By Bob Newland
This book’s title is misleading, it is anything but brief. It does however break South Africa’s history into bite size pieces with questions and additional reading suggestions at the end of each section. This makes it a valuable read for those with general interest in the subject or for students and study groups as well.
In the preface, the authors set out the task of presenting ‘a progressive introduction to South African history’. They rightly identify that South African history prior to 1994, was written by imperialists and colonialists, distorted by racism, sexism and ethnic mythologies. Its purpose was to reinforce their ‘right’ to govern and to steal the wealth of the country and to undermine any sense of ownership and humanity in the indigenous population.
Former President of South Africa, Kgalema Motlanthe, in his foreword argues that it is not possible to have a ‘deep appreciation of our current circumstances and the challenges that face us without knowing how we got here’. He suggests this book ‘makes an important contribution to understanding how our country came to be where it is, it assists readers to face both the present and the future.’
I agree, this is an important contribution to the material available, especially in South African schools where the history of colonialism and the fight against apartheid are still inadequately covered. Without this, young people in South Africa today are left without the understanding of why they are where they are at present and without the necessary perspective to fight their way forward in overcoming the legacy of apartheid which still blights their lives. It helps to develop the idea that this is not simply a question of race but of colonialism and capitalism.
.
The authors leap through the early days of South Africa, setting the scene, moving rapidly onto the era of colonial occupation and on to apartheid. Following its defeat, they consider the period of the Mandela Presidency. While painting the background with some detail, the book generally focusses on the struggle against apartheid.
Along the way, there are two important chapters spelling out the role of Britain in South Africa’s history. The first looks at the expansion of British occupation through the Boer Wars. The second concentrates on the discovery of gold and diamonds, the defeat of the Boers and the control of the whole of the territory by Britain with the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910.
An important inclusion is the record of successive racial legislation introduced by Britain to exclude Africans from their homelands and designate where Indians may live. This of course set the framework for apartheid in 1948.
I would recommend that the reader sees each section of the book as distinct. It moves through history in a haphazard manner making one feel the need to go back and forth to follow the thread. In the second half, there are a number of distinct themes covering a much wider period of history including, the South African Economy, Bantustans, the Trade Union Movement and the Women’s Struggles.
Despite its subtitle, the coverage of the Mandela Presidency is fairly limited. It does identify a number of the stresses in the initial post 1994 Government of National Unity and considers some of the wider issues with which that government was wrestling. It also highlights the tensions created by the GEAR policy which reduced the role of the state and increased the role of the private sector in addressing the need for redistribution of wealth. Not surprisingly, the South African Communist Party (SACP) and Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) both members of the tripartite alliance, which was the ANC, were unhappy with
this shift of direction.
Given that the book was initially published in 2021, it seems a pity that it doesn’t cover the Mbeki and Zuma Governments, It may be that these are so recent that such discussion remains the territory of political commentators rather than historians.
For me, as a London Recruit who carried out covert operations in South Africa in 1971 and 1972 on behalf of the African National Congress (ANC), it was disappointing to see a mention of ANC cadres carrying out leaflet bombings (which we did) without acknowledging the role of the Recruits. It follows from this that there is no mention of Ronnie Kasrils who was at the heart of our operations but who also played a major role in the MK leadership and in the Mandela and Mbeki Governments.
I also felt the role of the armed struggle was underplayed. It is projected as something of a propaganda exercise. While that element was important and certainly caused the apartheid regime considerable troubles, I would argue that while this was not a full-scale liberation war, the armed struggle had a significant effect, along with mass mobilisation of the people and international solidarity, in bringing the apartheid regime to the negotiating table.
I accept that these criticisms might seem churlish as the book is excellent in its scope, in the detail it provides in an accessible manner, and the additional sources it identifies for further study. The book ends with text engagement activities and memoranda for teachers to use. This focusses the mind on key elements of the history and provides an aid to support reading and studying of the content material.
A Brief History of South Africa: From the Earliest Times to the Mandela Presidency. John Pampalis and Maryke Bailey. Fanale £13.99. Distributed by Central Books
Support our work – donate, become a member, affiliate your local organisation’s branch or volunteer
The views expressed in the articles published on this website do not necessarily represent those of Liberation
More reviews here
Interested in a reviewing a book for us? Or a film, play or exhibition? Get in touch at info@liberationorg.co.uk
