Issue 1, 2005 Historia - Volume 50,
Etherington oor die Afrikaner en die Groot Trek
Historia 50, pp 1 –21 (2005)
<b>Etherington on the Afrikaner and the Great Trek </b>
<br>This article focuses on Professor Norman Etherington&apos;s representation of the Great Trek and the role of the Afrikaners in his work <I>The Great Treks : The Transformation of Southern Africa</I>, 815-1854, published in 2001. Particular attention is given to the truthfulness of his statements and factual material. <br>The main title, <I>The Great Treks</I>, may mislead many readers, as Etherington uses this term also to include the migrations of some black nations. This discussion demonstrates why the white migration is seen as "great", emphasizing that this adjective does not refer to the actual number of people involved. However, it seems as if the author underestimates the number of Afrikaner farmers who participated in the emigration. It is unfortunate that Etherington also decided to place Afrikaner monuments in the line of fire. He presents long-established research findings as if they had been corrected and represented in their true colours only recently. The author&apos;s fragmentary representation of the causes of the Great Trek and many details associated with these causes are not always correct and create the impression that he has either not done enough research or did not consult authoritative sources. <br>Readers frequently have to conclude that the author failed to evaluate human enterprise and thought within the context that produced them. For example, the relationship of Afrikaner frontier farmers with Stockenström, and Retief&apos;s decision to become a Voortrekker, require intensive research and reading and obviously demand to be interpreted within the context of their time. The author throws suspicion on Retief&apos;s dealings with Sekonyela and questions the authenticity of the Retief-Dingaan Treaty, ignoring sources which had already established the facts in this regard many years ago. <br>Etherington joins the voices of other writers who apparently imagine that if you can demonstrate that these nineteenth century figures or cultural groups - preferably Afrikaner farmers - were slave hunters or land grabbers, you have acquired a weapon to administer blow upon blow! In this instance Hendrik Potgieter (sometimes his name is incorrectly spelt as "Hendrick Potgieter") becomes the villain who, according to Etherington, conducted shady business practices in the Ohrigstad area. This article demonstrates that Etherington either did not interpret the sources correctly, or did not do sufficiently extensive research. He offers an incorrect representation of some important events which suggests that revisions will be necessary if a second edition is ever considered.
Hierdie artikel fokus op professor Norman Etherington se behandeling van die Groot Trek en die rol van die Afrikaner in sy werk <I>The Great Treks: The Transformation of Southern Africa, 1815-1854&lt;/I&gt; soos gepubliseer in 2001. Daar word veral gekyk na die waarheidsgetrouheid van sy stellings en feitemateriaal. <br>Sy hooftitel, <I>The Great Treks</I>, sal vir baie mense misleidend wees, aangesien hy ook migrasies van sekere swart volkere daarby insluit. In hierdie bespreking word genoem waarom die wit migrasie as "groot" bestempel word en getoon dat dit nie soseer op die fisieke grootte dui nie. Nogtans wil dit voorkom of die skrywer die getal Afrikanerboere wat aan die emigrasie deelgeneem het, onderskat. Dit is teleurstellend dat selfs Afrikanermonumente onder Etherington se pen moet deurloop. Stellings in werke uit die verre verlede word soms in hierdie boek voorgehou asof dit eers onlangs gekorrigeer is of nou eers in die ware kleure geskilder word. Die skrywer se fragmentariese uiteensetting van die oorsake van die Groot Trek en heelwat besonderhede in verband daarmee is nie altyd korrek gestel nie en skep die indruk dat hy nie regtig genoeg gelees of oral die regte bronne gebruik het nie. <br>Die leser kry met die lees van hierdie werk dikwels die indruk dat die skrywer nagelaat het om sover moontlik menslike aksies en denke in die gees van die tyd waarin dit plaasgevind het, te beoordeel. Die Afrikanergrensboere se verhouding met Stockenström en Retief se besluit om Voortrekker te word, verg byvoorbeeld intensiewe navorsing en leeswerk en daar moet vanselfsprekend gepoog word om dit binne die konteks van die tyd te vertolk. Die skrywer probeer om Retief se optrede teenoor Sekonyela en die egtheid van die Retief-Dingane-traktaat onder verdenking te plaas. Hy ignoreer bronne wat lank gelede al die ware feite hieroor bevestig het. <br>Etherington val in by die refreine van ander skrywers waarin blykbaar geredeneer word dat indien jy hierdie negentiende-eeuse persoonlikhede of kultuurgroepe - by voorkeur Afrikanerboere - as slawejagters of grondgrypers kan uitwys, al is die gegewens daaroor ook hoe dun gesaai, dan het jy &apos;n stok gesny waarmee jy kan slaan en slaan! In hierdie geval is Hendrik Potgieter (soms word hy sommer "Hendrick Potgieter") die sondaar wat volgens die skrywer allerlei bedenklike sake in die omgewing van Ohrigstad bedryf het. Soos in hierdie artikel uitgewys word, het Etherington die bronne nie reg vertolk of ver genoeg gelees nie en word &apos;n foutiewe voorstelling van sekere belangrike gebeure gegee wat beslis in die geval van &apos;n tweede uitgawe hersien sal moet word.
Bambatha after Mome : dead or alive?
Historia 50, pp 23 –48 (2005)
<b>Bambatha na Mome : dood of lewendig?</b>
<br>Bambatha kaMancinza, hoof van die Amazondi in die Greytown Distrik, was &apos;n belangrike leier en waarskynlik die prominentste persoonlikheid in die rebellie teen die hoofbelasting wat in 1906 deur die Natalse koloniale regering ingestel is. Koloniale owerhede het verklaar dat hy op 10 Junie 1906 in die Slag van Mome Kloof gedood is en dat getuies sy liggaam en hoof geëien het. Hy is onthoof vir uitkenningsdoeleindes - sy kop is daarna saam met sy liggaam begrawe. Dit het die owerhede se onmiddellike doel gedien, naamlik om die rebelle te ontmoedig en die opstand in Zululand tot &apos;n spoedige einde te bring. Die bewyse was oortuigend, maar nie beslissend nie. Ander berigte het die rondte gedoen dat Bambatha van die oorlogsveld ontsnap het. Dit het populêre gerugte versterk dat hy, in samewerking met Dinuzulu, besig was om op een of ander wyse &apos;n herlewing van die rebellie te beplan. Dinuzulu is algemeen as die Zulu-troonopvolger beskou, hoewel hy nie amptelik as sodanig gereken is nie. Hierdie gerugte het gefloreer en aanleiding gegee tot verskeie berigte oor Bambatha se aktiwiteite en posisie tydens die ontwrigting pas na die rebellie. Selfs die koloniale owerhede het dit deels geglo. Dinuzulu se arrestasie en verhoor in 1908-1909 het die gerugte plotseling ongedaan gemaak. Dinuzulu was essensieel tot die herlewing van die rebellie, maar Bambatha was nie. &apos;n Ondersoek na die verslae en gerugte dui ook daarop dat daar geen substansiële bewys was dat daar enigeen was wat Bambatha na Mome positief kon identifiseer of inderdaad gesien het nie. Dit lyk dus die waarskynlikste dat hy wel daar gesterf het, hoewel miskien nie op die presiese manier waarop die koloniale owerhede beskryf het nie. Nietemin het &apos;n legende dat hy ontsnap het om óf in Zululand, óf Mosambiek te gaan woon en sterf, veral onder die Zondimense bly voortleef.
Bambatha kaMancinza, chief of the Amazondi in the Greytown district, was an important leader and probably the best known personality in the rebellion against the poll tax imposed by the Natal colonial government in 1906. Colonial authorities stated that he was killed in battle at the Mome Gorge on 10 June 1906, and cited witnesses who recognized his body and head (decapitated for proof and then buried with the body). This served their immediate purpose of dispiriting the rebels and bringing the rebellion in Zululand to a speedy close. The evidence was persuasive, but not conclusive. Other reports circulated that Bambatha had escaped from the battlefield. These fed into popular rumours that he was preparing somehow to renew the rebellion in connexion with Dinuzulu, who was generally regarded as the successor to the Zulu throne, although not officially recognized as such. These rumours flourished and spawned various reports of his activities and whereabouts during the unsettled times just after the rebellion. Even the colonial authorities halfbelieved them. Dinuzulu&apos;s arrest and trial in 1908-1909 abruptly deflated them. Dinuzulu was essential to a renewal of the rebellion, Bambatha was not. Examination of the reports and rumours also show that there was no substantial evidence from anyone who could positively identify and had actually seen Bambatha after Mome. It seems most probable therefore that he had died there, although perhaps not in the manner the colonial authorities described. None the less, a local legend has persisted, especially among Zondi people, that he escaped to live and die either in Zululand or in Mozambique.
Historia 50, pp 49 –73 (2005)
<b>"A man of keen perceptive faculties" : Aboobaker Amod Jhaveri, &apos;n "Arabier" in Koloniale Natal, circa 1872-1887</b>
<br>Aboobaker Amod word oor die algemeen beskou as die eerste passasier Indiese landsverhuiser wat hom in Natal gevestig het. Sy verblyf was kort, maar nogtans het hy &apos;n betekenisvolle godsdienstige, ekonomiese en sosiale bydrae gelewer. Hierdie bondige biografie van Aboobaker dien as &apos;n lens waardeur die migrasie belewenisse van vroeë handelaars, hulle verhouding met ingeboekte Indiese arbeiders, onderlinge netwerke tussen handelaars en die verhouding tussen Indiese passasier immigrante, wit nedersetters en die koloniale owerhede bestudeer kan word. Passasier immigrante het onafhanklik van die offisiële ooreenkomste tussen die owerhede van Indië en Natal verhuis. Hulle het vrywillig en op eie koste geïmmigreer en was onderhewig aan die normale koloniale wetgewing. Aboobaker se lewensverhaal onderstreep die wyse waarop die koloniale owerhede tussen Indiërs onderskei het op grond van klas, die gapings tussen Indiese migrante, die rol van familienetwerke by toenemende immigrasie en die belangrikheid van godsdiens in die vorming van Indiërs se lewens. Hierdie artikel dui ook die problematiek verbonde aan, en waarde van die gebruik van mondeling oorgelewerde geskiedenis aan. Vele van die legendes oor Aboobaker wat sondermeer deur sy nageslag aanvaar en in die openbaar herhaal word, word nie deur "historiese feite" gestaaf nie. Die feit beklemtoon die belang daarvan om diverse historiese bronne aan deeglike beoordeling en ondersoek te onderwerp wanneer die verlede herskep word. Waar die getuienis van Aboobaker se familie die breë buitelyne van sy lewe voorsien het, is die res van die prentjie deur argivale bronne en tydgenootlike koerante ingevul. Dit het gehelp om die mees akkurate weergawe moontlik van Aboobaker se vroeë lewe en vestiging in Natal te skep. Hierdie poging toon weer eens dat historiese kennis altyd net gedeeltelike kennis is en altyd aan hersiening ondergeskik bly.
Aboobaker Amod is generally regarded as the first passenger migrant of Indian origin to settle in Natal. His stay was short but he made a significant religious, economic and social contribution. This short biography of Aboobaker serves as a lens through which to view the migratory experiences of early traders, their association with indentured Indians, networks among traders and relationships between passengers, white settlers and colonial authorities. Passenger migrants came outside of official arrangements between the governments of India and Natal. They came voluntarily at their own expense and were subject to the ordinary laws of the Colony. Aboobaker&apos;s story underscores the manner in which colonial authorities differentiated Indians on the basis of class, the fissures among Indian migrants, importance of family networks in increasing immigration and the importance of religion in shaping Indian lives. This paper also highlights the difficulty and value of using oral history. Many of the legends about Aboobaker which are accepted among his descendants and are repeated in public settings, are not corroborated by "historical facts". This emphasizes the importance of examining diverse historical sources in reconstructing the past. While testimony from Aboobaker&apos;s family provided the broad outlines of his life, this was augmented by archival sources and contemporary newspapers. This helped to recreate the most likely account of Aboobaker&apos;s early life and settlement in Natal. This endeavour underlines the fact that historical knowledge is always partial and subject to revision.
