South Africa in the 18th and 19th century

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course aims to introduce students to the history of South Africa during the 18th and 19th century, focusing primarily on three themes. The first theme is the dynamics of cultural transformation and the fluidity of the race and class structures of the 18th and 19th century Cape colonial order. The second is the rise of black polities and white republics in the interior. The questions to ask here will be: under which conditions were they created? How did these states function politically, economically, and socially? The third theme is the shaping of new socio-political and cultural orders in reaction to the mineral revolution. Here, the focus will be on two case studies: How did the discovery of diamonds in Griqualand West initiate the subjugation and colonisation of the Thlaping? What social changes did the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand entail for the black and white working classes and specifically for the Afrikaner working class?