Gender, empire and citizenship: British women and the South African War
When the South African War broke out in 1899 British middle-class women, already well-integrated into party politics and public life, were quick to respond. Women across a wide political spectrum actively engaged in public debates over the war through meetings, speeches, petitions, electioneering, and the press. From the start pacifist women made important contributions to the anti-war movement, later providing vital backing for Emily Hobhouse’s campaign to reform the concentration camps. Women imperialists supported the war effort through military philanthropy and imperial propaganda. Under Millicent Garrett Fawcett the government-appointed Ladies’ Committee transformed the camps, while hundreds of British women were recruited as camps teachers and nurses. Fundamentally shaped by ideologies of gender and race, women’s responses to this imperial war continued to influence women’s public action and discourses of citizenship into the First World War.
1147135935
Gender, empire and citizenship: British women and the South African War
When the South African War broke out in 1899 British middle-class women, already well-integrated into party politics and public life, were quick to respond. Women across a wide political spectrum actively engaged in public debates over the war through meetings, speeches, petitions, electioneering, and the press. From the start pacifist women made important contributions to the anti-war movement, later providing vital backing for Emily Hobhouse’s campaign to reform the concentration camps. Women imperialists supported the war effort through military philanthropy and imperial propaganda. Under Millicent Garrett Fawcett the government-appointed Ladies’ Committee transformed the camps, while hundreds of British women were recruited as camps teachers and nurses. Fundamentally shaped by ideologies of gender and race, women’s responses to this imperial war continued to influence women’s public action and discourses of citizenship into the First World War.
130.0 Pre Order
Gender, empire and citizenship: British women and the South African War

Gender, empire and citizenship: British women and the South African War

by Eliza Riedi
Gender, empire and citizenship: British women and the South African War

Gender, empire and citizenship: British women and the South African War

by Eliza Riedi

Hardcover

$130.00 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Available for Pre-Order. This item will be released on November 11, 2025

Related collections and offers


Overview

When the South African War broke out in 1899 British middle-class women, already well-integrated into party politics and public life, were quick to respond. Women across a wide political spectrum actively engaged in public debates over the war through meetings, speeches, petitions, electioneering, and the press. From the start pacifist women made important contributions to the anti-war movement, later providing vital backing for Emily Hobhouse’s campaign to reform the concentration camps. Women imperialists supported the war effort through military philanthropy and imperial propaganda. Under Millicent Garrett Fawcett the government-appointed Ladies’ Committee transformed the camps, while hundreds of British women were recruited as camps teachers and nurses. Fundamentally shaped by ideologies of gender and race, women’s responses to this imperial war continued to influence women’s public action and discourses of citizenship into the First World War.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780719079450
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Publication date: 11/11/2025
Series: Studies in Imperialism , #156
Pages: 280
Product dimensions: 6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x (d)

About the Author

Eliza Riedi is a Lecturer in Imperial History at the University of Leicester

Table of Contents

Introduction: Forgotten voices
1 An error and a crime: the women pro-Boers
2 ‘Doing our country’s work’: women and patriotic charity
3 ‘A thrill of imperial sentiment’: women and imperialist propaganda
4 For England’s honour: pro-Boer women and the camps
5 A committee of ladies: reforming the camps
6 Imperialism at work: professional women in the camps
Conclusion: Women, war, empire and citizenship

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews