Aidan Forth · BARBED-WIRE IMPERIALISM Britain’s Empire of Camps, 1876–1903 university of california press BARBED-WIRE IMPERIALISM BERKELEY SERIES IN BRITISH STUDIES Edited by Mark Bevir and James Vernon 1. T he Peculiarities of Liberal Modernity in Imperial Britain edited by Simon Gunn and James Vernon 2. Dilemmas of Decline: British Intellectuals and World Politics, 1945–1975 by Ian Hall 3. The Savage Visit: New World People and Popular Imperial Culture in Britain, 1710–1795 by Kate Fullagar 4. The Afterlife of Empire by Jordanna Bailkin 5. Smyrna’s Ashes: Humanitarianism, Genocide, and the Birth of the Middle East by Michelle Tusan 6. Pathological Bodies: Medicine and Political Culture by Corinna Wagner 7. A Problem of Great Importance: Population, Race, and Power in the British Empire, 1918–1973 by Karl Ittmann 8. Liberalism in Empire: An Alternative History by Andrew Sartori 9. Distant Strangers: How Britain Became Modern by James Vernon 10. Edmund Burke and the Conservative Logic of Empire by Daniel I. O’Neill 11. Governing Systems: Modernity and the Making of Public Health in England, 1830–1910 by Tom Crook 12. Barbed-Wire Imperialism: Britain’s Empire of Camps, 1876–1903 by Aidan Forth Aidan Forth · BARBED-WIRE IMPERIALISM Britain’s Empire of Camps, 1876–1903 university of california press University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu. University of California Press Oakland, California © 2017 Aidan Forth Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Forth, Aidan, author. Title: Barbed-wire imperialism : Britain’s empire of camps, 1876–1903 / Aidan Forth. Description: Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2017] | Series: Berkeley series in British studies; 12 Identifi ers: LCCN 2017010810 (print) | LCCN 2017021208 (ebook) | ISBN 9780520967267 (ebook) | ISBN 9780520293960 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780520293977 (pbk. : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Concentration camps—Africa—19th century. | Great Britain—Colonies— Africa—19th century. | South African War, 1899–1902—Concentration camps. | Concentration camps—India—19th century. | Great Britain—Colonies—India— 19th century. Classifi cation: LCC JV1027 (ebook) | LCC JV1027 .F65 2017 (print) | DDC 365/.34—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017010810 Manufactured in the United States of America 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For my parents CONTENTS List of Figures ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction: Britain’s Empire of Camps 1 1. Concentrating the “Dangerous Classes”: The Cultural and Material Foundations of British Camps 14 2. “Barbed-Wire Deterrents”: Detention and Relief at Indian Famine Camps, 1876–1901 43 3. “A Source of Horror and Dread”: Plague Camps in India and South Africa, 1896–1901 74 4. Concentrated Humanity: The Management and Anatomy of Colonial Camps, c. 1900 100 5. Camps in a Time of War: Civilian Concentration in Southern Africa, 1900–1901 129 6. “Only Matched in Times of Famine and Plague”: Life and Death in the Concentration Camps 159 7. “A System Steadily Perfected”: Camp Reform and the “New Geniuses from India,” 1901–1903 186 Epilogue: Camps Go Global: Lessons, Legacies, and Forgotten Solidarities 212 Notes 229 Works Cited 307 Index 337 FIGURES 1. “Tent cities”: Johannesburg and Springfontein 16 2. Ndabeni repurposed the former Uitvlugt plague camp 21 3. Family quarters, Aldershot, and an army fi eld camp 25 4. Hadleigh labor colony 31 5. “Barbed-wire imperialism” at Bitragunta Criminal Tribes Settlement 41 6. Map of Indian famines in 1876–77 and 1896–97 45 7. Famine wanderers detained in a Madras relief camp 51 8. Women and children at an earthwork 65 9. Camps rendered the famished visible to colonial bureaucracy 70 10. Urban cleansing, Bombay 75 11. Different levels of security awaited those displaced 88 12. Model camp prescribed in the North-Western Provinces 102 13. Monegar Choultry camp 104 14. Uniform huts at Shetpal camp and khadi-cloth in Naldurg 107 15. Blueprint of Khana Junction Plague Detention Camp 113 16. Detention camp from the road, Poona 114 17. Dadar Evacuation Camp 119 18. Illustrated guidelines for designated “watermen” 121 ix