Issue 1, 2003 Historia - Volume 48,
Historia 48, pp 1 –6 (2003)
Historia in gesprek met Hermann Giliomee
Historia 48, pp 7 –12 (2003)
Standards generating body still in doldrums : call for urgent attention
Historia 48, pp 13 –14 (2003)
Boers, Afrikaners, and Diasporas
Historia 48, pp 15 –54 (2003)
<b>Boere, Afrikaner en diasporas</b>
<br>Die proto-IndoEuropese oorsprong van diaspora bevat altyd die trikonsonantale &lt;b&gt;spr&lt;/b&gt; wat aanvullend tot die vokale wat "<b>sp</b>o<b>r</b>e, <b>sp</b>e<b>r</b>m, <b>spr</b>ei en ver<b>spr</b>ei" funksioneer. Dit verteenwoordig &apos;n snel maar natuurlike proses waarin sade gestrooi word - weg van die ouerliggaam. Dit het &apos;n verspreiding en reproduksie tot gevolg. Die verspreiding gaan gepaard met geweld wat die ouerliggaam aangedoen word. <br>Ná &apos;n teoretiese gesprek waarin diaspora as &apos;n proses verduidelik word, word die bespreking &apos;n oorsig van die omstandighede en handelinge wat die proses illustreer. <br>In die studie word oor die diaspora van die Boere-Afrikaners verslag gedoen. Boere-Afrikaners word as begrip gebruik omdat dit &apos;n bepaalde histories-kulturele-linguïstiese kontinuïteit verteenwoordig. Daar word terselfdertyd voorsiening gemaak vir die akkomodering van die Boere (ná die Anglo-Boereoorlog) wat dan in die gesprek opgeneem word. Deur die gebruikmaking van die betrokke kategorisering word nie daarop aanspraak gemaak dat die term van toepassing is op alle Afrikaners nie. Dit kan ook nie van toepassing gemaak word op alle Afrikaners wat Suid-Afrika verlaat nie. Die bespreking oor die Afrikaanse diaspora word dan op verskeie vlakke gevoer, te wete : dek diaspora-verskynsel; &apos;n kort oorsig van Afrikaner etnisiteit; &apos;n diasporiese model; die eerste Boere (Afrikaner) diaspora; en &apos;n studie van die huidige stand van die Afrikaanse diaspora.
The proto-Indo-European root for diaspora always contains the triconsonantal <b>spr</b>, which with the addition of vowels meant "<b>sp</b>o<b>r</b>e, <b>sp</b>e<b>r</b>m, <b>spr</b>ead or di<b>sp</b>e<b>r</b>se". It represents an abrupt but natural process in which seeds are scattered away from the parent body resulting in both dispersal and reproduction. The dispersal is engendered by violence to the parent body. Following a theoretical discussion of diaspora as a process, this discussion turns to a review of conditions and actions which illustrate its use. <br>This study reports on the diaspora of the Boer-Afrikaners. The term is considered to represent a historic-cultural-linguistic continuity. It is also an attempt to incorporate perspectives on the Boers (following the Anglo-Boer War) who feature may in the discussion. Then there is also the Afrikaners who are currently exiting South Africa. The categoriation does not apply to all Afrikaners. Nor does it apply to all South Africans who are exiting South Africa. The article consists of five parts : an introductory discussion of the concept of diaspora; a brief overview of Afrikaner ethnicity; a diasporic model; the first Boer (Afrikaner) diaspora; and a study of the current (Boer) Afrikaner diaspora.
