The political department and the retraction of paramountcy in India 1935-1947
- Authors: Moëd, Madeleine
- Date: 1988
- Subjects: India , India -- Politics and government -- 1919-1947
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2526 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001855
- Description: The Political Department and the Indian Political Service stand accused of sins of omission and commission. The evidence suggests that they were badly hampered by ill-conceived training prodecures, a lack of manpower and above all the incoherent policy of the British government towards the Indian states. The failure of the 1935 Federation Act which formally established the Political Department was not due to princely intransigence inspired by political officers. Between 1935 and 1947 the Political Department embarked on a vigorous programme of combining the resources of the smaller states to strengthen them as viable partners in a new India. Their lack of success in effecting the federation of the states with India in 1947 was not a result of the disinclination of political officers to implement reform as much as their inability to do so. Many princes were also unwilling to sacrifice a measure of sovereignty for efficient government and paramountcy precluded forcing internal reform on the princes. Paramountcy was never clearly defined and thus its retraction in 1947 took place amidst confusion and misunderstanding on all sides. The Indian Political Service was always treated as secondary to the Indian Civil Service and the states to British India. Britain's emphasis on constitutional change in British India, reflected in the Cripps Mission of 1942, the Cabinet Mission of 1946 and the rush towards independence in 1947 resulted in her inattention to the Political Department and the princes which culminated in the abandonment of both in 1947.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1988
The political ecology of wildlife conservation in Kenya, 1895-1975
- Authors: Matheka, Reuben M
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Wildlife conservation -- Kenya Environmental policy -- Kenya Wildlife conservation -- Political aspects -- Kenya
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2595 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007530
- Description: The study examines the development of wildlife conservation policy and practice in Kenya from 1895 to 1975. Started by the colonial state as part of its resource control programme, wildlife conservation in Kenya gradually became an important aspect of the country's economy chiefly because of its significance as the basis of a vibrant tourist industry. The conservation programme was also important to conservationists who viewed Kenya's wildlife as a heritage to humanity. Similarly, local communities, which were affected in various ways by wildlife conservation policies, had their own perceptions of the programme. All this led to the proliferation of groups whose interests were potentially conflicting. Wildlife conservation in Kenya during the period under examination was thus characterised by various struggles between interest groups such as conservationists, the state, and local communities. The struggles centred around such issues as the costs and benefits of conservation and were manifested through anti-conservation activities like the poaching of wild animals by dissatisfied groups. These struggles changed over time in line with social, economic, political, and ecological developments. International events/processes (such as the two world wars, economic booms/depressions, and decolonisation) triggered local processes which influenced conservationism either positively or negatively. Wildlife conservation in Kenya during the period under study was dynamic. The thesis challenges the myth of a monolithic 'colonial' wildlife policy often implied in many studies on the subject. The thesis also lays emphasis on the ecological basis of wildlife conservation while recognising the impact of social, political, and economic developments on the evolution of wildlife conservation policy and practice in Kenya. The country's 'geography' not only provided the foundation for conservation but also influenced the programme over time. Droughts, floods, army worm infestations, and other 'natural' occurrences interacted with social and economic changes, such as population growth and the development of capitalism, to shape conservation policy. The conservation programme was thus influenced by a complex interaction of a variety of factors.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2002
The politics of administration: a study of the career of Dr D L Smit with special reference to his work in the Department of Native Affairs, 1934-1945
- Authors: Bell, M M S
- Date: 1978
- Subjects: Smit, Douglas Lainge,1885- , South Africa. Native Affairs Commission , South Africa -- Native Affairs Department , South Africa -- History -- 1909-1961
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2596 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007624 , Smit, Douglas Lainge,1885- , South Africa. Native Affairs Commission , South Africa -- Native Affairs Department , South Africa -- History -- 1909-1961
- Description: The written history of modern South Africa is limited by the moratorium on archival material common to' all contemporary research, and the present study is intended, in part, to help fill this gap. It has a two- fold design: first, to point out some of the anomalies in the relationship between administration and policy and secondly, to show the extent to which they are interdependent in Dr. D.L. Smit ' s career. In the process, I hope to clarify and to comment on some of the mechanics involved in Native Administration.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1978
The Port Elizabeth disturbances of October, 1920
- Authors: Baines, Gary F, 1955-
- Date: 1988
- Subjects: Black people -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- Social conditions , Police shootings -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Labor movement -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth -- History
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2529 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001858
- Description: Chapter one suggests thet trade and merchant capital, which were crucial to Port Elizabeth's economic development during the nineteenth century, was subsumed by the rise of manufactures and industrial capital after the First World War. Industrial expansion was cut short by the post-war recession, which caused un- and underemployment. The black worker, who experienced a severe loss in real earnings on account of the increased cost of living, became involved in a struggle with employers for wage increases. Chapter two shows how the policy of segregation was applied in Port Elizabeth, which meant that the workers were subjected to an increasing degree of control and regulation of their daily lives. The conditions of reproduction in the black townships fostered inter-racial and cross-class mobilisation which culminated in the formation of a general labour union, the Port Elizabeth Industrial and Commercial Workers' Union (PEICWU). Chapter three will suggest links between the tradition in Port Elizabeth of worker resistance and the unionisation of black workers in the post-war period. Thus, the first three chapters attempt to provide a historical perspective for analysing the underlying causes of the 1920 Port