Doctoral Degrees (History)

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    Die Afrikaanse volkslied onder die bruinmense
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1991) Burden, Matilda; Grobbelaar, P. W.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences. Dept. of Cultural History.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A song has to be accepted by the community, must form part of the oral tradition and be handed over from one generation to the next, before it can be called a folk song. In the process of oral tradition, variants usually develop. A folk song is therefore never complete the moment it is created, but is formed gradually through a process of changes. The Afrikaans folk song sung by the coloured people has the same characteristics as the folk song in general. The fact that oral tradition is the major way of spreading songs, is evident from the many variants that occur and from the examples of transformation of words and melody ("Umsingen"and "Zersingen"). Simplicity, the use of the major key and the avoidance of modulation are prominent characteristics. Suggestiveness and coarse language are fairly common. Melismata are very rare and usually occur in songs which probably have their origin in old Afrikaans records. Most of the songs collected amongst coloured children are used to accompany games. The children seldom sing without playing or play without singing. Most variants are found amongst children's songs. Dancing songs are without a doubt the most popular amongst the songs of adults. The form of the stanzas is very simple and usually the songs consist of many stanzas. A small percentage of the songs collected, more or less 5%, presumably originate from old Afrikaans grammophone records. Most of these songs have been transformed by popular usage and even amongst them variants have been found. The main themes of this group of songs are love, parting, grief and death. Picnic songs, work songs, war songs and drinking songs have been found. Humoristic and mocking songs contribute to the entertainment value of the folk song and are also found amongst the coloured people. Because there is so much interaction between sacred songs and secular songs, especially where the melodies are concerned, the two groups cannot always be separated from each other. The sacred songs of the coloured people are mostly of the "refrain"-type. When a group of coloured people perform the sacred songs, they usually harmonise spontaneously and most beautifully. The fact that so much has been said and written on the subject of the folk song, and that even in recent years substantial research projects have been carried out, is proof enough that the folk song has not yet died out. The Afrikaans folk song features strongly amongst coloured people, though noticeably influenced by the English language, modern technology and urbanisation.
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    Afrikanervroue se politieke betrokkenheid in historiese perspektief met spesiale verwysing na die Women’s National Coalition van 1991 tot 1994
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2004-12) Maritz, Loraine; Grundlingh, Albert M.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    Toe die onderhandeling vir ‘n nuwe demokratiese bestel in Suid-Afrika na 1990 begin is, het dit ‘n tydperk ingelei waar talle kwessies oor menseregte na vore gekom het. Ook vroue het die geleentheid aangegryp om vrouesake en gender-verhoudings op die nasionale agenda te plaas in ‘n poging om die onregverdighede van die verlede aan te spreek. Die Women’s National Coalition (WNC) is in 1992 amptelik gestig uit vrees dat vroue van die belangrike politieke prosesse wat die toekoms van Suid-Afrika sou bepaal, uitgesluit sou word. Die doelwitte van die WNC was om inligting oor vroue se behoeftes en aspirasies in te samel en dit in ‘n Vrouehandves saam te vat wat uiteindelik ‘n integrale deel van die nuwe grondwet van Suid-Afrika sou word. Die WNC was ‘n inisiatief van die African National Congress Women’s League (ANCWL). Die swart vrou in Suid-Afrika se onderdrukking was drieledig: sy was onderdruk as vrou, deur patriargie en deur apartheid. Sy het polities aktief geraak toe haar familiestrukture bedreig is en het teen paswette, swak behuising, en uitsetttingsaksies van die regering, geprotesteer. Tydens die 1980’s het swart vroue wat aan die noodtoestand blootgestel is, se politieke betrokkenheid verander en sy het ‘n rewolusionêre vryheidsvegter geword. In die buiteland het die swart vrou wat in die bevrydingstryd betrokke was geleidelik erkenning in die ANC gekry. Hierdie vroue was ná 1990 gedetermineerd dat hul verwagtinge vir totale gelykberegtiging in die demokratiese Suid-Afrika sal realiseer. In hierdie proefskrif val die soeklig veral op die Afrikanervrou en -vroueorganisasies wat by die WNC aangesluit het. As Afrikanernasionalis was haar politieke betrokkenheid in die verloop van die geskiedenis marginaal. Met geïsoleerde aktivistiese optrede soos die vroue-optogte van 1915 en 1940, asook die militantheid van die