan Doyle, the man who impressed and influenced him the most without a doubt was one of his teachers, Dr. Joseph Bell. The good doctor was a master at observation, logic, deduction, and diagnosis. All of these qualities were later to be found in the persona of the celebrated detective Sherlock Holmes (2019). The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes was composed of his last Sherlock Holmes stories. It had 12 different stories which involved the famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, and it was published in June 1927. Furthermore, Conan Doyle’s detective, Sherlock Holmes, was continued throughout much of his mysteries. According to the official biography for Arthur Conan Doyle, his last twelve stories about the exploits of the immortal detective were compiled in The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes”(2019). This famous collection of stories continues to impact people today. The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes was transformed into a TV series which aired in 2017. Following the Sherlock Holmes series, Arthur Conan Doyle created The Great Boer War, which was very influential and famous as well.

Another famous work by Doyle is The Great Boer War. According to an online biography of Arthur Conan Doyle, he volunteered as a medical doctor and sailed to Africa in February of 1900. During the war, Doyle had to wage a fierce battle against microbes. During the few months he spent in Africa, he saw more soldiers and medical staff die of typhoid fever than of war wounds. The Great Boer War was published in October of 1900 and was a masterpiece of military scholarship. It was not only a report of the war but also an astute and well-informed commentary about some of the organizational shortcomings of the British forces at the time (2019). King Edward VII was intrigued by Conan Doyle’s ability to write stories and was granted knighthood during the Boer War. Doyle’s famous works have had a large impact throughout American Culture.

Doyle’s books and literary creations impacted the American society during his lifetime, as well as to this day. Conan Doyle made a lasting impact on society with his ability to write and portray inspirational characters as well as speak with others and imbue confidence to his audience. “After the war, he made trips to Australia, the United States, Canada, and South Africa, speaking to thousands. ‘He was probably the greatest propagandist the spiritualistic movement ever had and a truly charismatic figure,’ wrote Geoffrey K. Nelson in Spiritualism and Society” (Huntington 1997). Doyle’s works throughout his lifetime created a lasting impact on the American society and influenced many works to this day.

Arthur Conan Doyle was one of the most influential writers of his time and his works had influenced and impacted many people to this day. Arthur Conan Doyle wrote nearly 200 novels, books, and pamphlets during his lifetime. He is known for his creation of the character Sherlock Holmes and the 60 stories he wrote about him. However, Conan Doyle’s first submitted story, The Haunted Grape of Goresthorpe, was unsuccessful. After his first failed attempt, Conan Doyle wrote another work; he submitted it to the Edinburgh magazine called Chamber’s Journal. After his second story, The American Tale, he decided he really wanted to pursue writing. Later in his lifetime, he pursued the religious movement involving spiritualism. Arthur Conan Doyle created many works in his lifetime, which continue to impact people today. “It has long been an axiom of [Doyle] that the little things are infinitely the most important” (Doyle).