Elizabeth disturbances. The immediate cause of the disturbances was the arrest of the Union leader, Masabalala, after he called for a general strike. Chapter four will show how the intervention of the local authorities provoked a spontaneous act of defiance on the part of Union members. A demonstration outside the Baakens Street Police Station to demand the release of Masabalala, precipitated the tragic shootings of 23 October 1920. The repressive violence which left 22 dead (with two further deaths resulting indirectly from the incident) was unprecedented in South African history. The resolution of the crisis brought the workers no nearer to obtaining a reasonable settlement of the wage issue. If anything, the resolve of employers to deny wage demands was hardened by the actions of the local authorities, who attributed the disturbances to ' agitation '. Such thinly-disguised justifications of the shootings by the dominant classes, however, provoked recriminations from other quarters. Chapter five examines the legal and political ramifications of the Port Elizabeth shootings. The circumstances of the shootings prompted the Smuts Government to appoint a Commission of Enquiry in the face of public pressure. The Commission found that the Police and vigilantes were largely to blame for the high death toll. But the Government's 'whitewash' of the findings could not absolve the Police from culpability entirely, nor could it sidestep its own responsibility and liability to victims of the shootings. Finally, in Chapter six, an attempt will be made to assess the long term impact of the shootings on the PElCU and the black labour movement in Port Elizabeth generally. The outcome of the episode was a victory for employers, which dealt a body blow to worker organisation which only became resurgent in the 1950s.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1988
The Quakers in South Africa a social witness
- Authors: Tonsing, Betty Kathryn
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Society of Friends Quakers -- History Quakers -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2564 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002417
- Description: The Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, began their witness in the 1600s during a time of religious debate when competing doctrines reflected the political, social and intellectual turmoil of seventeenth-century England. George Fox (1624-1691), the founder, preached that people are guided by God's inner light which is present in the hearts and conscience of all people and reflects God's 'divine' will. The Quakers form a small religious membership not larger than 200,000 people sect, its world-wide. Yet, historically, the group's impact on social issues has always outweighed its numerical strength. The earliest Quakers to reside more permanently in South Africa were British settlers, several of whom became outspoken civic leaders. Quaker humanitarian gestures led to the opening of a multi-racial school for poor children in Cape Town (1840) and investigations into the treatment of Afrikaner women and children in concentration camps during the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902). Early Quakers are also credited with initiating the Joint Council Movement of Europeans and Africans (1920s), forerunner to the South African Institute of Race Relations. This study traces the Quaker presence in South Africa from its earliest history to the present, with particular emphasis on the twentieth century. Specifically, the examination of the Quaker presence addresses the group's reaction to South African society and politics in reference to segregationist and apartheid legislation. The study includes a comparative analysis of the response among South African Quakers to these issues with Quaker response in England and the United states. The purpose of this analysis is to attempt an assessment of the extent to which South African Quaker practices were consistent with the philosophies of their world-wide religious fellowship. Relevant to the Quaker belief in peace and justice for all, with no discrimination, specific issues that involved South African Quakers and for which sufficient primary sources were available are closely examined. Of particular interest is the opening of a Quaker boarding school during the early 1930s, the Quaker response to the Defiance Campaign in 1952, and South African Quaker response to the call for international sanctions and boycotts against South Africa. More recent Quaker activities, including mediation between the African National Congress and the government, provide significant data. South African Quakers have defined themselves as members of a religious body whose belief of pacifism and commitment to non-violence dictates to a certain extent their obedience to a higher authority -- which some call their conscience and others call God -- if a civil law is deemed immoral and unjust . Thus, the study seeks to define the individual and corporate Quaker witness in South Africa in relation to the Society's principles.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
The recruitment and ogranisation [i.e. organisation] of African labour for the Kimberley diamond mines: 1871-1888
- Authors: Siebörger, Robert Frederick
- Date: 1975
- Subjects: Diamond mines and mining -- South Africa -- Kimberley , Unskilled labor -- Recruiting -- South Africa , Unskilled labor -- South Africa -- Kimberley -- Social conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2614 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013228
- Description: Behind the fortunes in diamonds, the great open mines and the teeming town that was early Kimberley, were African labourers. Diggers seemed scarcely to care about them unless they were "in short supply", and many historians have been interested only in the guns they carried home with them. This study is concerned with these men: where they came from, why and how they came, and their treatment while they worked in Kimberley. The initial inspiration for the study came from the chapter on diamond production in Sheila van der Horst's Native Labour in South Africa, a remarkable contribution to the history of the Diamond Fields. The later studies by G.V. Doxey and more recently by John Smalberger which have expanded on aspects of Van der Horst's work, have led me to delve more deeply into other areas upon which they have not touched. One potentially fruitful line of study which was beyond the scope of this work was an investigation into the degree to which the Griqualand West labour question affected the attempts at South African federation in the 1870's. The main sources for the work have been the Griqualand West archives in the Cape Archives, for the period 1872-1880, and the various Kimberley newspapers. Labour returns were printed monthly in the Griqualand West Government Gazette for most years, till 1880. Cape Blue Books were useful sources for the period after 1880. De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. hold very little material relating to the pre-amalgamation period, though the extant minute books of the De Beers and Kimberley Central Diamond Mining Companies provided valuable information. A considerable number of contemporary published works were also consulted but, though most made some reference to African labour, few contained anything worthy of mention.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1975
The relationship between the Orange Free State and the Rolong of Thaba 'Nchu during the presidency of J.H. Brand, 1864-1888