vakbondvroue, het Afrikanervroue hoofsaaklik die veilige ruimte van die liefdadigheidsterrein gebruik om hul politieke voorkeure uit te leef. Afrikanervroue se betrokkenheid in die stemregbeweging was op aandrang van die mans en by insinuasie ook die optogte van 1915 en 1940. Met die magsoorname van die Nasionale Party het die Afrikanervrou polities onbetrokke geraak. Haar funksie was hoofsaaklik die van moeder en vrou en ondersteunend van die heersende ideologie. Met die aftakeling van apartheid is talle tradisionele Afrikanersimbole bevraagteken. Meer as 40% van die Afrikaner het by die meer regse partye aangesluit. Hierdie gebeure het die Afrikanervrou aan die begin van die 1990’s sonder ‘n spesifieke identiteit gelaat. Met die onderhandelings vir die toekomstige demokratiese bestel ‘n werklikheid, was die Afrikanervrou in ‘n onbenydenswaardige identiteitskrisis gedompel. Sy wou apolities bly, maar is deur Afrikanerintelligentsia en politici aangesê om die politieke wêreld te betree. Aan die anderkant wou Afrikanerkultuurorganisasies die Afrikanerkultuur inklusief beveilig. Die Afrikanervroue het moeilik by die WNC aangepas. Daar was talle praktiese probleme, maar dit was veral haar gebrek aan politieke vernuf, en die vyandigheid van swart vroue wat die vergaderings van die WNC domineer het, wat haar betrokkenheid in die wiele gery het. Die gedagte het ook by feitlik al die Afrikanervroue ontstaan dat die WNC ‘n politieke rookskerm was vir die ANC om sy magsbasis te versterk. Die spanninge van die Veelparty-onderhandelinge het ook na die WNC oorgespoel en vertragings en opskorting van lidmaatskap tot gevolg gehad. Daar was Afrikanervroue wat hul belewenis van die WNC as volkome positief ervaar het, wat dit as geleentheid gesien het om by vrouebemagtiging en politieke onderhandelinge betrokke te raak. Die meerderheid van vroue wat by hierdie ondersoek betrek is, was egter onseker en het die negatiewe aspekte van hul belewenis hulle die ondervinding laat bevraagteken. Daar was selfs vroue wat slegs die vyandigheid onthou het. Uiteindelik het Afrikanervrou nie heeltmal aangepas by die WNC nie en was ook nie werklik betrokke nie.
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    Die argitektuur van die Paarl tussen die twee wereldoorloe : 'n kultuurhistoriese ondersoek
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 1992-12) Albertyn, Elizabeth; Grobbelaar, P. W.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The erection of buildings in Paarl during the period between the two world wars was influenced by several important socio-economical and cultural circumstances. These events changed the built-up environment of Paarl dramatically. This period can be seen as a change from a traditionial to a modern way of living and this phenomena is clearly imposed on the buildings erected during this period. Some of the important happenings that changed the lives of all Paarlites in those years and influenced their building works, was the influenza epidemic of 1918, the worldwide depression of 1929 which lasted until 1932, the peak and the pining of the wagonbuilding industry, the introduction of the motor car, electricity, motion pictures and technological development in general. This technological progress, especially the introduction of the motor car, brought about the erection of new types of buildings like service stations, show rooms and private garages for these vehicles all over Paarl. Roads were tarred and improved and electrical street lighting was introduced. On 29 November 1924 all the documents and building plans housed in the then existing town hall were destroyed by fire. Further developments that influenced living in Paarl was the establishment of the KWV in 1918, SASKO in 1935, the erection of a new hospital, town hall, post office, schools and the establishment of several other fruit and wine related industries. The granite industry flourished during this period. For the first time Paarl had its own local architects, draughtsmen and builders. Several important architects from Cape Town and elsewhere executed buildings in the town. According to existing records at the Paarl Municipality no less than 34 different architects or partnerships, draughtsmen and builders were responsible for the execution of building plans handed in at the Municipality between 1926 and 1939. Before the period in question Paarl streets were never formally laid out and for the first time large townships were planned from scratch. A wide spectrum of structures ranging from alterations to existing buildings, verandahs, garages, swimming pools, shops, offices, schools, churches and public buildings were erected in Paarl during this period.
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    Die Berlynse Sendinggenootskap in die Wes-Kaap, 1838-1961, met spesiale verwysing na die sosio-ekonomiese en politieke omstandighede van sy lidmate
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2006-03) De Wit, Christoffel Hendrik; Heese, H. F.; Venter, C.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences . Dept. of History .