Going native? Trout and settling identity in a rainbow nation
Historia 48, pp 55 –94 (2003)
<b>Onderweg na die inheemse? Forel en die vestiging van identiteit in &apos;n reënboognasie</b>
<br>Forel staan uit in &apos;n lang rits van plante en diere wat gekultiveer en ingevoer is met die doel om die landskap na hule eie beeld te herskep. Bruin- en reënboogforel is vis wat suksesvol in Suid-Afrikaanse en suider-Afrikaanse waters met die wending van die vorige eeu ingevoer is. Forelhengelaars het sedertdien uitgestaan as skrywers wat vaardig met die pen helder en omvattend oor hul onderwerp van passie kan skryf. Derhalwe is forelle en die verwante kultuur &apos;n besondere manier waarop die omgewingsgeskiedenis belig kan word. Dit spreek in baie opsigte boekdele van die kultuurveranderings- en identiteitsvormingsproses wat sedert die vorige eeu beslag gekry het. Deur middel van &apos;n biografiese beskrywing wat uit die vorige eeu dateer maak die geskiedenis van forel en die hengel van die besondere vis bepaalde mededelings omtrent natuurbewaring.
Shining out of a long litany of plants and animals imported and cultivated by colonising Europeans in an attempt to reshape the land and water in their own image, trout catch the eye. Brown and Rainbow trout are fish successfully introduced to suitable waters of South and southern Africa before the turn of the last century. Since its following of fly fishers have distinguished themselves as authors of a prolific and occasionally erudite genre of literature, trout shed light on weighty questions of environmental history in a particularly appealing way, with surprising things to say about identity formation in the last century. The formative historical relationship between hunting and nature conservation has been well established. Through a largely biographical route traced through the last century, fly fishing and the tale of trout are shown herein to be similarly fundamental to a later phase of conservation policy and practice in South Africa.
Effects of dewatering and sinkholes on people and environment - an analysis of the Carletonville area in Gauteng, South Africa
Elize S. Van Eeden,
Braam De Villiers,
Historia 48, pp 95 –125 (2003)
<b>Die gevolge van ontwatering en sinkgatvorming op die mens en omgewing - &apos;n analise van die Carletonville-gebied in die Gauteng-provinsie, Suid-Afrika</b>
<br>Ouer generasies sal die reeks sinkgate wat gedurende veral die vyftiger- tot sewentigerjare in die Carletonvillese munisipale gebied gevorm het, goed onthou. In die besonder is dit die permitte wat in 1964 deur die regering aan goudmyne in hierdie gebied uitgereik is om die drie geologiese dolomitiese kompartemente te ontwater wat kontoversieel was. Sedertdien het ontwatering &apos;n ernstige impak op die ekologie van die omgewing en streek gehad. Onder meer is die Mooirivier stroomaf erg besoedel. Hierdie deurslaggewende besluit deur die regering is benewel deur die mees verleidelike ekonomiese beginsels, naamlik groter wins en &apos;n hoër belastingwinsgrens. <br>Uit &apos;n nasionale perspektief het vrae soos die etiese beginsel daaragter en die kwessie van menseregteskendings teenoor diegene wat ernstig deur die besluitneming geraak is, bloot eenvoudig betekenislose aangeleenthede geword. Dit kom voor asof die destydse regering ook nie verantwoordelik gehou is vir die ernstige sielkundige en ekonomiese terugslae van veral die Carletonville-bewoners nie. Eventueel het die proses om &apos;n ommekeer van die "ontwateringsoefening" te bewerkstellig tot skade van miljoene rand gelei. Te midde van hierdie gebeure was daar ook kommer rakende die finansiële verliese van welbekende goudmyne as gevolg van die skade aan myninfrastrukture, -eiendom en -werknemers sowel as &apos;n verlies van familie deur sommige werknemers. Boere en sommige sakelui het van tyd tot tyd hierdie omstrede prosesse van ontwatering en die gevolge daarvan onsuksesvol bevraagteken. Die wyse waarop die proses verloop het, sowel as die uitwerking wat dit op die mens en omgewing gehad het, word in hierdie artikel bespreek. Skrywers uit &apos;n verskeidenheid van dissiplines het waardevolle navorsingsinsette gelewer met die doel om oor hierdie aangeleentheid, waaroor die laaste woord waarskynlik nog nie gespreek is nie, &apos;n wyer en meer opgedateerde perspektief te bied.