- Authors: Wales, Janet Mary
- Date: 1980
- Subjects: Rolong (African people) -- Politics and government , Rolong (African people) -- Government relations , Free State (South Africa) -- Native races
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2521 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001850
- Description: During the period 1864 to 1888, President J .H. Brand of the Orange Free State Republic had to deal with two Rolong chiefs at Thaba 'Nchu. The first, Chief Moroka II, ruled the Seleka tribe from 1829 to 1880, while his successor Tsipinare, a Tshidi-Rolong, ruled from 1880 to 1884. The majority of the Rolong at Thaba 'Nchu were of the Seleka division, but the minority groups, the Tshidi and Rapulana, also played an important role in the tribe's relations with the Free State.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1980
The reminiscences of Thomas Stubbs, 1820 - 1877
- Authors: McGeoch, Robert Thomas
- Date: 1965
- Subjects: Stubbs family , British settlers of 1820 (South Africa) -- Personal narratives , South Africa -- History -- Frontier Wars, 1811-1878 , Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) -- History
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2609 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012851
- Description: The "Reminiscences" of Thomas Stubbs are one of several such compositions which have survived from the 1820 Settlers. The manuscript offers one of the fullest and most lively accounts of frontier life, and the experiences of the Settlers as seen through the eyes of Thomas Stubbs. The object of this thesis has been to reconstruct the life of Thomas Stubbs which has proved an arduous yet absorbing task and to comment upon and evaluate some of the views Stubbs expressed when he wrote the "Reminiscences" between 1874 and 1875, as well as to test, where possible, the validity of the opinions and sentiments formed during a half-century's acquaintance with the Eastern frontier of the Cape of Good Hope.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1965
The rule of Brigadier Oupa Gqozo in Ciskei: 4 March 1990 to 22 March 1994
- Authors: White, Colin Stewart
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Gqozo, Oupa , Sebe, L L W (Lennox L W) , Massacres -- Bisho (South Africa) , Ciskei (South Africa) -- History -- 20th century , Ciskei (South Africa) -- Politics and government -- 20th century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2616 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013360
- Description: Although the history of the Eastern Cape has been recorded from the eighteenth century, virtually nothing has been written about the political entity known as the independent Republic of Ciskei (1981 – 1994). This hiatus in our history, coupled with the fact that many of the official records of that period have been destroyed, make it imperative that the role-players of the period be contacted and their evidence be recorded before it is lost to prosperity. This need has motivated the writing of the thesis. The thesis commences with a brief description of the early history and constitutional development of Ciskei. It then has a substantial chapter on Lennox Sebe, the ruler of Ciskei from 1973 to 1990, who is described as the catalyst of Gqozo’s coup d’état. This is followed by a short personal biography of Oupa Gqozo, and his rise to the position of Brigadier in the Ciskei army. On 4 March 1990 Gqozo led the coup by the Ciskei Defence Force that dethroned Sebe. At the outset he ruled in an exemplary manner, but after being misled by South African agents he turned against the African National Congress and his own people. When he established his own party, the African Democratic Movement, and re-instated the hated headman system, civil war followed in Ciskei. Separate chapters in the thesis relate the various traumatic events that occurred during Gqozo’s reign: the killing of Anton Guzana and Charles Sebe; the dismissal of the senior officers of the CDF; the strife during 1991/2; the Bhisho Massacre; its aftermath; the mutiny by the security forces and Gqozo’s resignation on 22 March 1994. The thesis concludes that although Brigadier Gqozo respected the rule of law, and was free of corruption, he was devoid of the necessary academic qualifications, experience and ability, including the necessary insight and foresight, to rule a country. He became paranoid about his own safety and the possible overthrow of his government, and he was too easily swayed by others. In short, Gqozo was inept, rather than evil.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
The rupture in the Rainbow: an exploration of Joburg Pride’s fragmentation, 1990 to 2013
- Authors: McLean, Nyx Nicolene Cindy
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Gay pride celebrations -- South Africa -- Johannesburg , Sexual minorities -- South Africa , Sexual minorities -- Crimes against -- South Africa , Hate crimes -- South Africa , Group identity -- South Africa -- Johannesburg , Identity politics -- South Africa -- Johannesburg , Racism -- South Africa , One in Nine Campaign
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63822 , vital:28492
- Description: In 2012 Joburg Pride was disrupted by the One in Nine Campaign who asked for a moment of silence to honour the lives of victims of hate crimes1 and violence. This interruption of the parade was met with violence from Joburg Pride organisers, marshals and participants, who explicitly told the campaign’s activists that they “had no right to be at the parade.” The activists were predominantly black lesbians and gender non-conforming people. This response suggested that there was no place within Joburg Pride for honouring and mourning the lives of LGBTIAQ people of colour that had been lost to hate crimes. In addition to the call for one minute of silence, the One in Nine Campaign argued that Joburg Pride had become depoliticised as a result of its increased commercialisation. This study is motivated by a need to understand this rupture that occurred in 2012, and to situate it within the history of the LGBTIAQ movement in South Africa. In particular, it investigates the argument made by the One in Nine Campaign that Joburg Pride had become depoliticised and commercialised. The tensions that were facilitated by the 2012 clash and the subsequent formation of alternative Pride events in 2013 are interesting in light of current conversations circulating in broader South African discourse around what it means to be a South African citizen. The study applies a poststructuralist, anti-racist queer feminist lens informed by queer theory, critical theory, critical race theory, and whiteness studies to the historical and current fractures within Joburg Pride. The study analyses Exit newspaper articles from 1990 to 2013, alongside interviews with key stakeholders involved in the 2012 clash. The analysis, informed by both thematic and discursive approaches, interrogates the following themes: depoliticisation, commercialisation, “community”, assimilation, whiteness, racism, rainbowism and rainbow-washing. In this thesis I argue that the commercial interests and apolitical stance of predominantly white Joburg Pride organisers came to exclude LGBTIAQ people of colour’s experiences, at a time when political organising around hate crimes was most necessary. The analysis further highlights a politics of assimilation rooted in rights-based discourse informed by the Rainbow Nation rhetoric of post-apartheid South Africa. Further, this study problematises the notion of “community”, and discusses its strategic use in assimilationist politics within the LGBTIAQ “community”. This study shows that the rupture in the rainbow that occurred at Joburg Pride 2012 was constituted by multiple ruptures that exist in South African society. The issues explored in this thesis are therefore not only useful for constructing more inclusive spaces for LGBTIAQ people, but also for the nation building project of South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