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis deals with the history of the Berlin Missionary Society (BMS) that commenced their work in 1834 in South Africa. Due to financial reasons the ZuidAfrikaansche Zendinggenootskap (SASG), which coordinated missionary work in South Africa, requested the BMS to take over their activities at the missionary station Zoar in the Little Karoo. Their missionary work ofthe BMS rapidly extended to the neighbouring Amalienstein, then Ladismith, Anhalt-Schmidt (Haarlem), Riversdale, Herbertsdale, Mossel Bay, Laingsburg and Cape Town. Culturally and ethnologically, the field of work of the missionaries of the BMS in the northern provinces differed radically from that of their colleagues in the Western Cape. By 1838 the coloured communities of the Western Cape were already well acquainted with Western culture as well as with the Christian religion. This did not prevent the missionaries from applying a strict pietistic and patriarchal approach towards the coloured people they worked amongst. As the owners of the land on which these missionary stations were established, the missionaries laid down strict rules and regulations and were able to control the spiritual and material behaviour of the members of their congregations. Their approach had two important effects: The mlSSionanes, m emphasising the important role of education, opened doors to better living conditions for the various communities on a short term basis that eventually created socio-economic empowerment. On the other hand, it led to opposition from within these communities, which in later years would have a profound influence on the political mobilisation of the coloured population of the Western Cape. Financial problems and poverty became an integral part of the history of the BMS in the Western Cape- and for that matter, in South Africa. This was especially apparent during the first half of the twentieth century, when two world wars had a devastating effect on their work. The effects during this time on the BMS and the communities they served were two-fold: Due to financial constraints, the BMS increasingly handed over spiritual and educational work to local pastors and teachers. Secondly, the missionaries came to associate themselves with the rise of Afrikaner nationalism. Their low profile in opposing the developing policy of apartheid - and even tacit approval of it - not only led to a break with the committee in Berlin, but also to the estrangement of many of their church members. In 1961, the year in which a republican form of government was established in South Africa and the Berlin Wall was erected, the German Lutheran missionary societies amalgamated to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church of South Africa (ELCSA) and the traditional missionary work of the BMS came to an end. Compared with the missionary activities of the much larger Dutch Reformed Church in the Western Cape, the role of the BMS may seem less relevant. When the impact of the work of the missionaries and their dedicated coloured church members are considered, their contribution to education and human development, is far bigger than their numbers represent. This allows them a place in the history and development of the Western Cape with its cultural diversity.
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    Die Britse owerheid en die Groot Trek
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1946) Muller, C. F. J.; Thom, H. B.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: No abstract available
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    Die Britse vrywilligerseenheid Steinaecker's Horse in die Anglo-Boereoorlog (1899-1902) : 'n kultuurhistoriese studie
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010-03) Van Vollenhoven, Anton Carl; Burden, M.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Steinaecker’s Horse was a volunteer unit who fought on the side of the British during the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902). The unit mainly consisted of local inhabitants of the Lowveld and were commanded by a former German officer, Lieutenant-colonel FCL von Steinaecker. The unit received little attention from scholars thus far. The main focus of this research is to study the Steinaecker’s Horse military unit, but specifically to determine their everyday circumstances, life style and daily activities. This was done by means of cultural objects which were found on three of the important sites where Steinaecker’s Horse had outposts. In order to place the unit within context, attention was given to the collection of historical information and the identification and documentation of different outposts occupied by Steinaecker’s Horse during the Anglo-Boer War. The state of decay of these sites were monitored and their relation to inter alia research potential, cultural resources management and tourism potential was assessed. Lastly, attention was given to the contribution of Steinaecker’s Horse to the history of the Anglo-Boer War, the Lowveld and the Kruger National Park. The three sites that were studied in depth are the headquarters of the unit at Komatipoort, the Sabi Bridge post close to Skukuza and the Northern outpost in the vicinity of the Letaba rest camp in the park. Cultural objects excavated at these sites were used in this study. In the final chapter an overall impression of the everyday cirumstances, life style and daily activities of Steinaecker’s Horse are formed. It is also shortly compared to general information regarding the life of British soldiers and the Boers on commando during the war. Last mentioned information was obtained from different sources in another way than studying the physical cultural objects. The contribution of this thesis is that it is the first time that a complete reflection is given of the life at Steinaecker’s Horse sites and that it serves as model for similar research with relation to other military sites as well as probably other historical sites.