An older generation can still remember the sinkholes that formed in the fifties and sixties of the twentieth century in the Calrletonville municipal area. It was the result of permits issued by the South African government to the mining companies to dewater three dolomitic compartments in the region. Since then the dewatering of the area has had a negative effect on the ecology of the region. In the article these aspects are taken into consideration from a socio-economic perspective.
Problematisch verleden : een vergelijking tussen Duitsland, Polen en Zuid-Afrika
Historia 48, pp 126 –168 (2003)
<b>Problematic pasts : comparing Germany, Poland and South Africa</b>
The darkness within the light : Berlin missionaries and the landscape of Vendaland c. 1870 - 1900
Historia 48, pp 169 –202 (2003)
<b>Duisternis in die lig : Berlynse sendelinge en die landskap van Venda c. 1870 - 1900</b>
<br>Die verhouding tussen die Berlynse sendelinge, die landskap van Venda en die Vhavenda was kompleks in die negentiende eeu. Die skrywer redeneer dat die sendelinge die land en die mense as ineengewikkel gesien het. Vir hulle was die &apos;heidense Bewenda&apos; ineengesmelt, of geskep, deur die landskap wat hulle toegewikkel, vertroetel, beskerm en verskuil het. <br>In &apos;n poging om hulself (en hul potensiële lesers) te situeer, was die sendelinge geneig om eers ooreenkomste tussen die plaaslike landskap en dié van soortgelyke terreine in Europa en ander Berlynse sendingstasies in Suid-Afrika te tref. Daardeur het hulle gefokus op die omvattende natuurskoon van die streek en die wyse waarop die omgewing, te midde van baie uitdagings, onderwerp is.
The relationship between the Berlin missionaries, the landscape of Vendaland and the Vhavenda during the late nineteenth century was a complex one. The missionaries saw the land and its people as being inextricably bound. For them, the &apos;heathen Bawenda [Vhavenda]&apos; blended into, or were created by, the landscape which nurtured, succoured and concealed them. In the article the dynamics of this interaction is considered from the perspective of written mission accounts.
The establishment and consolidation of Islam in South Africa : from the Dutch colonisation of the Cape to the present
Historia 48, pp 203 –220 (2003)
<b>Die vestiging en konsolidasie van Islam in Suid-Afrika : vanaf die tyd van die Nederlandse kolonisering tot die hede</b>
Chemiese wapens in Suid-Afrika : die gifgasfabrieke by Klipfontein en Firgrove, 1940 - 1945
Historia 48, pp 221 –244 (2003)
<b>Chemical weapons in South Africa : the poison gas factories at Klipfontein and Firgrove 1940 - 1945</b>
&apos;Voor Vlaanderen alles, al kwam het van de duivel&apos; : verwysings na Afrikaner stambroers en - verraaiers in Cyriel Verschaeve se &apos;Oorlogsindrukken&apos; en ander tekste
Historia 48, pp 245 –264 (2003)
<b>&apos;My all for Flanders, be it from the devil&apos; : references to the Afrikaners in Cyriel Verschaeve&apos;s &apos;Oorlogsindrukken&apos; - tribal brothers or traitors?</b>
<br>This article retraces and evaluates references of the Anglo-Boer War in the writings of the Flemish poet-priest, Cyriel Verschaeve, particularly his war diary entitled <i>Oorlogsindrukken</i>. Analysis of his status as a cult figure during the First World War is followed by a comparison between his interest in the Boers and that of the greater Dutch-speaking community. Despite language and (perceived) genetic links between the Boers and the Flemish, Verschaeve evolved towards acceptance of the idea of collaborating with the invading Germans in order to secure Flemish self-rule.
In hierdie artikel word verwysings na die Anglo-Boereoorlog in die geskrifte van die Vlaamse priester-digter, Cyriel Verschaeve (en veral in sy oorlogsdagboek, <i>Oorlogsindrukken</i>) ondersoek en geëvalueer. &apos;n Analise van sy status as kultusfiguur gedurende die Eerste Wêreldoorlog word gevolg deur &apos;n vergelyking van sy belangstelling in die Boere met dié van die groter Nederlandssprekende gemeenskap. Ten spyte van taal- en (gewaande) genetiese bande tussen Boere en Vlaminge, het Verschaeve uiteindelik die idee van kollaborasie met die Duitse invallers aanvaar om sodoende Vlaamse selfregering te verseker.