The South African Commercial Advertiser and the Eastern Frontier, 1834-1847: an examination of the ways in which and the sources from which it reported frontier conflicts
- Authors: Frye, John
- Date: 1968
- Subjects: Fairbairn, John, 1794-1864 , South African Commercial Advertiser (Newspaper) , South Africa -- History -- Frontier Wars, 1811-1878
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2622 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1014918
- Description: [From Introduction]. The name of John Fairbairn is remembered with honour in South Africa for the part he played in the achievement of a freer press in the Cape Colony, in the campaign to prevent Britain from establishing a convict station on Cape soil, and in the movement which resulted in the establishment of a form of representative government in the Cape in 1853. More controversial is his share, as the editor of the first modern newspaper in the Colony, in a campaign to secure just treatment for the natives both inside and outside of the Colony. It is with his treatment of the conflicts, both small and great, between the Colony and the AmaXhosa tribes on its Eastern Frontier that this study is concerned.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1968
The Stockenström judgment, the Warren report and the Griqualand West rebellion, 1876-8
- Authors: White, Anthony Nevins
- Date: 1978
- Subjects: Warren, Charles, Sir, 1840-1927 , Griqualand West -- History , Land tenure -- Griqualand West , Griqua Rising, 1878 , Griqua (African people) -- History , Tlharo (African people) -- History , Tlhaping (African people) -- History , Baga-maidi (African people) -- History , Stockenström, Andries, 1844-1880 , Genealogy , Korana (African people) -- History
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2591 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007239 , Warren, Charles, Sir, 1840-1927 , Griqualand West -- History , Land tenure -- Griqualand West , Griqua Rising, 1878 , Griqua (African people) -- History , Tlharo (African people) -- History , Tlhaping (African people) -- History , Baga-maidi (African people) -- History , Stockenström, Andries, 1844-1880 , Genealogy , Korana (African people) -- History
- Description: From Preface: South African frontiers periodically provided the backdrop for conflict between Blacks and Whites over land, and, in this respect, Griqualand West proved no exception. The arrival of the trekboers in the 1830s heralded the beginning of the land problem in Griqualand West, and the situation worsened with the discovery of diamonds and the subsequent influx of land-hungry Whites. By the 1870s the stage was then set for a major clash between Blacks and Whites with land as the central focus. The Griqualand West Administration tried to rectify this situation in 1875 by setting up a Land Court under Judge Andries Stockenström. Stockenström's judgment was highly controversial, as many Griqua and Blacks lost land, although no land which had been claimed by a Griqua or Black was granted to a White. As Stockenström had not resolved the land problem, the Griqualand West authorities brought in Captain Charles Warren to settle the matter of land ownership in the Province. The Warren Report was considered by all concerned to be fair, but it did not prevent the outbreak of hostilities in 1878. The two main foci of this study are, then, land ownership and the Rebellion and the link, if any, between them. The main sources for the work have been the Griqualand West archive in the Cape Archives, for the period 1872-1880, and various newspapers. The Cape and Imperial Blue Books were useful sources, especially on the military history of the rebellion. Interviews conducted in Bophuthatswana and Griqualand West clarified many obscure points and raised others, most of which have been answered in this work. A considerable number of contemporary published works were also consulted, but, although most mentioned the land problem and the Rebellion, few contained anything worthy of mention, especially with regard to the military history of the Rebellion. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1978
The tropical environment and malaria in southwestern Nigeria, 1861 – 1960
- Authors: Adetiba, Adedamola Seun
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Diseases and history -- Africa , Diseases and history -- Nigeria , Medical anthropology -- Africa , Medical anthropology -- Nigeria , Malaria -- Social aspects -- Nigeria , Malaria -- Nigeria -- History , Nigeria -- History , Imperialism -- Health aspects , Medicine -- Colonies -- Great Britain -- History
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/76564 , vital:30605
- Description: This thesis is a social history of malaria in southwestern Nigeria. It contributes to the burgeoning literature in the historiography of medicine, specifically the medicine and empire debate. Key to the issues raised in this thesis is the extent to which the limitations in colonial medical policies, most especially malaria control programmes, inspired critical and ingenious responses from African nationalists, doctors, patients, research volunteers, and indigenous medical practitioners. Challenged by a wide range of diseases and a paucity of health facilities and disease control schemes, African rural dwellers became medical pluralists in the ways they imagined and appropriated ideas of Western medicine alongside their indigenous medical practices. Beginning with a detailed historical exploration of the issues that informed the introduction of curative and preventive medicine in southwestern Nigeria, this thesis reveals the focus of colonial medicine. It exposes the one-sided nature of medical services in colonial spaces like southwestern Nigeria and the ways it shaped multifaceted responses from Africans, who were specifically side-lined till the 1950s when the rural medical service scheme was introduced. The focus of colonial medicine is drawn from relatively rich but often subjective historical evidence, such as a plethora of official reports of the department of medical and sanitary services, official correspondences within the colonial government in Lagos and Nigeria, and between the colonial government and the colonial office in the United Kingdom. Details of African responses to medical policies were garnered from newspaper publications and correspondences between the African public and the colonial government in Lagos. They reveal very interesting details of the ways Africans imagined, reimagined, and appropriated malaria control ideas and schemes. The central argument in this thesis is that attempts to control malaria in southwestern Nigeria till the 1950s, were shaped by a single concern to ameliorate the implications of the disease on the colonial state. It argues that this one-sided nature of malaria control programme informed the basis for medical pluralism in most rural spaces where African communities became patrons and sponsors of Western medicine and at the same time custodians of their indigenous medical practices. The series of justifications for the sustenance of these services were reinforced on the basis of the failure of the colonial state to guarantee the health needs of their colonial subjects. The aim of the thesis is to reinforce arguments that portray colonial medicine as a “tool of empire” but goes a bit further to explain the extent to which Africans related to this reality. It states quite categorically that Africans were not docile and silent, but that they acted decisively in ways that suited their varied interests and courses.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