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    The Cape Rebel of the South African War, 1899-1902
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2005-03) Shearing, Hilary Anne; Grundlingh, A. M.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    This dissertation investigates the role of a group of Cape colonists who rose in rebellion against the colonial government and allied themselves to the Boer Republics during the South African War of 1899-1902. The decision of the Griqualand West colonists to join the Republican forces took place against a background of severe deprivation in the agricultural sector due to the losses sustained in the rinderpest pandemic of 1896/1897. It also coincided with the invasion of Griqualand West by Transvaal forces. The failure of the Schreiner Government to defend its borders encouraged rebellion, as there were no armed forces to oppose either the invasion or the rebellion. While some of the Cape rebels fought on the side of the Republicans during major battles along the Modder River, others were commandeered to gather and transport supplies to the laagers. Four months after the surrender of Gen P Cronje at Paardeberg the majority of these rebels had laid down arms except for those under Gen Piet de Villiers who fought on in the Transvaal. After a second rebellion in 1901, far fewer rebels fought a war of attrition north of the Orange River; eventually about 700 men leaving the Cape Colony to avoid laying down arms. South of the Orange River Free State forces commandeered the disaffected colonists of the Stormberg and Colesberg regions in November 1899. Because the Republicans had not occupied these regions earlier in the war, British reinforcements and the Colonial Division took to the field against them almost immediately. The victory gained at Stormberg in December 1899 by the Boer forces was not followed up. Olivier failed to integrate his forces; unlike those at Colesberg where the Boers were far better led and scored some notable successes. The Republican burghers withdrew from the Cape Colony in March 1901, which in turn led to a mass surrender ofrebels. Those that were captured under arms were sent as POWs to Ceylon and India, while those that surrendered were held in colonial gaols until they were bailed or given passes. Only a few hundred continued to wage war in the Boer Republics for the remainder of 1900. The second invasion by Free State forces into the Cape Colony consisted of mobile commandos that criss-crossed the interior. For the first few months they sowed havoc, but after June 1901 the military used mass tactics against those who were forced into the isolated northwest Cape. In 1902, unknown to them, the Boer republics signed the Treaty of Vereeniging and ceased to exist as sovereign states. The Cape rebels were not signatories to the treaty. According to an agreement between the Boer leaders and the Colonial Office, if a rebel surrendered and pleaded guilty to High Treason under Proclamation 100 of 1902 he would receive a partial amnesty and be disfranchised. However rebel officers were charged in court and fines and prison sentences would be handed down. After the first invasion rebels who were captured or surrendered were tried under the Indemnity and Special Tribunals Act that was in force for six months until April 1901. Martial Law was then again in vogue from 22 April until Peace at the end of May 1902, and under this act 44 Cape colonists, Republicans and aliens were executed, and hundreds .of others, whose death sentences were commuted to penal servitude for life, were shipped to POW camps on Bermuda and St Helena. The surrenders 00,442 rebels were accepted under Proclamation 100 of 1902. Rebel officers or those facing serious charges were tried under the Indemnity and Special Tribunals Act in Special High Treason Courts. The general amnesty announced in 1905 brought to an end the prosecutions for High Treason ofCape rebels. In 1906 the names of disfranchised colonists were. replaced on the Voters' Roll. The final official return of Cape rebels for 1903 is 12,205 or 0.5% of the total population, while the return according to the database is 16,198 rebels or 0.7%. Strategically the rebellions played a limited role in the overall Republican war effort despite the individual rebel's self-sacrifice to the cause. However, although small in numbers, the rebellion had an enormous impact on colonial life (especially in 1901) as it led to a thinly disguised civil war and enmity between the Afrikaner and English colonists, which took years to disappear.
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    The complexities of heritage production in a South African community from the 1900s to the present : Graaff-Reinet, a case study
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-03) Kayster, Anziske Florenza; Grundlingh, Albert; Grundlingh, A. M., 1948-; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The primary argument behind this investigation is the observation that heritage has become ubiquitous in contemporary societies. The need for heritage is contagious and is observed globally, albeit that this need is subject to fluctuations which include the influence of geographical place. This study, therefore, engages with heritage theory in Graaff-Reinet as a geographical microcosmos of South Africa, and evaluates if heritage is the contemporary usage of the past in current societies. The primary argument behind this investigation is the observation that heritage has become ubiquitous in contemporary societies. The need for heritage is contagious and is observed globally, albeit that this need is subject to fluctuations which include the influence of geographical place. This study, therefore, engages with heritage theory in Graaff-Reinet as a geographical microcosmos of South Africa, and evaluates if heritage is the contemporary usage of the past in current societies. This study draws on examples extracted from the historical record. The researcher aspires to address and rectify the lacunae that exist regarding heritage in Graaff-Reinet. She casts the heritage net wider to also include an investigation of the heritage of the Black and Coloured population of Graaff-Reinet, and to narrate their role in the production process as opposed to previous histographies, who omitted or moderated their role in scholarship. In addition, the study offers insights into the heritage consumption process during certain important time periods in the history of South Africa and thus, Graaff-Reinet. During this investigation of the uses of heritage, the researcher utilises various examples of heritage to determine what the primary use of heritage is and how it was employed to achieve cultural, political, and economic objectives. Lastly, this exploration aims to shed light on the inherent dissonant nature of heritage and particularly the stimuli that provokes dissonance in heritage in a post-colonial society such as Graaff-Reinet. For this purpose, the researcher once again extracted examples from the historical record which were subjected to critical analysis. For this study, a qualitative research approach was adopted. This approach allows the examination of a community within a particular geographical area and encouraged a detailed enquiry into people’s experiences, utilising research methods which included in-depth interviews and the interpretation of information collected through oral history interviews. In addition, this information was augmented by the theoretical interpretation of the archival material obtained from repositories such as the local municipality, museums, churches, a local school and from the private collections of the residents of Graaff-Reinet.
