Life — August 29, 1901 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "John Bull in South Africa" This is a political cartoon from *Life* magazine, August 29, 1901, during the Second Boer War (1899-1902). "John Bull" is the personified British Empire. The cartoon depicts a British military officer confronting what appears to be a Boer (Dutch-descended South African) soldier. The caption reads: "I have sent for you, General Wetler, to give me points in this reconcentrado business. Why, John, I am a beginner compared with you!" This sarcastically criticizes British tactics in South Africa—specifically the "reconcentrado" (concentration camp) strategy, where the British forcibly relocated Boer civilians. The satire suggests the British are learning brutal tactics from General Weyler, who infamously used concentration camps during the Cuban War of Independence. The cartoon attacks British military conduct as morally equivalent to Spanish colonialism.