The war of Ngcayecibi, 1877-8
- Authors: Spicer, Michael Wolseley
- Date: 1978
- Subjects: Sarhili -- Xhosa paramount chief -- ca.1814-1892 , Frontier War, 1877-1879
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2559 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002412 , Sarhili -- Xhosa paramount chief -- ca.1814-1892 , Frontier War, 1877-1879
- Description: This work makes no pretence at being a comprehensive account of the War of Ngcayecibi and its context in Cape and Imperial History. It omits all but passing reference to Imperial Policy, Frere's Federation plans, the Constitutional Crisis and the dismissal of the Molteno Ministry, all of which have been more than adequately covered elsewhere. Rather it concentrates on a study of the war in terms of black/white relations. The responses of the blacks to white pressures on their land and traditional society are examined, particularly those of Sarhili and the Gcaleka, for Sarhili, the gentlemanly but tragic Paramount Chief of the Xhosa, is the central figure in the canvas of black Ciskeian and Transkeian leaders of the time, and the War of Ngcayecibi is very much a Xhosa war. I have tried to avoid a conventional account of the military operations of the war, sketching only the broad outlines of military operations and concentrating on the strategies adopted by black and white forces, and the reasons for which various black chiefdoms or segments thereof participated in the war. Orthography. The matter of orthography is a tricky one, for Xhosa orthography has been recently overhauled and is not yet finalised. I have attempted with the aid of Mr Sidney Zotwana of the Institute of Social and Economic Research at Rhodes University to adopt the most acceptable forms of Xhosa names. I have dropped the use of all prefixes since I felt their use would have been pedantic in what, after a11, is an English language thesis and since there is no chance of confusion between historical figures like Gcaleka and the amaGcaleka people. Sources. The documents printed in Cape an~ Imperial Blue-Books, especially the Cape Blue-Books, on Native Affairs for the years 1874-1884, and the correspondence in the Native Affairs Archive in the Government Archives in Cape Town, proved to be the most valuable official and semi-official sources. The Merriman and Molteno Papers in the South African Library in Cape Town were the most useful private papers consulted, though odd items in the Cory Library, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, proved of use. The rash of memoirs published after the war were, with exceptions, singularly unilluminating. Most prominent amongst the exceptions was West W. Fynn: The'77 War ••• (East London, 1911), an account of the war written by the Clerk of the Resident to Sarhili. Although Fynn has a grudge against treatment he received from the Colonial Government at the time, and is not above dramatising his role, he was in an unparalle11ed position to observe the events leading up to the war and records much valuable information. The voluminous notebooks in Cory Library of the late Dr A.W. Burton, an amateur Border historian who had researched the war, were interesting but difficult to use because of an almost total lack of footnoting or reference to sources. J.R. Soga's two works, The South Eastern Bantu (Johannesburg, 1930) and The Ama-Xosa: Life and Customs (Lovedale, 1931) are well known and proved useful but, as will be seen, have to be treated with care. Of more modern works, J. Peires: "A History of the Xhosa c.1700-1835" if (unp. M.A. thesis, Rhodes University, 1976) proved invaluable as a background to Xhosa society and earlier Xhosa history. The works of Christopher Saunders, who has written much on topics related to the war, were indispensable. C.J. Schoeman: "Die Negende Grensbotsing" (unp. M.A. thesis, University of Port Elizabeth, 1976), the one general study of the war thus far written, covers military operations at great length and is a work very much in the mould of traditional Afrikaner Frontier Historiography.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1978
The wreck of the Dutch man o' war, Amsterdam, in December 1817 on the Eastern Cape coast of Southern Africa: an elucidation of the literary and material remains with an annotated translation of the Journal of Captain Hermanus Hofmeijer (1814-1818)
- Authors: Bennie, Jennifer Shirley
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Amsterdam (Steamship) , Shipwrecks -- South Africa , Underwater archaeology , Nederlandsche Oost-Indische Compagnie , Hofmeijer, Hermanus, 1721-1805--Diaries , Voyages and travels -- History -- 18th century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2533 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002385 , Amsterdam (Steamship) , Shipwrecks -- South Africa , Underwater archaeology , Nederlandsche Oost-Indische Compagnie , Hofmeijer, Hermanus, 1721-1805--Diaries , Voyages and travels -- History -- 18th century
- Description: This study endeavours to elucidate the journal of Captain Hermanus Hofmeijer of the Dutch man 0' war, Amsterdam, which has been transcribed from the original script, translated from Dutch into English and interpreted from a contemporary viewpoint. It offers an opportunity to evaluate a unique primary historical document which records an important historical event. An attempt has been made to contextualise the incident in the light of the early history of the Dutch people. The contribution of the Dutch East India Company (VaC) to the trade and commerce of the Netherlands during the 17th and 18th centuries has been assessed together with the shipbuilding techniques that served to make the Dutch a major seafaring nation. The significance of Texel and Nieuwediep has been examined and the sea route and navigational instruments placed in perspective. The voyage has been analysed in some detail. The background of Captain Hermanus Hofmeijer has proved especially interesting. Although he pursued his career with the Dutch Navy, he was born and spent his early years in Cape Town, South Africa. The time spent by the Amsterdam in Batavia, Samaraog and Sourabaya gives an insight into the Dutch possessions overseas. The return voyage, storms and ultimate grounding are of special interest as Hofmeijer records the journey and events on a daily basis. The impact and significance of 217 extra people in the Eastern Cape area did not go unnoticed, and although the event was not well documented, an attempt at some contextualisation has been made. Finally a short overview of maritime archaeology in South Africa and its significance as a relatively new discipline has been included. The study of the material remains of the wreck of the Amsterdam has resulted in a new understanding of wooden ships built in the early 19th century.
