Colonial concentration camps in Cuba and South Africa. Characteristics and significance for the evolution of the idea
Colonial concentration camps in Cuba and South Africa. Characteristics and significance for the evolution of the idea

Summary/Abstract: In 1896, the Spanish general Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau decidedto build the first concentration camps in order to force rebels in Cuba to submitto colonial rule. In 1900, during the Second Boer War, the British command madea similar decision – concentrating the civilian population in controlled areas surroundedby barbed wire in order to hasten the end of the conflict. In both cases,the colonial authorities’ mismanagement and lack of basic supplies led to the deathsof tens of thousands of people. This paper characterizes the first concentrationcamps based on criteria, i.e. the goals of the camps or the reality of the camps,and then points out the similarities and differences found between the Spanishand British camps. The paper also addresses the problem of the concentrationcamp as a political precedent – it shows the relationship between the Cuban andBoer concentration camps and the Nazi death camps. Special emphasis is placedon the importance of the first concentration camps for the formation of the Nazideath machine (also in a purely propaganda context).

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