Perpetual motion : resettlement patterns in the Western Transvaal and Southeastern Botswana since 1750
Historia 48, pp 265 –282 (2003)
<b>Ewigdurende beweging : hervestigingspatrone in die Westelike Transvaal en suidoostelike Botswana sedert 1750</b>
<br>Die artikel bevraagteken die geldigheid van die 5-vlak model van politieke stratifikasie vir Afrika gemeenskappe in Suid- en Sentraal-Afrika soos deur Huffman geformuleer. Hy het die teorie ontwikkel deur op die nedersettingsgeskiedenis van die BaKgatla en ander 18e en 19e eeuse gemeenskappe in die Westelike Transvaal / Suidoos Botswanagebied te konsentreer. Die geskiedenis van hierdie gemeenskappe demonstreer dat &apos;n verskeidenheid van maniere, benewens bloot groot gekonsentreerde nedersettings, kon gebruik gewees het om doeltreffende kontrole uit te oefen op maniere om rykdom, veral in beeste, op te bou. <br>Die ontstaan en ontwikkeling van meeste nedersettings in Transvaal was gebaseer andersoortige prioriteite. Daar was byvoorbeeld sprake van die bevordering van produktiwiteit, toegang tot bronne en aanvaarbare huishoudelike reëlings wat nagestreef is. Daar word in die artikel van die standpunt uitgegaan dat meer aandag gegee moet word aan besondere gemeenskappe en hulle besondere historiese omstandighede. Nedersettingspatrone was net &apos;n onderdeel. Daar behoort ook meer waardering te wees vir die aanpasbaarheid en vindingrykheid van die Afrikane. Nedersettings is georganiseer om vir &apos;n verskeidenheid hulpbronne voorsiening te maak, aan te pas by die omgewing, die bevolking te beskerm en by veranderings in die regionale ekonomie aan te pas. In die plek van Huffman se rigiede, voorskriftelike model, word daar geredeneer, behoort meer van die buigsame grondslae van Manson and Parson se &apos;kontinuum van verandering&apos; as modelle kennis geneem word.
The article questions the validity of Thomas Huffman&apos;s &apos;five-level&apos; model of political stratification for African societies in South and Central Africa by outlining the settlement history of the BaKgatla and other 18&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; - and 19&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; - century societies in the western Transvaal / southeastern Botswana area. The history of these societies demonstrates that a variety of methods other than large concentrated settlements could be used effectively to control large territories and to acquire wealth, particularly in cattle. Rather than defensive by design, most settlements in the Transvaal reflect other priorities, such as enhancing productivity, access to resources and agreeable residential arrangements. The article argues that greater attention needs to be paid to specific societies and their historical circumstances, of which settlement patterns are but a part, and that greater appreciation for the adaptability and ingenuity of Africans is in order.
