NAT IONAL QUALIFICAT IONS CURRICULUM SUPPORT
History
Annotated Bibliography for
South Africa 1910–1984
[ADVANCED HIGHER]
Roy Bridges
Elizabeth Trueland

Acknowledgements
Learning and Teaching Scotland gratefully acknowledge this contribution to the National
Qualifications support programme for History.
First published 2002
Electronic version 2002
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2002
This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part for educational purposes by
educational establishments in Scotland provided that no profit accrues at any stage.
ISBN 1 85955 938 7
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CONTENTS
Introduction
Section 1:
1.1
2.1
1
General
Introductory works and general texts on South African
history
Reference works, encyclopedias, atlases, etc.
5
5
9
Section 2:
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
Sources
Official publications
Printed collections of primary source material
Autobiographies, memoirs, testimonies
Academic or polemical works of the past
11
11
11
13
15
Section 3:
3.1
Secondary materials
Studies of particular problems or periods
(a) 1910–1948 or spanning both periods
(b) 1948 to the 1990s
Biographies
International aspects
‘Readers’ and collections
19
Section 4:
4.1
4.2
Imaginative literature
Guides
Some examples
32
32
32
Section 5:
The Internet
33
Section 6:
6.1
6.2
6.3
Historiography and bibliography
Historiography
Bibliographical guides
Some periodical publications
34
34
35
35
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
19
25
29
30
30
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INTRODUCTION
Teaching and learning for the South African topic in Advanced Higher History has
been found by those who have attempted it to be highly rewarding. However, it
presents a number of challenges that are special to it. This bibliography attempts to
help with some of those challenges although it is itself subject to them. The nature
of the challenges is worth considering.
First of all, this listing deals only with works in English. Yet South Africa’s
inhabitants speak a multiplicity of different languages. In one of these other
languages, Afrikaans, there is an important tradition of historical writing. To a
lesser extent, some important written literature is available in the languages of black
Africans, while there is also a large amount of oral material in these languages.
Having acknowledged this, one has to add that the most important writing on South
Africa, both popular and academic, has undoubtedly been in English.
There is certainly much more writing in English than in any other language. Indeed,
this is a second major difficulty – there is simply so much of it. Inevitably,
therefore, we have had to ignore much material that might have been included,
although we do mention one or two specialist bibliographies that will provide details
of works that cannot be listed here. A feature of the apartheid period in particular
was the enormous amount of official, journalistic, polemical and academic writing
that was generated. Much of the writing was responding to particular situations that
might rapidly change; some rather substantial books aiming to explain the situation
in South Africa could just as rapidly become out of date. We have recognised this
difficulty by including a section of works that we think it better to regard as in the
nature of primary sources from the period of their composition rather than as
secondary works (2.4). Naturally, the distinction is often hard to make, especially as
one comes closer to the present and deals with the period in which apartheid began
to show signs of breaking down. This highlights what is perhaps another challenge
in dealing with the South African topic: the distinction between primary and
secondary source material is often difficult to make in this subject.
We believe that there is now a sufficient number of sound and reli able textbooks
that are reasonably easily available to make it possible for any centre to embark
upon the South African topic for Advanced Higher. The basic texts we have in
mind are among those described in Section 1.1, below. At the same time, we
appreciate that access to some more specialised or expensive materials might
present difficulties, especially for centres farther from the larger public or
university libraries. Naturally, obtaining works of any kind published in South
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Africa itself also involves difficulties, although it is now much easier to contact
publishers and organisations in that country than it was ten years ago. Despite the
possible difficulties, we have not confined the listing only to easily available and
recently published books because we believe that opportunities for students to visit
larger or university libraries can be arranged. Given adequate notice, most such
libraries now do make every effort to help Advanced Higher candidates to obtain
access to the rarer materials. We believe, too, that students preparing their
dissertations must be provided with information that will help them to pursue their
research. In this connection and more generally, it is worth drawing attention to the
increasing amount of material that can be accessed via the Internet.