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- Date Issued: 1998
Transformation in late colonial Ngqika society : a political, economic and social history of African communities in the district of Stutterheim (Eastern Cape), c.1870-1910
- Authors: Wotshela, L E
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: Xhosa (African people) -- History -- 19th century , Stutterheim (South Africa) -- History , Eastern Cape (South Africa) -- History
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2574 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002427
- Description: This study analyses the methods and policies of the colonial government which shaped Stutterheim's African communities between c.1870 and 1910. In 1870 the Stutterheim magisterial district had not yet been officially established. However, creation of the British Kaffrarian administration (1847-1865) had already ensured the entrenchment of colonial rule over the humiliated Xhosa chiefdoms west of the Kei. This work studies transformations in late colonial Ngqika society and the development of Stutterheim as a magisterial district. It analyses the entrenchment of colonial bureaucracy and changes in indigenous social, economic and political structures. In the period c.1860-1877, direct administration of the Ngqika was first attempted. While recovering from the 1856-57 cattle killing, the Ngqika were brought under colonial administration by the annexation of British Kaffraria to the Cape Colony in 1865. The thesis also examines the process and implications of the breakup and resettlement of the Ngqika location after the 1877-1878 war and the mechanisms and complications in forming a new postwar settlement. The focus then narrows to Stutterheim magisterial district (finalised in 1880), where, after the removal of the main Ngqika population to the Transkei formal structures of quitrent settlement were established around mission stations. A new form of social behaviour underpinned by principles of individualism evolved under missionary influence. Urged on by legislation that sought to intensify implementation of individual tenure, this social behaviour predominated under the new administration. Attention is also given to the allocation of farm land in the district. On part of what had once been communally owned land, an immigrant farming community originally intended strictly for whites emerged. Numerous Africans later managed to hold property in this area. An urban area with a mixed African and white population resulted where allotments initially allocated to the German Legion were later auctioned. On crown lands, leasing and purchasing was initiated. By the early twentieth century, settlement patterns were in chaos: on the mission settlements, quitrenters disobeyed settlement regulations, farms were overpopulated by tenants and interracial urban settlements faced imminent segregationist policies. By 1910 local administration was in difficulties and the Africans were becoming politically mobilised against local and colonial policies.
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- Date Issued: 1994
Transformations in Hlengwe ethnicity in Chiredzi, Zimbabwe, 1890 to 2014
- Authors: Chisi, Taderera Hebert
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Hlengwe (African people) -- Zimbabwe -- Chiredzi Rural District , Ethnicity -- Zimbabwe -- Chiredzi Rural District , Social constructionism , Black people -- Race identity -- Zimbabwe -- Chiredzi Rural District , Zimbabwe -- History , Imperialism -- History
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/62296 , vital:28152
- Description: Studies of ethnicity have shifted from primordialism to diverse variants of social constructivism, which include instrumentalism, invention of tribalism by the colonial elite and missionaries and demotic constructivism or creation of ethnicity from below. The studies have generally generated two broad schools of thought. One school avers that African ethnicity was invented by the colonial elite and missionaries in the colonial period whilst the other and more recent asserts that ethnicity had a precolonial currency and the generality of Africans also played a key role in identity formation. Also most notable is that most studies have tended to focus on larger and more visible ethnic groups, ignoring the stories of small communities mostly found in remote border areas of modern ‘nation’ states. Using archival material, colonial records, autobiographies, oral and secondary sources, this thesis, which is largely guided by the demotic constructivist theoretical perspective examines the evolution of the ethnic identity of an ‘obscure’ Hlengwe ethnic community of the south-east lowveld of Zimbabwe from the pre-colonial period to 2014. History of the Hlengwe history has been blurred by the use of the term “Shangaan” to denote the Hlengwe, yet they were not ethnically so. A chronological approach and demotic constuctivism have been used to enable a deeper analysis of the critical historical phases, key players and processes in Hlengwe identity formation as time wore on. While we acknowledge that identity formation involves diverse players, we also focus on the role of the generally neglected commoners in the making of African ethnicity. This study differs from other works on ethnicity which focus on events of short historical phases and the role of selected elitist agents in the making of African ethnicity, by analysing the making of Hlengwe ethnicity from the precolonial to the postcolonial period. We prove that Hlengwe ethnicity was created in the pre-colonial period but did not remain static as it was perpetually reshaped by unpredictable historical events right up to 2014. The Hlengwe community was subjected to processes of social transformation over a long period of time to an extent that the one time docile, ‘uncivilised”, inward looking community bearing an identity of shame had evolved by the close of the 20th century and early 21st century to an assertive community, proud of its identity and actively seeking political, economic and cultural recognition and rights for its ‘underdog’ Hlengwe constituency in a country where diverse Shona groups andNdebele form the dominant ethnic communities.