Maritime defence of the Cape of Good Hope, 1779-1803
Historia 48, pp 283 –308 (2003)
<b>Maritieme verdediging van die Kaap de Goede Hoop, 1779-1803</b>
<br>Strategies was die Kaap de Goede Hoop se ligging aan die suidpunt van Afrika uiters waardevol vir maritieme kommunikasie na die Ooste. Met die groei in Britse internasionale handel en belange in Indië, wou Britanje ten alle koste &apos;n veilige basis op die roete na die Ooste bekom, maar die Kaap was in Nederlandse hande en is gewoonlik goed verdedig tydens die vele oorloë van die era. <br>Binne die bestek van dié artikel is maritieme magsprojeksie die gebruik van see-gebasseerde militêre mag om gebeure aan land direk te beïnvloed, en maritieme verdediging is verdediging teen maritieme magsprojeksie ter see en op land. Die verdediging van die Kaap teen maritieme magsprojeksie is essensieel op drie wyses uitgevoer. Die garnisoen en milisiemagte was eerstens beskikbaar om fortifikasies te beman en &apos;n invaller militêr teë te gaan, terwyl belangrike strande, ankerplekke en baaie deur &apos;n stelsel fortifikasies beskerm is. Laastens het oorlogskepe soms verdediging verskaf deur &apos;n vyandige aanval af te skrik of &apos;n vyandelike vloot uit te skakel. Gedurende die periode onder bespreking was die maritieme verdediging van die Kaap uiters belangrik. Tydens die Vierde Anglo-Nederlandse Oorlog (1780-4) is &apos;n Britse poging om die Kaap te verower deur die teenwoordigheid van &apos;n Franse land- en seemag gefnuik. In 1795 met die Eerste Britse Besetting van die Kaap het &apos;n swak verdedigingspoging deur &apos;n verdeelde verdediger tot kapitulasie gelei. Daarenteen het die Britte tussen 1795 en 1803 &apos;n voldoende vloot- en landmag ter beveilig van die Kaap plaaslik ontplooi.
The maritime defence of the Cape was of the utmost importance in the late eighteenth century. During the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War (1780-4) a British attempt on the Cape was foiled by the presence of a French military and naval force. In 1795, when the British conquered the Cape, poor defence and a weak defender caused the Dutch to capitulate. In contrast the British maintained a capable military and naval force for defensive purposes during the First British Occupation of the Cape (1795-1803).
Setting up a dialogue : monuments as a means of &apos;writing back&apos;
Historia 48, pp 309 –325 (2003)
<b>Die daarstelling van &apos;n dialoog : monumente as &apos;n manier om &apos;terug te skryf&apos;</b>
Heritage vs history : the end of a noble tradition?
Historia 48, pp 326 –336 (2003)
<b>Erfenis vs geskiedenis : die einde van &apos;n edel tradisie?</b>
<br>Die artikel het ten doel om die verhouding tussen erfenis en geskiedenis daar te stel in die konteks van die heersende debat wat tans in die plaaslike en internasionale milieu gevoer word. Daar word ook op die outeur se pogings gekonsentreeer om &apos;n versoening te bewerkstellig tussen haar eie radikale benadering tot die Suid-Afrikaanse historiografie en die werk waarmee sy besig is in die daarstelling van &apos;n openbare uitstalling van Suid-Afrika sedert die vroegste tye tot 1994. Akademici is daarvan beskuldig dat hulle plaaslike en oorsee openbare mening probeer &apos;wettig&apos; het deur die intellektuele gesag onder hierdie omstandighede te manipuleer. In Suid-Afrika het die behoefte om die dominante apartheidsnarratief van die geskiedenis te ondermyn &apos;n buitengewone aansporing gegee vir die natuurlike geneigdheid van die historikus om die &apos;korrekte&apos; konsepsies daar te stel. <br>In die artikel oorpeins die skrywer die perverse uitlokking van akademici, en sy probeer om sommige van die spanningslyne wat ontstaan wanneer mens probeer om te vertaal. Dit verteenwoordig komplekse en kontroversiële teoretiese argumente wat in die akademie gevoer word om &apos;n uitstalling te skep wat vir die publiek toeganklik is. Opsluit gaan dit daaroor dat die besoekers vir hulself kan besluit.
The article examines the relationship between Heritage and History in the context of what has been a vigorous international and local debate. It also draws on the author&apos;s attempts to reconcile her own schooling in radical South African historiography with work on a public exhibition of South African history stretching from the dawn of time to 1994. Academics have been criticised here and abroad for trying to &apos;legislate&apos; public opinion through manipulating their intellectual authority under these kinds of circumstances. In South Africa the desire to undermine the dominant apartheid narrative of South African history adds a particular impetus to the academic historian&apos;s natural inclination to &apos;correct&apos; public misconceptions. In the article the author reflects on the perverse temptations that present themselves to academics, and attempts to explore some of the tensions that arise when one tries to translate what may be complex and controversial theoretical arguments that are made in the academy into an accessible public display, which allows visitors to make up their own minds.