New histories in a post-colonial society - transformation in South African museums since 1994
Historia 50, pp 75 –102 (2005)
<b>Nuwe geskiedenisse in &apos;n post-koloniale gemeenskap - transformasie in Suid-Afrikaanse museums sedert 1994</b>
<br>In 2004 het Suid-Afrika tien jaar van demokrasie gevier. Gedurende die afgelope dekade was die land in &apos;n stryd gewikkel om die ongelykhede van die apartheidsera aan te spreek, asook om &apos;n nuwe en verenigde identiteit en nasie te skep, waarin mense van alle rasse in &apos;n stabiele politieke en sosiale omgewing kan leef. Museums kan &apos;n belangrike rol in hierdie proses speel. Sedert 1994 is Suid-Afrikaanse museums gedwing om hulle strukture en uitstallings te transformeer, en om hulle eie geskiedenisse en tradisionele rolle te erken in die versterking van sienings (soos oor wit superioriteit) wat legitimiteit aan die apartheidsregering verleen het. <br>Hierdie artikel ondersoek sommige van die nuwe inisiatiewe wat museums onderneem het en hoe ver hulle gegaan het om hulle koloniale nalatenskappe af te skud ten einde verteenwoordigend te word van al die diverse mense wat in die nuwe Suid-Afrika leef. Dit is saamgestel om aan die leser &apos;n algemene oorsig te bied oor die vernaamste maniere waarop museums probeer transformeer het, en om te beklemtoon watter spanninge en uitdagings hulle beleef het te midde van &apos;n groeiende konflik waarin nuwe geskiedenisse amptelike en tradisionele geskiedenisse en identiteite voortdurend uitdaag.
In 2004, South Africa celebrated ten years of democracy. During the last decade, the country has been struggling to address the inequalities of the apartheid era, in order to create a new and unified identity and nation where people of all races can live within a stable political and social environment. Museums can play an important role in this process. Since 1994, South African museums have been forced to transform their structures and exhibitions, and to acknowledge their own histories and traditional roles that perpetuated notions such as the superiority of the white race and gave legitimacy to the apartheid regime. <br>This article examines some of the new initiatives museums have taken and considers just how far museums have gone to cast off their colonial legacies to become representative of all the diverse peoples that live in the "new" South Africa. It is designed to provide the reader with a general overview of the main ways in which museums have attempted to transform, and to highlight the challenges and tensions they have faced, and often continue to face, amidst a growing conflict where new histories constantly challenge official and traditional histories and identities.
Making money with memories : the fusion of heritage, tourism and identity formation in South Africa
Historia 50, pp 103 –122 (2005)
<b>Inkomste uit herinneringe : die versmelting van erfenis, toerisme en identiteitsvorming in Suid-Afrika</b>
The commodification of water in the arid and semi-arid parts of South Africa : a preliminary historical exploration
Historia 50, pp 123 –146 (2005)
<b>Die kommodifisering van water in die dor en semi-droë gebiede van Suider-Afrika : &apos;n voorlopige historiese verkenning</b>
<br>Die kommodifisering van water is die resultaat van die snelle vooruitgang wat liberale kapitalisme sedert die laat-twintigste eeu in alle wêrelddele gemaak het. Water, wat tradisioneel as &apos;n basiese hulpbron beskou is, het toenemend &apos;n kommoditeit geword. In hierdie artikel word &apos;n oorsig van waterverbruik (vir mens en dier) in die dor en semi-droë gebiede van Suider-Afrika gegee. <br>Oorweging word geskenk aan die San en Khoikhoi se tradisionele patrone van watergebruik. Daar word gewerk vanuit die verwysingsraamwerk van die menslike oorskakeling van jagter-versamelaar- na veeherdergemeenskappe. Daaruit blyk dit dat water in die pre-koloniale geskiedenis van Suid-Afrika in die droë gebiede van Suid-Afrika gratis vir alle gebruikers beskikbaar was. <br>Gedurende die koloniale tydperk, vanaf 1652, is grond toenemend onder stelsels van grondbesit gekonsolideer. Dit het &apos;n negatiewe impak op inheemse jagter-versamelaars en veeherders gehad. Dit het ook namate die veeboerbevolking toegeneem het, die verbruikspatrone van water geraak. <br>Teen die tyd dat die Suid-Afrikaanse mynbou-omwenteling in die 1850&apos;s met kopermynbou-aktiwiteite &apos;n aanvang geneem het, was water &apos;n kommoditeit. Daarby het snelle tegnologiese hulpmiddels om water te ontgin - boorgate en meulens vir ondergrondse voorrade en besproeiingskemas vir landbou uit bogrondse voorrade - &apos;n nuwe era van kommodifisering ingelui wat tot die 1990&apos;s geduur het. Sedertdien het water &apos;n deel van die politieke debat in die land geword. Dit was spoedig deel van die gesprek oor demokrasie en &apos;n verlengstuk van menseregte. Die belangrikheid van dié hulpbron was dus vanselfsprekend. Die Regering se beleid van gratis water word teen hierdie agtergrond gesien as &apos;n poging om water te dekommodifiseer, maar met bepaalde voorbehoude.