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    D.F. Malan : a political biography
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010-03) Korf, Lindie; Grundlingh, A. M.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    ENGLSIH ABSTRACT: This study is a political biography of D.F. Malan (1874–1959), the first of the apartheid-era Prime Ministers, and covers the years 1874 to 1954, when Malan retired from politics. It endeavours to provide a warts-and-all account of D.F. Malan which challenges prevalent myths and stereotypes surrounding his public persona and his political orientation. While the overwhelming focus is on Malan’s political career, special attention is paid to his personal life in order to paint a multi-faceted picture of his character. The biography is written in the form of a seamless narrative and employs a literary style of writing. It is based on archival research which utilised Malan’s private collection, as well as the private collections of his Nationalist contemporaries. Malan takes the centre stage at all times, as the biography focuses on his perceptions and experiences. Malan’s views regarding Afrikaner nationalism, which was his foremost political priority, are described, and are related to his views of British imperialism as well as other ideologies such as communism and totalitarianism. This study demonstrates that there is a notable link between Malan’s perceptions of race relations and his concerns about the poor white problem. It reveals that Malan’s racial policy was, to some extent, fluid, as were his views on South Africa’s constitutional position. Debates about South Africa’s links to Britain and the nature of the envisioned republic preoccupied Afrikaner nationalists throughout the first half of the twentieth century – and served as an outlet for regional and generational tensions within the movement. Malan’s clashes with nationalists such as Tielman Roos, J.B.M. Hertzog and J.G. Strijdom are highlighted as an indication of the internecine power struggles within the National Party (NP). By emphasising these complexities, this study seeks to contribute to a nuanced understanding of the South African past.
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    Defence against maritime power projection : the case of the Cape of Good Hope, 1756-1803
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2006-12) Potgieter, Theodorus Daniel; Grundlingh, A. L.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The Cape of Good Hope, located at the southern tip of Africa, was very important for maritime communication with the East in the days of sailing ships. As the competition between the strong European maritime empires for trade, sea power and empire in the East intensified during the late eighteenth century, control of the Cape became a primary concern. The seventeenth century was the golden age of the United Provinces (the Dutch Republic) and through the VOC they dominated the trade with the East. By the late seventeenth century English (later British) and French trade picked up dramatically, with the result that the eighteenth century saw the slow decline of the Dutch state, sea power, sea-borne trade, industries, shipbuilding and the VOC. The vacuum left by the decline of the Dutch, was quickly taken up by their competitors. As French and British power eclipsed that of the Dutch and they fought each other, the United Provinces not only became a minor partner to one of them, but these wars also had a devastating effect on the Dutch Republic. During the same period British global interest grew and her trade experienced a staggering increase. With growing British interests in India and conflict with France, control of the sea route to the East and a secure base along this long and vulnerable route became essential to the British; which enhanced the strategic value of the Cape of Good Hope. The Cape was in Dutch hands, which was not a problem to the British if the Dutch were allied to them, or stayed neutral during a war, but if the Dutch were in an alliance with France, it posed a great threat to British interests. Within the parameters of this thesis maritime power projection is the use of sea-borne military forces to influence events on land directly, while defence against maritime power projection is the separate or joint defensive efforts at sea and on land to counter maritime power projection. Defence of the Cape against maritime power projection essentially involved defensive efforts on three tiers or levels. Warships were present at times to deter an enemy fleet, or eliminate the threat it posed. Some important landing sites, beeches, anchorages and bays at the Cape were protected by a system of fortifications, while a garrison and militia forces were thirdly available to man fortifications and counter an invader with military force. Navies were crucial and powerful foreign policy tools in the period under discussion. The maritime empires extensively relied on their navies to protect their trade, project their power, damage the interests of their enemies and defend their own interests. But, as the bases that had to protect the vulnerable maritime communications and provided safety to ships also had to be secure, they were usually defended by a system of fortifications and a garrison. The fixed defences the maritime empires created at their posts or bases were typical of the developments in the fortification architecture of the West at the time and were primarily designed to provide defence against European adversaries. In terms of organisation, doctrine, weapons and tactics the armies of the maritime empires were again essentially European. To restrain the high costs and due to the difficulties related to relying extensively on European soldiers, the maritime empires generally also relied on indigenously recruited troops. In fact, it would have been impossible to maintain these empires without local troops. At the Cape this had two components: first the local militia created from the able-bodied men (amongst the free burghers, voe officials, former soldiers, retired officials, freed slaves and persons of mixed blood) living in Cape Town and the districts, and second the so-called Khoi Regiment, recruited in 1781-1782 and again between 1793 and 1803. It was not a Khoi unit in the tribal sense, but rather representative of a certain segment of the Cape population. The primarily raison d'etre for the militia and the Khoi Regiment was defence against an external enemy and they should not be confused with the so-called commando system that developed in the course of the voe period for local defence purposes. Chronologically the study commences in 1756 with the outbreak of the Seven Years War (1756-1763). This date is important because the