Die demografie van die setlaarnageslagte in Suid-Afrika 1660 - 1849
G. De V. De Kock and
M.M. De Kock
Historia 48, pp 337 –354 (2003)
<b>The demography of the settler descendants in South Africa : 1660 - 1849</b>
<br>The settler descendants include the children born at the Cape and in the rest of South Africa of settlers (immigrants) and of whom there exist written record. <br>The statistics have been extracted per decade for the years 1660 to 1849 from the genealogical database (GDB) of the Port Elizabeth Genealogical Research Group. This GDB already contains the information of more than 320 000 persons, an estimated 98% of the children born up to 1800 and a good sample for the decades thereafter. <br>The statistics given and briefly discussed, include the following : <ol>
<li>The number of &lt;i&gt;married&lt;/i&gt; and unmarried men born in each decade; <br>the percentage men with one, two, three and more than three &lt;i&gt;marriages&lt;/i&gt;; <br>the average number of marriages per &lt;i&gt;married&lt;/i&gt; man, as well as per man; <br>the frequency (given as a percentage) of the number of children per &lt;i&gt;married&lt;/i&gt; man; and <br>the average number of children per &lt;i&gt;married&lt;/i&gt; man, as well as per man.</li>
<li>The number of &lt;i&gt;married&lt;/i&gt; and unmarried women born in each decade; <br>the percentage women with one, two, three and more than three &lt;i&gt;marriages&lt;/i&gt;; <br>the average number of marriages per &lt;i&gt;married&lt;/i&gt; woman, as well as per woman; <br>the frequency (given as a percentage) of the number of children per &lt;i&gt;married&lt;/i&gt; woman; and <br>the average number of children per &lt;i&gt;married&lt;/i&gt; woman, as well as per woman.</li>
<li>The number of &lt;i&gt;married&lt;/i&gt; couples for each decade wherein the man was born in each decade, <br>the frequency (given as a percentage) of the number of children per couple, <br>the average number of children per couple.</li>
<li>The number of children born in each decade and the composition of their progenitors in terms of land of origin.&lt;/li&gt;
Die setlaarsnageslagte in Suid-Afrika (die kinders gebore aan die Kaap en in die res van Suid-Afrika van setlaars (immigrante) van wie daar geskrewe rekords bestaan, vorm die grondslag van die betrokke artikel. Die statistieke is onttrek per dekade vir die jare 1660 tot 1849 uit die genealogiese databasis (GDB) van die Port Elizabeth Genealogiese Navorsingsgroep. Hierdie GDB bevat reeds die gegewens van meer as 520 000 persone, na raming meer as 98% van die kinders gebore tot met 1800 en &apos;n groot monster vir die dekades daarna.
White supremacy twenty one years on : opportunities for comparative historical research
Historia 48, pp 355 –372 (2003)
<b>&apos;White Supremacy&apos; Ná een-en-twintig jaar : geleenthede vir vergelykende historiese navorsing</b>
<br>Die belangstelling in vergelykings tussen die Suid-Afrikaanse en Amerikaanse geskiedenis het &apos;n hoogtepunt bereik met vier prominente publikasies in die vroeë jare tagtig. Bekende historici en ander akademici het hierdie werke in vooraanstaande akademiese tydskrifte geresenseer. Hoewel enkele bydraes oor hierdie tema daarna steeds van tyd tot tyd gelewer is, was dit veral sedert die einde van die negentigerjare wat hernude belangstelling hierin voorgekom het - onder meer met &apos;n tweede boek van G.M. Frederickson en die verskyning van die tydskrif <i>Safundi - The Journal of South African and American Comparative Studies</i>. Hiermee is die weg gebaan vir nog inisiatiewe op hierdie terrein. Dit bly egter noodsaaklik om die vereistes van die vergelykende genre in ag te neem met bydraes in hierdie verband.