The commodification of water is a spin-off from the rapid advances made by liberal capitalism in all parts of the world since the late-twentieth century. Increasingly water, traditionally considered as being a natural resource, has become subject to commodification. In this article an overview is given of the human consumption of water in the arid and semi-arid parts of Southern Africa. <br>Consideration is given to the San and Khoikhoi&apos;s traditional patterns of using water. Working from the premise of transition from hunting, gathering and foraging to pastoralism, it is clear that even in the more arid regions, water was freely accessible in the pre-colonial history of South Africa.
<br>In the colonial period, as from 1652, tracts of land with water-supplies fitted
into a new dispensation of land tenure. This had a negative impact on indigenous hunter-gatherers and pastoralists. It also affected patterns of waterconsumption
as the population of pastoralists in the interior of the subcontinent
<br>By the time the South African mining revolution started at the copper-mines of
Okiep in the 1850s, water had become a commodity. Furthermore, the rapid
introduction of technology to procure more water - boreholes and mills for
subterranean water-supplies and irrigation schemes for agricultural
development from surface supplies - augured in an era of commodification that
continued unabatedly until the 1990s. When it was introduced into the political
arena as a part of democracy and an extension of human rights, the importance
of water became apparent. The government&apos;s policy of free water, is seen as
part of the decommodification of the resource, subject however, to certain
Prelude to the 1979 Lancaster House Constitutional Conference on Rhodesia : the role of international economic sanctions reconsidered
Historia 50, pp 147 –172 (2005)
<b>Aanloop tot die 1979 Lancaster House Grondwetlike Konferensie oor Rhodesië : &apos;n herbesinning oor die rol van internasionale ekonomiese sanksies</b>
<br>Hierdie artikel herevalueer die rol van internasionale ekonomiese sanksies in die ontknoping van die Rhodesiese politieke dooiepunt. Laasgenoemde het gevolg op die Rhodesiese wit minderheidsregering se eensydige onafhanklikheidsverklaring van Brittanje in November 1965. Die studie vind plaas in die lig van die debat oor die geslaagdheid, al dan nie, van sanksies as &apos;n wapen van internasionale diplomasie, veral in die geval van Rhodesië. Daar word geargumenteer dat, terwyl sanksies nie die enigste of selfs die belangrikste faktor was wat die Rhodesiese regering in 1979 tot &apos;n onderhandelde politieke skikking by Lancaster House gebring het nie, dit nogtans &apos;n uiters betekenisvolle faktor was wat in tandem met ander faktore gewerk het. Hierdie faktore sluit die groeiende guerrilla-insurgensie en stygende vlak van internasionale druk om die Rhodesiese krisis te beëindig, in en het Zimbabwe se onafhanklikheid in 1980 bewerkstellig. Aanvanklik het dit voorgekom asof die sanksies oneffektief was, gesien teen die skynbare voorspoed wat die Rhodesiese ekonomie geniet het in die periode wat op die instelling daarvan gevolg het. Dit het sommige kommentators daartoe gelei om sanksies as &apos;n mislukking af te maak. Hier word egter geargumenteer dat sanksies uiteindelik wel daarin geslaag het om die Rhodesiese ekonomie te kniehalter en teenstand teen die toenemende guerrillainsurgensie te bemoeilik. Hierdie faktore het dit uiteindelik vir die Rhodesiese regering moeilik gemaak om die wêreld se oproep om &apos;n Afrika meerderheidsregering langer te ignoreer. Daar word dus beweer dat sanksies wél in Rhodesië se geval gewerk het, selfs al het dit veel langer geneem om die Rhodesiese regering tot &apos;n val te bring, as wat aanvanklik voorsien is.