The sheer volume of material available dictates the way we have arranged this
bibliography and the accompanying annotations. Works that we think are reasonably
easy to obtain, or are so important that they ought to be acq uired if at all possible,
are described in some detail. The large number of other works listed are for
reference purposes. They are described more briefly or sometimes not at all if their
titles are self-explanatory. In a few cases we mention works that we know to be out
of date or difficult, simply because they are likely to be encountered on library
shelves or mentioned in bibliographies.
It does seem important that Advanced Higher students should at an early stage
become familiar with at least the outline of South Africa’s historiography. During
the period of the Union before 1939, much writing on South Africa was concerned
with political and constitutional questions and it was usually assumed that
underlying these was the problem of the relationship s between races. In that period
the races concerned were the English-speakers and the Afrikaners; although the
place of other races might be an issue, they were rarely reckoned to be able to
articulate their own views. After World War II and with the com ing to power of the
Afrikaner Nationalists, the position of other races, especially the black Africans,
became the key issue. In continuing the older tradition of writing on political and
constitutional matters, many historians and commentators tended to assume that the
‘right’ way for South Africa to move was for Africans and other non -whites to be
given political rights. Direct opposition to this view came principally from
Afrikaner writers though often only in their own language publications.
From roughly the 1960s an important change occurs. Africans begin to demand
to be given their own independent voice in historical and other studies – to be
actors rather than subjects reported on by others. It became apparent that those
who wrote about them, even the most ‘liberal’, were not necessarily accurately
reflecting their interests. At the same time, and partly as a consequence of this
development, many historians began to look at South Africa less in terms of race
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as reflected in political and constitutional affairs and more in terms of economic
development and questions of class.
The historiographical position should be borne in mind when using this bibliography
and seeking to find and make use of the materials it contains. The manner in which
we have thought it best to arrange the materials is indicated in the Contents and we
hope that due note will be taken of the approach so that the best use may be made of
the listings. In particular, the inclusion of many academic and polemical works in
2.4, which is explained above, should be noted. So, too, should the division we have
made between secondary works covering the whole period or 1910 –48 (3.1) and
those concentrating on the apartheid era from 1948 (3.2).
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G E N ER AL
SECTION 1
1.1
Introductory works and general texts on South
African history
Barber, James, South Africa in the Twentieth Century, Oxford: Blackwell, 1999
Barber provides a very useful introduction to the political history of South Africa
in the twentieth century. This text is highly recommended as an intelligent,
readable introduction to the complexities of South African politics. Barber’s
emphasis is – by his own admission – on ‘top down’ history and this book is
chiefly concerned with political leadership, and the interaction betw een the aims
of political leaders and their efforts to achieve those aims. The analysis of white
politics between the First and Second World Wars is particularly valuable. The
subject is approached chronologically and chapters are subdivided under clear
headings, making this a relatively straightforward text for Advanced Higher
candidates to use.
Beinart, W, Twentieth-Century South Africa, 2nd ed., Oxford: OUP, 2001
William Beinart is currently Rhodes Professor of Race Relations at the University
of Oxford and this highly readable introduction to the history of South Africa in
the twentieth century reflects his own interest in African society. This second
edition has been updated to include a final section on ‘The New South Africa,
1994–2000’, but for the most part the text is unchanged. This is a history of all
South Africans and therefore black history receives considerable attention,
although the social, economic and political forces that shaped white politics are
certainly not neglected. The book is written as an interpretative approach to
South African history and so the reader is never overwhelmed by information.
This makes it a particularly useful overview for students who already have some
knowledge of the main developments in South African his tory. There are
references to recent historiographical developments throughout, and much of the
interest in this particular work lies in the emphasis placed on developments
within African communities. Chapter 8, ‘Farms, Homelands and Displaced
Urbanization, the late 1950s to the 1980s’, provides an excellent introduction to
the study of developments within those areas designated as ‘homelands’ during
the apartheid era. Appendix 2 provides a range of basic statistical information
often missing from introductory texts and there are excellent, annotated
bibliographical notes for each chapter.