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- Date Issued: 2018
Two decades in the life of a city : Grahamstown 1862-1882
- Authors: Gibbens, Melanie
- Date: 1982
- Subjects: Frontier War, 1877-1879 Xhosa (African people) -- History Schools -- Grahamstown (South Africa) Grahamstown (South Africa) -- Fingo Village -- History Hottentot Location -- Grahamstown Grahamstown -- African population Diamond Fields Grahamstown -- Buildings -- City Hall Grahamstown -- Colored population Grahamstown (South Africa) -- History Grahamstown (South Africa) -- Economic conditions Grahamstown (South Africa) -- Social conditions Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) -- History -- 1872-1898 Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) -- Politics and government Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) -- Economic conditions Eastern Cape (South Africa) -- History Grahamstown -- Streets -- Paradise Row Eastern Cape (South Africa) -- Separation movement Fingo Village (Grahamstown, South Africa) -- History South Africa -- History -- Frontier Wars, 1811-1878 Xhosa (African people) -- History Glanville family Wood family Buildings -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Black people -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2542 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002394
- Description: [Preface]:In 1862 Grahamstown acquired the dignity, pride and responsibility of full municipal status by its own Act of Incorporation. Ibis Act marked the consolidation of Grahamstown's era of local government by its vigorous and far-sighted Municipal Board of Commissioners, which was established in 1837 and has been examined in depth in K.S. Hunt's thesis on Grahamstown municipal government up to 1862. Clearly, the year 1862 is the logical beginning for a further study of Grahamstown's changing position in the Eastern Cape and its development in the practice of local government during the crucial decades of the 1860's and 1870's. But the choice of 1882 to mark the end of this thesis is in some ways arbitrary. 1882 does not appear to be a turning point, a year of major significance in either the history of Grahamstown or of the Colony as a whole. Besides the convenient time-span of twenty years, there are various factors which, taken together, explain why 1882 is a useful date of demarcation from which to take stock and review Grahamstown's economic, political, social and municipal position after two vital decades in its history. In the civic sphere,the opening of Grahamstown's Town Hall made tangible,in solid Victorian design,a long held ambition of the City Councillors. Buildings, in Victorian attitudes, throughout the British Empire, were regarded as very important civic symbols. One can learn much of Grahamstown Victorian attitudes from the lengthy process of attaining a Town Hall. A much more elaborate ceremony surrounded the opening of the Jubilee Tower, an occasion for assessing the influence of Grahamstown's Settler heritage on the development of the town. Municipal problems concerning finance, water and "native" locations remained thorny questions as they had throughout the period 1862-32. Generally 1882 was a year of transition for Grahamstown and the Colony as a whole. Economically it appeared to start prosperously but 1882 actually marked the beginning of a severe depression which lasted until 1386. It is important to consider how Grahamstown’s economic development relates to the overall economic picture of the Cape Colony at this juncture. Though ostrich feather prices remained high in 1882, the ensuing depression was caused partly by the rapid overexpansion of the industry but most important of all, by a reaction to an inflated era of confidence during the diamond boom years of the 1870's and their consequent easy Bank credit plus intense speculation. Politically 1882 also appeared a year of transition. How to maintain the uneasy peace after the Basuto war remained a constant challenge to Scanlen's ministry. The beginnings of active party conflict in the workings of responsible government were evident only in embryo. The rapid growth of the Afrikaner Bond was to change this. Specifically in relation to the practice of local government in the Cape Colony, the General Municipal Act No. 45 was passed during the Parliamentary session of 1882, enabling any town to seek incorporation. The query is raised as to how far the modus vivendi of the Grahamstown municipality helped frame the clauses of this general Municipal enabling Act. For these various reasons, as well as the additional one that twenty years was found to offer a manageable research unit, 1882 has been decided on as the limit of this thesis. This thesis aims, through a careful examination of Grahamstown's economic, political but particularly civic development, to determine and trace the nature of the Grahamstown community's response to the challenge of the gradual isolation of the 1860's and 1870's. Grahamstown's civic history provides fascinating insights into the structure of the entire community and its attitudes and values. Study has been made of the following major primary sources for the history of Grahamstown 1862-1882: the Grahamstown Municipality records, complete except for incoming letters and housed in the Cape Archives, und the Grahamstown newspapers for the period. The most prolific as well us the most valuable newspaper source of the period is The Grahamstown Journal, a newspaper with a tradition firmly bound up with the formulation of frontier as well as Grahamstown thought, kingpin of the network built up by the successors of Robert Godlonton, the "architect of frontier opinion". It has to be treated with caution as a source because of this very bias. The Council Minutes themselves, meticulously recorded in the Town Clerk's copperplate Victorian script, are scrupulously objective, recording blandly proposers, seconders and fates of motions. What might appear the bare bones of a detailed study of the municipal records yet reflects the economic climate of the town, political opinions, class and race attitudes, civic pride, concepts of public health and charity. The newspapers are a vital addition to the Municipal records themselves. The weekly meetings received faithful, accurate and very copious coverage from press-representatives present at every ordinary meeting. Indeed these reports give a vivid immediacy to the meetings and reveal opinions, pressure groups and lines of conflict within the Council, on issues important and trivial. These, at times lively and enlivening, sometimes stormy meetings, are reported with an authenticity which makes one suspect that often words of speeches were given verbatim - personalities of the Councillors certainly emerge distinctly. Full newspaper coverage is also given to the meetings of the Albany Divisional Council. The annual reports of the Civil Commissioners and Resident Magistrates, which appear in the Parliamentary Blue Books of the period, provide some valuable economic comment on the vicissitudes of life in the eastern frontier districts from 1862-1882. Such information builds useful background for a study of Grahamstown's economic and social development. Efforts have been made to locate probable sources of family papers of one of the most influential Grahamstown families of the period, the Wood family, but to no avail. If any exist they would without doubt have given interesting insight into the business connections of leading Grahamstown men and possibly given an indication of how far civic and political connections linked with religious and family influences in Victorian Grahamstown. Jim's Journal, manuscript in Cory Library, is a record of letters sent home to England by James Butler, while on a visit to the Cape,1876-79 for his health. He provides illuminating glimpses into the day to day life of Grahamstown from a Quaker viewpoint. Taken together, these sources provide considerable insights into the life and times of Grahamstown in the second half of the nineteenth Century. A municipal study examines an area in its totality: it encompasses a study of minutiae within the context of general trends. This fact alone suggests that there are many sources on the history of Grahamstown which have not yet been discovered, but this assessment is submitted on the basis of a thorough study of those which are currently available.
