Barbed wire and the Anglo-Boer War

There had for a long time, in the late 1800s, been conflict between the British Empire and South Africa's Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers, known as the Boers ("boer" being the Afrikaans word for farmer). At that time the Boers held two independent republics, the South African Republic (Transvaal) and the Orange Free State - which are both somewhat inland from the Cape Province (which was held by the British Empire).

In 1899 the second Anglo-Boer War broke out which resulted in the two republics being incorporated into the British Empire.

Due to the title of this post you've probably gathered that there's a relationship between barbed wire and the Anglo-Boer war. Allow me to explain: Barbed wire was developed in 1860 to keep livestock from wandering into neighbouring properties. It's use spread from France to America and was later used for military purposes in the Spanish-American War during the Siege of Santiago.

The British armed forces must have learned from this as only a year after the Seige of Santiago did they use barbed wire to build the infamous concentration camps that kept the Boers wives and children captive.