Franco-British struggle rapidly escalated to the East and as a result the Cape acquired important strategic value to the belligerents. It was now no longer just a refreshment post on the long, sea route to the East. During the ensuing wars, the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War (1780-1784) and the Wars of the French Revolution (1792-1802), Britain twice attempted to capture the Cape (1781 and 1795). The British attempt to capture the Cape in 1781 was foiled by the presence of a powerful French naval and. military force, while in 1795 the Dutch capitulated· to the British because the Cape was poorly defended and there was political division amongst the defenders. A Dutch attempt to recapture the Cape in 1796 ended in failure due to the formidable British defence of the Cape. The study is brought to a close with the handing back of the Cape to the Netherlands in 1803. A central theme which forms part of the discussion is the way in which states used their naval and military power to achieve their national objectives, in other words the strategies of the maritime empires of the day. Consequently the achievements and failures of the various politicians, colonial administrators as well as naval and military commanders involved, were evaluated. Furthermore, the defence of the Cape is examined with specific reference to the organisation, nature and constitution of navies, fortifications, and armies of the time. A special effort was made to place emphasis on the relevance of an integrated or joint approach to defence against maritime power projection and to identify a number of prerequisites for a successful defence. These include the joint or separate use of naval forces, fixed defences and landward forces with the purpose of defence. In addition elements such as proper command and control, intelligence, cooperation between armies and navies, and the value of clear strategic and operational objectives were emphasised.
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    Die deutschen evangelisch-lutherischen Kirchengemeinden im Westen des Kaplandes
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1957-03) Hellberg, W. H. C.; Trumpelman, J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    Please refer to full text for abstract.
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    Die deutschen Siedlungen in Suedafrika seit der Mitte des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1954-03) Hellberg, W. H. C.; Hoge, J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    Please refer to full text for abstract.
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    The development of the uranium and nuclear industry in South Africa, 1945-1970 : a historical study
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1995) Janson, Elsie Johanna Georgina; van Zyl, Diko J.; Reitmann, D.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Department of History.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The story of South Africa uranium begins in the late 1880's when it was observed that the green flourescence of minute crystals found in gold-bearing ore from South Africa was due to radioactivity. These were first indications that the ore contained uranium. The urgency of the Allied Nations to obtain uranium during the Second World War for the production of nuclear weapons, brought to the notice of the Combined development Trust a paper by South African mineralogist, RA Cooper, that indicated that the South African gold reefs carried a mineral, uraninite, nearly half of which contained a compound of uranium.
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    Dr. A.L. Geyer as Suid-Afrika se hoë kommissaris in die Verenigde Koninkryk (1950-1954)
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2001-12) Heiberg, Jacobus Petrus; Kapp, P. H.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Dr. A.L. Geyer's appointment in June 1950 as the Union's new High Commissioner to London was largely due to the political objectives of the then government. He was confronted by a number of related challenges, i.e. the furthering of the existing multifaceted South-African-British relations, the promotion of the apartheid policy and convincing the Union's critics as to the merits of the above policy. Geyer, a loyal Afrikaner and staunch republican, experienced soon after arrival that the policy of apartheid and the Union Government's insistence on the transfer of the High Commission territories were placing the existing diplomatic relations under considerable strain. To Geyer's frustration the Union Government failed to realise that the application of the apartheid policy 'was affecting South Africa's foreign relations detrimentally. The effect of the Union's domestic policies was therefore prohibiting any possibility of the transfer of the British-controlled neighbouring territories. Geyer was thus faced with maintaining a delicate balance between white-centred aspirations in South Africa, championing South Africa's interests overseas and his own evolving perspective that the application of the apartheid policy was not going to be acceptable to the outside world. Geyer was also well aware that the Cold War would contribute substantially to the constitutional liberation of the former British colonies in Africa, which in turn would affect the composition of the Commonwealth and South Africa's future membership. He therefore took Union politicians to task for actions that were geared to satisfy short-term party-political expectations, without taking into account both the national and international ramifications of such actions. Geyer did not differ fundamentally with the principles and objectives of apartheid; however, he was no stereotyped Afrikaner who simply supported apartheid without any questioning. In his public appearances he emphasised the historical, cultural and sociopolitical motivation for apartheid, the practical embodiment of the policy and the rights and role of the whites in South Africa. He portrayed apartheid as a political model that envisages equal, but separate development for all races that would ensure the peaceful co- existence of a multi-racial community. Geyer continuously emphasised that only visible and positive results emanating from the application of apartheid, would guarantee acceptance of the policy and also secure the future of the white population in South Africa. Geyer was therefore very critical of the government's inability to give meaningful content to the policy of apartheid. Geyer's biggest personal disappointment was the inability of his mentor and friend, Dr. D.F. Malan, to rise above the role of the party politician in becoming a competent Minister of Foreign Affairs and as Prime Minister, a statesman of international stature.
