Creating a British World: British colonial teachers and the Anglicising of Afrikaner children
Abstract
The contribution of the British Colonies in supporting Britain in its quest to
promote English and British culture amongst Afrikaner children during and in the
aftermath of the Anglo Boer War is examined in this article. A cursory background
to the circumstances that shortly preceded the Anglo Boer War is provided to present
the context of the study. Next, the role of the press in shaping opinions on and
attitudes towards the key role players in the war is offered. This aspect is included
since it points to how the opinions of British colony teachers who were recruited to
teach Afrikaner children in South Africa had been shaped. This section is followed
by an overview of concentration camp schools and an outline of the prevailing
conditions of schooling at that time. Hereafter the experiences of teachers who had
been recruited from each of three British Colonies - New Zealand, Canada and
Australia – are presented. These experiences give the reader insight into how teaching
occurred, what it comprised and how it was received by Afrikaner children who
survived the concentration camps. This article aims to add to the body of knowledge
on schooling during the time of the Anglo Boer War and the role that the British
played in the provisioning of education. The article also outlines the attempts of the
British to Anglicise Afrikaner youth. The research evidences that the explicit role
of these teachers was to inculcate the English language and customs in Afrikaner
children during and after the Anglo Boer War.
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