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- Date Issued: 1982
Umzi ka Mama Family property transfer practices and the historical significance of title deeds to African female heads of household in Fingo Village: a participatory theatre approach
- Authors: Hellemann, Phemelo Cordelia
- Date: 2022-04-07
- Subjects: Public history South Africa Eastern Cape , Oral history South Africa Eastern Cape , Women Housing South Africa Eastern Cape , Feminism Africa , Apartheid Law and legislation South Africa , Participatory theater South Africa Eastern Cape , Playback theater , Theater and society South Africa Eastern Cape , History Citizen participation , South Africa. Group Areas Act, 1950
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/294537 , vital:57230 , DOI https://doi.org/10.21504/10962/294537
- Description: Many everyday stories and experiences of African women remain underrepresented and undocumented. For example, the omission of Fingo Village women’s names from official deeds records silenced their voices. African women faced gender and racial discrimination that denied them fundamental human rights and limited their participation in urban life. Title deed records constitute one type of public record where African women’s names were omitted for centuries by the colonial and apartheid governments. Under apartheid, African women occupied the social status of minors; hence, the government denied them urban land rights. This African feminist study enlists narratives of a sample of seven African female heads of households residing in Fingo Village who are also property owners. Fingo Village is an atypical environment where African people had a rare legal advantage of owning title deeds dating back to 1855. This study employed an interdisciplinary approach by mixing oral history methodology and applied theatre methods to record, interpret and present Fingo Village women’s narratives of family property inheritance and the significance of title deed documentation in the suburb. The multiple technique approach created opportunities for authentic dialogue between the researcher and the participants beyond the inherent limitations of public history oral interviews. The traditional oral history interview and the participatory theatre methods helped uncover unconventional practices in family property relations. Though customary transfers of family homes to custodians were prevalent, title deed registration of family property was also acknowledged as a vital practice that empowered women legally. The researcher used participatory theatre techniques inspired by playback, image and forum theatre to enhance the researcher and participants’ relationship. These methods encouraged the researcher and respondents’ shared authority as they embarked on an extended participatory research project. In this regard, through dialogical and performance-based activities, the participants and the researcher became co-creators of untold Fingo Village stories. Moreover, the theatre techniques became interpretation and analysis tools that ensured that the participants’ untold stories were well represented. The first phase of the research involved engaging with the literature about the title deeds history of Fingo Village and conducting oral history interviews that served as data. In the second phase, the interviews were analysed and packaged in a documentary format. The third phase was a playback theatre inspired session in a 10-minute performance based on themes from the participants’ filmed interviews. Additionally, the performance was a catalyst for forum theatre activities that allowed the participants to interact with the performer and suggest solutions to the dilemma posed by the performer regarding family property use. The participants were decision-makers and family property relations experts within this imagined context. In the fourth phase, the image theatre adaptation and memory work activities were essential tools. The tools aided the visuals and information from an existing Fingo Village exhibition as additional resources that prompted dialogue and discussions. The exhibition encouraged participants to share their personal experiences and memories of the Group Areas Act (GAA) era. The findings showed that the GAA era saw many families revert to communal tenure practices as a strategy to evade forced sales; as such, this gave rise to undocumented family property transfers. Additionally, the findings revealed that though customary practices are often patriarchal, there are circumstances favouring women as the preferred family property custodian. These are embedded in the social status of women who are traditional healers, firstborn daughters, and those from families with just daughters. This study contributes to the growing literature that advocates for positive representation of African women’s stories by using active research methodologies that strengthen partnerships and shared authority between the researcher and the public. This methodology could inspire other researchers to explore theatre techniques to create more profound and meaningful engagements with their participants. The links to the video materials accompanying this thesis are provided on the contents page. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, History, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-04-07
Wagon bridges of the Eastern Cape, c. 1840 – 1900: the contribution of engineering to infrastructural development
- Authors: Walters, Dennis Evelyn
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Bridges Design and construction 19th century , Civil engineers South Africa Cape of Good Hope , Great Britain. Crown Agents' Office , Public works Great Britain Colonies , Wagon trains South Africa Cape of Good Hope
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63877 , vital:28500
- Description: This thesis examines an aspect of economic and technological history which has been little explored in South African history. It argues that the military subjugation and the economic development of the Cape Colony, and particularly of the Eastern Cape, were contingent upon good transportation. The geography of the country, which included relatively impassable mountains and numerous often flooded rivers, necessitated bridges as well as roads. Both were expensive. As a leader in industrial technology, Britain was well placed to extend bridge-building skills to its colonies. This thesis examines the processes by which a small and undeveloped colony strove to create an efficient technological infrastructure. As wagon traffic increased through progress, delays in crossing rivers became a hindrance leading to agitation for bridges. It will be shown that the construction of wagon bridges over the numerous rivers encountered in the Eastern Cape Colony was imperative for the initial free flow of military forces and for later commercial expansion as new towns were established. The eastward expansion was led by the military during the frontier wars followed by the Royal Engineers who built roads and bridges along the eastern frontier. The new Colonial Secretary John Montagu, who arrived in 1843, boosted the colonial finances by overhauling the administration. He established the Central Road Board, an organisation that would drive the building of mountain passes, roads and bridges. The Public Works Department succeeded the Central Road Board and with the financial intervention of the Crown Agents for the Colonies, carried on with an extensive programme of road and bridge building. From the 1870s wagon bridge building lagged behind the huge railway building enterprise in response to the opening up of the diamond and gold mines. The final quarter of the 19th century saw increased bridge building activity in the Eastern Cape with the construction of many iron lattice girder, stone masonry arch and timber trestle bridges. The surviving bridges remain as mute testimony to the skill and expertise of British engineers such as Lewis, Woodifield, Robinson, Fforde, Wakefield, Berkley, Grier, Newey, Westhoven and others.
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- Date Issued: 2018