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    The dynamics of the interaction between music and society in recorded popular Afrikaans music, 1900 – 2015.
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015-12) Van der Merwe, Schalk Daniel; Grundlingh, Albert Mauritz; Muller, Stephanus; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis provides an analytical account of the interaction between political events and popular music culture with specific reference to recorded Afrikaans music of the last 115 years. It starts with the first recordings of Boer national anthems during the Anglo-Boer War in 1900, and concludes with expressions of racial exclusivity in post-apartheid Afrikaans pop music. It reveals cases of compliance with, as well as resistance to, the master narrative of Afrikaner nationalism as it existed for most of the twentieth century, and gives examples of how these values persist in the present. By employing popular Afrikaans music as a lens, a clearer image of the agency of ordinary individuals (artists and listeners) emerges against a background of fundamental societal and political change. Furthermore, by looking at popular Afrikaans music over a wide historical period, salient themes (for example class tension and the ubiquitous efforts by cultural nationalist entrepreneurs to co-opt popular Afrikaans music into the Afrikaner nationalist project) in the development of Afrikaner culture over this period are highlighted, which helps to historicise the invocation of Afrikaner nostalgia in postapartheid Afrikaans pop.
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    The effects of political, economic and social events on the Order of Freemasons in South Africa, with some reference to the movement for the formation of a United Grand Lodge, 1772-1961
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1983-12) Cooper, A. A. (Alan Amos); Kotze, D. J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: No Abstract Available
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    Environmental policing in the Tribal Trust Lands and African peasant responses in Zimbabwe, c.1960 – 2005
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-03) Uledi, Peter; Swart, Sandra Scott; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study examines African peasant responses to environmental policing in the Tribal Trust Lands in Zimbabwe (formerly Southern Rhodesia) from c.1960, when rural administration and policy were changed, to 2005, when the government nationalised farms acquired through the Fast Track Land Reform Programme. It demonstrates how the colonial state, white settler state and post-colonial state used environmental policies to control, win over and ultimately marginalise peasants. This thesis shows how environmental policies were restrictive to the growth of peasant agriculture and how it impacted on their access to and use of water, forests, and fecund land. It analyses some of the key policies implemented under white-minority rule by Ian Smith and thereafter by the Robert Mugabe government. It demonstrates the varying ways in which these policies impacted in social, economic, environmental, and political mindsets of the African peasant and accounts for their subsequent and shifting attitudes towards the state and its policies. At times implemented to win the hearts and minds of peasants and their chiefs, often these policies were implemented in a coercive and authoritarian way, causing hostility between the state and peasants. This hostility led to a growing peasant consciousness and rural nationalism. Peasant resistance shaped environmental policy from below as the government responded by revising or abandoning certain policies. The study demonstrates that peasants were central in environmental policy changes and that conservation policies were not static but changed over time. These were influenced by key socio-economic and political events. The policies showed the colonial, settler, and post-colonial state’s unwillingness to lose rural control feeding off a state of undeveloped rural areas. Joining the enduring historiographical conversation on environmental and peasant studies, this study demonstrates how peasants navigated various environmental policies instituted (and sometimes forcefully imposed) by the two regimes for survival. Drawing on a global, regional, and Zimbabwean historiography on environmental policies the study explores rural development in relation to state intervention programs through conservation and agriculture. The study localises peasant resistance to conservation policies in Zimbabwe showing that peasants though different from one country to the other, all face similar challenges. Relying on archival, oral interviews and secondary sources, the thesis demonstrates how African peasants were over time able to influence the nature of policymaking as the governments reacted in response to African discontent and pushback.
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    Farmers, miners and the state in colonial Zimbabwe (Southern Rhodesia), c.1895-1961.
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03) Madimu, Tapiwa; Swart, Sandra S.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis explores the long and entangled relationship of farmers, miners and the state in Southern Rhodesia from 1895 when the Mines and Minerals Act was promulgated to promote the growth of the country’s mining industry. The study ends in 1961 when an amendment to this same Act was crafted after the incorporation of considerations from the country’s farmers and miners. The country’s mining law, devised by the British South Africa Company (BSAC) to further its commercial interests, became a subject of controversy around 1907 when agriculture, which had been hitherto neglected, started developing – spurred by disillusioned fortune seekers who had turned from prospecting for gold to pursue farming. The BSAC laws favoured mining and this was challenged by the growing settler farmer community. This laid the basis for the interaction of farmers, miners and the state throughout the study period. The thesis thus explores the protean nature of state policies in dealing with the country’s farmers and miners. Mining and agriculture were the country’s leading primary industries, with mining contributing more towards the country’s revenue until 1945 when it was replaced by agriculture on the apex position. Therefore, state policies on the two sectors had a direct impact on the overall country’s economy. The thesis engages broader historiographical conversations on agriculture, mining, conservation and intra-settler relations, law and taxation in Southern Rhodesia. It fills a historiographical gap in existing studies on intra-settler studies in Southern Rhodesia by providing a broader analysis of state-farmer-miner relations incorporating economic, political and conservation concerns. It shows the various shifts in state policies from Company administration into Responsible Government and highlights how different national and international economic developments impacted on state policies and in turn on minerfarmer interactions. The study also demonstrates how the adoption of a formal conservation policy by the G. Huggins government provided a new context for the regulation of minerfarmer relations by the state. It argues that, miner-farmer relations during the period under review impacted heavily on state policy and the country’s economy.
