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| Title: | 'Race', Warfare, and Religion in the Midnineteenth-Century Southern Africa: The Khoikhoi Rebellion against the Cape Colony and its Uses, 1850-58 |
| Author: | Elbourne, Elizabeth |
| Year: | 2000 |
| Periodical: | Journal of African Cultural Studies |
| Volume: | 13 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Period: | June |
| Pages: | 17-42 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic terms: | South Africa The Cape |
| Subjects: | Christianity race relations Khoikhoi rebellions 1850-1859 Ethnic and Race Relations History and Exploration Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) Religion and Witchcraft Military, Defense and Arms colonialism |
| External link: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/713674302 |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the rebellion of much of the non-white population of the frontier districts of the Cape Colony in 1850 and subsequently, when many rose in support of the Xhosa during Mlanjeni's War of 1850 to 1853. The war has been read as a redemptive moment of unity, whether of class or of race. The author argues that reality was more complicated. A critical feature of the rebellion was the way in which it entrenched ideas about 'white' and 'black' for many participants. On the other hand, many rebels were motivated by a belief in what might be called a 'pan-Khoikhoi nation' (despite the fact that their communities were ethnically quite diverse). The hope for a new so-called 'Hottentot' territory jostled uneasily with the quest for black unity. The narrative of black unity also obscures the role of loyalists, who tried to piece back together the 'divided self' of colonialism. Other important motivating factors for the rebels included the desire to restore honour and manhood. Religion played an important role, as rebels and loyalists disputed the meaning of Christianity. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. |