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Bundy, Colin and Saunders, Christopher, Illustrated History of South Africa,
Reader’s Digest, 1989
A good, popular introduction to South African history, edited by two leading
South African historians, this is unfortunately out of print but it may well be
found in some libraries.
Callinicos, Luli, A People’s History of South Africa, 3 vols., Braamfontein:
Ravan, 1990–1993
Vol. 1: Gold and Workers 1886–1924
Vol. 2: Working Life 1886–1940
Vol. 3: A Place in the City: the Rand on the eve of Apartheid
These three well illustrated volumes provide considerable insight into the lives of
ordinary people. Luli Callinicos published these volumes as part of her work as
research officer for the History Workshop established in the early 1980s by
Belinda Bozzoli at the University of Witwatersrand. The declared intention of
the Witwatersrand History Workshop was to investigate the history of the
‘ordinary people’ of South Africa. In keeping with the declared aims of the
project, the evidence published here is often anecdotal, and based on oral
testimonies; moreover, there are no source references, which limits the value of
the books for dissertation purposes. The agents for Rav an in the United Kingdom
are Edward Arnold.
Davenport, T R H and Saunders, C, South Africa: A Modern History, 5th ed.,
London: Macmillan, 2000 [Earlier editions are in Davenport’s name alone.]
This is an essential reference book, although at first a some what daunting volume
for Advanced Higher students. Without equal in terms of factual content, South
Africa: a Modern History provides an introduction to a huge range of topics and
will therefore be particularly useful for students beginning work on their
dissertations. Just over half of the book deals with South African history since
1910, and includes a useful chapter, ‘The economy and the people of South
Africa’, which touches upon aspects of the syllabus not always well covered
elsewhere. The appendix provides details of Heads of State 1652–1990 and of
Party Representation in the House of Assembly 1910 –1989, information which it
is convenient to have at hand. Bibliographical details are provided for each
chapter but these are not annotated.
Omer-Cooper, J D, History of Southern Africa, Oxford: James Currey, 1994 and
later editions
A standard textbook that benefits from fairly copious illustrations, although
the quality of reprographics leaves much to be desired and the format seems
strangely old fashioned. Omer-Cooper’s text provides a useful transition from
the type of textbook that students are likely to have come across when
studying for Higher History, to the academic texts that they will use during
the course of S6. Three chapters – just fewer than a hundred pages – cover
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the period between 1910 and 1984, providing a narrative overview of the
Advanced Higher syllabus. The three phases of apartheid that the author
identifies make a useful device for students to gain an initial grasp of what w as
happening in South Africa after 1948.
Pampallis, J, Foundations of the New South Africa, London: Zed Books, 1991
Originally written for exiled South African students with the ANC in Tanzania,
this history focuses on the liberation and labour movements. The ANC standpoint
means that there is a tendency in places to exaggerate the centrality of the ANC.
The appeal of Africanism is largely dismissed, Poqo is described as having ‘a
certain amount of support’ and the reader is rather fancifully informed that ‘from
the earliest days of the (Soweto) uprising, the ANC underground was active in
trying to give it direction’. Despite these limitations, Pampallis is a valuable
addition to any library. The language level is straightforward, and the approach
provides a useful counterbalance to the emphasis on government policy found in
some other texts.
Ross, Robert, A Concise History of South Africa, Cambridge: CUP, 1999
Although this relatively brief history (200 pages) covers South Africa’s history
from the earliest settlement of the land, the four central chapters (Unification,
Consolidation, Apartheid and the Costs of Apartheid) make a valuable
contribution to any student’s understanding of modern South African history.
Like many contemporary historians, Ross i s concerned with economic, social,
cultural and environmental issues as well as political history, and his book offers
various tantalisingly brief comments about aspects of African society that are not
usually to be found in general texts. There are, for example, a number of specific
references to women, reflecting growing recent interest in women’s history in
South Africa, and the well chosen illustrations are often accompanied by
explanations of key aspects of African culture. Overall, Ross appears to be more
concerned with the mass of ordinary people than with their political leaders. The
useful Bibliography also reflects the author’s own interest in African culture and
society.