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    From life insurance to financial services : a historical analysis of Sanlam's client base, 1918-2004
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013-12) Halleen, Simone; Verhoef, Grietjie; Ehlers, Anton; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Sanlam has long been stereotyped as an Afrikaans company. It has been positioned in Afrikaner nationalist historiography as one of a number of Afrikaner economic, cultural and political institutions that emerged alongside British ones in the early twentieth century as Afrikaners strove to assert their identity and independence. Much of the existing literature on the history of Sanlam has focused on the role that the company played in promoting this independence by mobilising savings for investment in Afrikaner businesses. This study challenges this conventional view of Sanlam. It argues that Sanlam was established as a South African company in a British industry of which the inclusion and empowerment of Afrikaners formed one aspect. It was a national institution that tried to represent South Africa at all levels. This study demonstrates Sanlam’s inclusiveness as a South African company by analysing its client profile from its establishment as a modest life insurance company in 1918 to its transformation into a diversified financial services group by 2004. It shows that Sanlam did not only target and attract Afrikaans-speaking clients, but included as wide a spectrum of clients as possible within the political and market constraints of the time. It did this by operating as a bilingual company, including working classes through industrial insurance and group schemes and by offering non-traditional life insurance products and ancillary financial services that met a range of needs. In this way Sanlam set itself apart from its competitors. Its clients included people from both sides of the demographic and social divide. Clients included English and Afrikaans-speakers, blacks and whites, young and old, male and female, and lower and upper class. Restrictions and exclusions were based on risk and not on race, sex or class. Sanlam broadened its prospects even further into the South African market during the second half of its history. This was in response to events such as the formation of the Republic in 1961, the growth of the South African economy, the deregulation of the financial sector in the 1980s and 1990s, and the collapse of Apartheid in the early 1990s. By 2004 Sanlam had completed its transformation into a diversified financial services group that provided a range of life insurance and financial services solutions for individuals, groups and businesses from various walks of life. The Group could now shift its focus not only onto further expansion into the South African and neighbouring African markets, but onto the rest of Africa and other emerging markets abroad.
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    'n Genealogiese analise van die Cyster-familie van Pniël : hulle bydrae tot die ontwikkeling van 'n sendingdorp en 'n geslote gemeenskap in Suid-Afrika
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-12) Damon, Eleanor Denise; Burden, M.; Heese, H. F.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This is a study of the family history of the Cyster family of the mission station in Pniël in the Western Cape. The overview of the family history starts before the inception of the mission station in 1843 up to the current generation. The family tree covers a period of 200 years and is based on genealogical and cultural historical methodology. The ancestral patriarch, Carel Cyster, was working as a slave on the neighbouring farm of Lekkerwijn, in the district of Groot-Drakenstein. The archival resources are not clear about his residence before he registered as a slave on this farm. The names of all the slaves who are documented appear without any surnames. It is thus difficult to identify the patriarch because of all the hundreds of persons who had the same name as him. He married Sara Willemse on 23 July 1844 in Pniël. The origin of Sara is also from the same farm of Lekkerwijn where she lived with her mother and family. According to oral history she was known as a "duusvrou". Ten children were born out of this marriage, six boys and four girls. One of the daughter's genealogical footprint cannot be followed after she was baptised in the church of Pniël. The family had to reconstruct themselves as a family unit with a new sense of identity after the emancipation of the slaves in 1838. The choice to join the mission station had many positive consequences for the entire family. The biggest benefit was that they could legally stay together as a family. The majority of the family are still living on the mission station today as part of the closed community where they follow the traditions that were started many years ago. The seven generations of the other nine children of Carel Cyster en Sara Willemse can easily be researched by looking at the marriage, baptism and membership registers of the Congregational Church in Pniël or in the Archives of the Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa in Stellenbosch. The off-springs of this pioneer couple have migrated across the world where they, like their forefathers, contribute to the communities they belong to. The social mobility of the Cyster family evolved from humble beginnings as farm workers to careers where they compete in the top echelons of the job market. Modern technology has immensely simplified the task of the researcher to gather information from online resources. Data of family members can also be entered onto a family website by the members themselves.