This article re-examines the role of international economic sanctions in helping to resolve the Rhodesian political impasse. This situation was the result of the white minority Rhodesian government&apos;s unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) from Britain in November 1965. The Rhodesian case is studied in the light of the debate on the efficacy or ineffectiveness of sanctions as a weapon of international diplomacy. It is argued that, while sanctions were neither the only nor the most important factor in bringing the Rhodesian government to a negotiated political settlement at Lancaster House in 1979, they were, nevertheless, a very significant factor that worked, in tandem with other factors such as the escalating guerrilla insurgency and mounting international pressure. As a result of this combination of factors, the Rhodesian crisis was brought to an end and Zimbabwe&apos;s independence was ushered in in 1980. <br>During the initial period, sanctions appeared to be ineffective, as the Rhodesian economy appeared to enjoy prosperity in the period following their imposition.
<br>This led some commentators to dismiss sanctions as having failed to achieve
the objectives of those who imposed them. It is however argued here that
sanctions eventually succeeded in hamstringing the Rhodesian economy and in
impairing the country&apos;s ability to deal with the mounting guerrilla insurgency.
Ultimately, it made it difficult for the Rhodesian government to continue
ignoring world opinion, as well as the call for African majority rule. Thus, it is
contended that sanctions did work in the Rhodesian case, even though they took
much longer to bring the Rhodesian government down than had been
Shopping during a revolution : entrepreneurs, retailers and "white" identity in the democratic transition
Historia 50, pp 173 –190 (2005)
<b>Inkopies gedurende &apos;n revolusie : entrepreneurs, kleinhandelaars en "wit" identiteit in die demokratiese oorgangstyd</I></b>
How does a book become an international best-seller? The Portable Bunyan : A Transnational History of The Pilgrim&apos;s Progress, Isabel Hofmeyr : book review
Historia 50, pp 191 –194 (2005)
A clear and uncluttered history of racism in South Africa South Africa&apos;s Racial Past : The History and Historiography of Racism, Segregation and Apartheid, Paul Maylam : book review
Historia 50, pp 195 –197 (2005)
Historical hydropolitics of the British and the Nile The River Nile in the Age of the British : Political Ecology and the Quest for Economic Power, Terje Tvedt : book review
Historia 50, pp 197 –202 (2005)
Die nuwe Amerikaanse ryk Colossus. The Rise and Fall of the American Empire, Niall Ferguson : book review
Historia 50, pp 202 –206 (2005)
Deeglike navorsing; boeiende skryfstyl : die veelfasettige Stalin Stalin. The Court of the Red Tsar, Simon Sebag Montefiore : book review
Historia 50, pp 206 –209 (2005)
&apos;n Nuttige naslaanbron oor die FAK FAK - 75. Geskiedenis van die Derde Kwarteeu in die Bestaan van die Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge, 1979-2004, O.J.O. Ferrira : book review
Historia 50, pp 209 –211 (2005)
&apos;n Unieke koerant The War Reporter. The Anglo-Boer War Through the Eyes of the Burghers, J.E.H. Grobler : book review
Historia 50, pp 211 –213 (2005)
A fascinating collection of primary sources "Early White Travellers in the Transgariep, 1819-1840", Vrijstatia Series, 14, Karel Schoeman (ed) : book review
Historia 50, pp 213 –215 (2005)
Effective History Grade 10 (OBE approach), N. Dlamini and J. de Villiers : book review
Historia 50, pp 216 –217 (2005)