Schrire, Robert, Adapt or Die: the End of White Politics in South Africa, London:
Hurst, 1992
See 3.2, below; the Introduction (pp. 3 –9) is an outstanding characterisation of
what apartheid was and for this reason is mentioned in this section.
Thompson, Leonard, A History of South Africa, London and New Haven, CT:
Yale UP, 1990, 3rd ed., 2001
All Advanced Higher students should try to gain access to this history of South
Africa. Not only is Thompson one of the most distinguished historians to write
about South Africa, but his literary style and the sheer readability of his book
(not always features of history written about a country undergoing rapid and
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often painful change) make it attractive to students. Here is an outstanding
example of good historical writing. Strictly speaking, only the second half of the
book is relevant to the Advanced Higher course, but the well motivated student
would be well advised to read the whole text if he or she wants to acquire a real
understanding of the history of the country. The Preface to the revised edition of
1995 includes brief comments on historiographical trends of the past and suggests
some possible ways in which the writing of South African history will evolve in
the twenty-first century.
Thompson, Leonard and Wilson, Monica, The Oxford History of South Africa, 2
vols., Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969–71
Although the Oxford History of South Africa is now very dated, it is still worth
consulting Volume 2, which is concerned with the period after 1870. Writing
from a ‘liberal’ perspective, the authors of the Oxford History also reflected the
growing interest in the history of African society that had taken root by the
1960s. Soon afterwards, however, the book was to be criticised by the so -called
‘revisionist’ (or neo-Marxist) historians who emphasised the significance of
economic factors in explaining developments within South Africa. Chapters 7, 8
and 9 are relevant for the Advanced Higher course. In Chapter 7, ‘The
Compromise of Union’, Thompson presents an abbreviated version of the
arguments that he had developed more fully in The Unification of South Africa
1902–1910, London: OUP, 1960. Given the shortage of recent material on the
drawing up of the Constitution of 1910, this chapter remains worthwhile reading.
In Chapter 8, ‘Afrikaner Nationalism’, de Villiers presents a classic liberal view
of Afrikaner nationalism. An interesting point to note is that, for fear of
censorship, Chapter 9, ‘African Nationalism’, contributed by Leo Kuper, had to
be omitted from the edition published in South Africa itself; in 1971 the very
concept of African nationalism was unacceptable to the South African
government.
Troup, Freda, South Africa. An Historical Introduction, Harmondsworth:
Penguin, 1975
Chapters V, VI and VII are still a useful summary of events from 1910 to 1975.
Walker, Eric A, A History of Southern Africa, London: Longman, 3rd ed, 1962
[originally 1928].
For a great many years, this was the standard textbook on South African history
and we mention it because copies of its various editions may still be found on
some library shelves. For Walker, South Africa’s history was the story of the
relationship between Boer and Briton; other races were not regarded as actors at
all. Within this major limitation, the information on white history is sound.
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Welsh, F, A History of South Africa, London: HarperCollins, rev. ed. 2000
Written for the general reader, this is a good, popular introduction to the history
of South Africa. The style is somewhat journalistic, but the narrative is gripping.
The text is well referenced and there is a le ngthy Bibliography, although it has
some surprising omissions.
Worden, Nigel, The Making of Modern South Africa. Conquest, Segregation and
Apartheid, Oxford: Blackwell, 1994, 3rd ed., 2000
An essential work for Advanced Higher students, this is neverthel ess not the
introductory text that it might appear to be. Worden’s approach is largely thematic
and in each chapter there is an extensive review of the major trends in
historiography as well as a synopsis of the findings of recent historical research.
Most students will need some help with this book, especially if they come to it
unused to academic debate, but their efforts will certainly be rewarded. The brief
introductory chapter, ‘The Changing History of South Africa’, could well be
compulsory reading for all students embarking on this course, providing as it does a
brief survey of the ways in which interpretations of South Africa’s past have
changed over the last half century or so. The outline chronology could be useful for
revision and the list of acronyms facilitates the reading of this and other texts!
