AO1 Example exam response to consider: "The Boer War strengthened Britain." Explain why you agree or disagree with this view from the years 1899-1914.

Firstly, a key way in which the Boer War acted as a fundamental weakness to the British Empire was the inefficient and delayed response. During the war, the British forces, which were assumed to have great power, proved incapable of dealing with the 60,000 Boers. This was partly due to the guerrilla tactics employed by the Boers, which the British had not been exposed to before. The fact that the British army had to gather forces from across the Empire to deal with the war in South Africa meant that other parts of the Empire were exposed too, including crucial colonies such as India. This had a great impact on the self-confidence of the British Empire and meant it had to face a sufficient threat. Therefore, the timely response and sacrifices of power elsewhere meant that the British Empire was not just humiliated in Africa, but it also had impact for the broader empire. Another key way in which the Boer War proved to weaken the British Empire was due to the consequences after the war. Not only was the strength of the empire undermined, but the public image of empire was damaged further when the reality of the British concentration camps were exposed. This was due to Earl Kitchener’s ‘Scorched Earth’ policy against guerrilla tactics, which involved the systematic destruction of crops and Boer farms. Thus, many Boer families were forced into these camps in which disease and starvation killed thousands. Once the British public discovered this, political and public opinion turned against imperialism and Disraeli’s conservative government. This opposition was demonstrated in Parliament when Liberal MP David Lloyd George challenged the policies in South Africa (February 1901) and when Emily Hobhouse, after visiting the camps in Orange Free State, publicised and campaigned against the policies in England (May 1901). Therefore, the Boer War weakened the British Empire because British policy made the public become opposed imperialism.