'In the crisis, who would tamper with the existing order?': the political and public reaction of English-speaking South Africans to the 1914 Rebellion

bibliographic database
Line

Periodical article

Title:	'In the crisis, who would tamper with the existing order?': the political and public reaction of English-speaking South Africans to the 1914 Rebellion
Author:	Grundlingh, Louis
Year:	2014
Periodical:	Historia: amptelike orgaan (ISSN 0018-229X)
Volume:	59
Issue:	2
Pages:	152-170
Language:	English
Geographic term:	South Africa
Subjects:	rebellions 1914 English-speaking South Africans
Abstract:	This article recovers the history of the English-speaking South African observers of the 1914 Rebellion. A major question it addresses is identity formation among English-speaking South Africans within a dual context: that of the British Empire and that of a specific South African setting. Both were shaped by the First World War. English-speakers' reactions to the rebellion were prompted by the decision taken by the South African government to join the Allied war effort, and they should be understood within this context. For white South African English-speaking politicians and newspaper editors, the rebellion was initially inexplicable. The article highlights the efforts of these two very influential groups to gain insight on why some Afrikaners rebelled. Specific attention is paid to their views on the role of the military and political Afrikaner leaders during the rebellion. Lastly, the article considers the views of these opinion makers relating to the sentences and penalties meted out to the rebels. [Journal abstract, shortened]