Interest in comparisons between South African and American history reached a climax with the appearance of four prominent publications in the early eighties. Well-known historians and other academics reviewed these books in leading academic journals. Although a few contributions on this theme continued to appear occasionally after this, it was particularly from the late nineties that new interest arose - inter alia with a second book by G.M. Frederickson and the publication of Safundi - <i>The Journal of South African and American Comparative Studies</i>. This opened the way for more initiatives in this field. However, it remains necessary to take into account the requirements of the comparative genre with contributions in this regard.
Gesaghebber teen wil en dank - Abraham Josias Sluysken, die laaste kommissaris-generaal van die V.O.C. aan die Kaap, 1793 - 1795
Historia 48, pp 373 –385 (2003)
&apos;n Ondersoek na die tydperk van A.J. Sluysken as laaste kommissaris van die V.O.C. aan die Kaap dui daarop dat hy onverboorbereid was om die verantwoordelikheid van leierskap op te neem. Die VOC was ook in daardie stadium op die rand van bankrotskap. Sluysken was met &apos;n binnelandse opstand gekonfronteer en die internasionale klimaat onrukstig. Dit het die vreedsame ontwikkeling aan die Kaap in die gedrang gebring. In baie opsigte, redeneer die skrywer, was Sluysken die teenorgestelde tipe van persoon van Jan van Riebeeck.
<b>Reluctant authority - Abraham Josias Sluysken, last commissioner of the Dutch East India Company at the Cape, 1793 - 1795</b>
<br>An assessment of Sluysken&apos;s brief period as Commissioner-General at the Cape must take into account a variety of factors. Firstly, he was unprepared to take over this responsible post. <i>En route&lt;/i&gt; to the Netherlands, after a lengthy service in the East Indies, he was eventually persuaded by Nederburgh and Frijkenius to temporarily fill the vacant post of Governor Cornelis Jacob van de Graaff, who had left for Europe in 1791. Sluysken was unfamiliar with the prevailing divisions in Cape society. <br>Secondly, the Dutch East India Company was on the verge of bankruptcy. The Council of Seventeen neglected the welfare of the colonists and other inhabitants in its singular goal to promote its own financial interests. Increased local taxes and economic recession caused much local resentment. Remedial measures came too late and were too little. <br>Sluysken was faced with escalating conflict in the interior of the Colony. The burghers of Graaff-Reinet and Swellendam rejected the authority of the Council of Seventeen, but declared their loyalty to the States-General as supreme governmental body in the Netherlands. Sluysken&apos;s administrative skills lacked the capacity to demand and apply powerful counter-measures. The international scene also turned against peaceful progress in the Colony. British and French interests required a safe sea route to the East. The Cape of Good Hope was regarded as an important strategic position to facilitate this purpose. Sluysken&apos;s capacity as military strategist proved to be limited when a British fleet under Elphinstone and Craig arrived in Simon&apos;s Bay in 1795. His diplomacy in negotiations, poor military support and indecisiveness proved to be disastrous for Dutch republican interests. <br>In many respects Sluysken figured as the direct opposite of Jan van Riebeeck. Pathos is represented in the fact the he became the victim of circumstances for which he could not be blamed. (&lt;i&gt;Vide&lt;/i&gt; his &apos;Verbaal&apos; and C.L. Neethling&apos;s criticism). Most of all, Sluysken succumbed as leader during a critical stage, when both negotiations and armed resistance had failed and capitulation became evident. He was a loyal administrator in the service of the Company, but not the beloved &apos;Father&apos; of his people.
&apos;n Hedendaagse perspektief op die Joodse gemeenskap in Suid-Afrika Memories, realities and dreams : Aspects of the South African Jewish experience, Milton Shain & Richard Mendelsohn (Reds.) : book review
Historia 48, pp 386 –388 (2003)
&apos;n Werk van egtheid, liefde en deernis Onder-Kouga : bakermat van Gerbers en Ferreiras, O.J.O. Ferreira : book review
Historia 48, pp 388 –390 (2003)