The end of the Second Boer War saw the Boer Republics become British territories with the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging.

Britain extended its power in southern Africa on the conclusion of the war. The war was extremely hard fought and created great Boer animosity towards the British.

Boer forces were unwilling to concede defeat after having been outgunned in conventional military engagements. In the last phase of the war, the Boers took to guerilla tactics, targeting telegraph lines, carrying out ambushes, and re-occupying territory soon after over-stretched British forces moved on to engage other areas. This made achieving a decisive end to the war more difficult.

There was overwhelming support for the Boer fighters amongst the civilian population and this made it difficult for British forces to secure hard-won territory. As a result, more radical tactics were employed such as the wholesale destruction of towns and villages which created a refugee crisis. This ultimately led to the creation of concentration camps in which many Boer women and children lost their lives through disease and malnutrition.