1.2
Reference works, encyclopedias, atlases, etc.
Annual Survey of Race Relations, Johannesburg: South African Institute of Race
Relations, 1946–
Copies are held by one or two libraries and can be a source of detailed
information on any particular year. This is not recommended for general use.
Christopher, A J, The Atlas of Apartheid, London: Routledge, 1994
The numerous clear black and white maps are accompanied by short explanatory
texts. The Atlas provides a good means of understanding some of the basic
characteristics of apartheid society.
Davies, R H, The Struggle for South Africa. A Reference Guide to Movements,
Organisations and Institutions, 3 vols., London: Zed, 1984
Useful as a detailed guide to movements as they existed in 1984 but the detail is
much more than most students will need.
Dictionary of South African Biography, 4 vols., Pretoria: Human Sciences
Research Council, 1968–1981
Encyclopedia of Southern Africa, ed. E Rosenthal, London: Warne, 1973, 7th ed.,
Cape Town: Juta, 1978
This is of limited usefulness on the kinds of topics relevant to the course.
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Ethnographic Survey of Africa, London: International African Institute, 1953 –4
The three volumes on South Africa are by Hi lda Kuper, R Sheddick and I
Schapera. These are not of much relevance for this course.
Gastrow, S, Who’s Who in South African Politics, London: Zed, 1993 and
various earlier editions
New Dictionary of South African Biography, Pretoria: Human Sciences Research
Council, 1995
This is ‘new’ principally because it includes black Africans.
Riley, E, Major Political Events in South Africa, 1948 –1990, New York: Facts on
File, 1991
Not widely available in this country but useful for detailed reference purposes i f
it can be found.
Saunders, C, Historical Dictionary of South Africa , Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow,
1983, rev. ed., 1998
This incorporates much basic historical and biographical information in a series
of alphabetically arranged entries. There is also a Bibl iography.
Standard Encyclopedia of Southern Africa , ed. D J Potgeiter, 12 vols., Cape
Town: Nasou, 1970–6.
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SECTION 2
2.1
Official publications
Official Year Book of the Union of South Africa , 30 vols., 1917–1960
Republic of South Africa, Pretoria: Board of Census 1961–
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa : Report, 5 vols., London:
Macmillan Reference, 1998
Volume I, pp. 448ff. has a useful list of apartheid legislation; vols. 3 and 4 cover
the actual cases. (See also Section 5 for Internet access to the Report.)
The Republic of Transkei and The Republic of Venda
In both cases these volumes were produced to commemorate the granting of
‘independence’ to the two former ‘homelands’, and presented by the South
African government to various institutions such as university libraries. They
represent a fascinating ‘official’ government image of life in these areas. The
numerous photographs and statistics provide a view of African development that
is in line with Nationalist ideas about ethnicity and re-tribalisation, while the
‘benevolence’ of the South African government is emphasised in paternalistic
images of alleged progress. These, and similar Republic of South Africa
publications from the apartheid era, constitute useful primary source s for students
wishing to consider Nationalist Party ideology and propaganda.
2.2
Printed collections of primary source material
Biko, Steve, I Write What I Like, London: Bowerdean, 1978
This is a collection of Biko’s writings and speeches and includes papers such as
‘The Definition of Black Consciousness’ (1971) and ‘White Racism and Black
Consciousness’. The collection also includes trial extracts and interviews with
Biko.
Brookes, Edgar H, Apartheid. A Documentary Study of Modern South Africa,
London: Routledge, 1968
Difficult to get hold of now, this is a very worthwhile collection of primary
sources, including National Party justification for much of the apartheid
legislation introduced in the 1950s as well as the actual texts of the acts
concerned. Brookes originally supported segregation, but his position changed
and as a (white) Native Representative member of the Senate in the
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1950s he was a relatively outspoken critic of government policies. The selection
of primary sources printed here reflects Brookes’ interests, but it is a means of
obtaining access to the key early apartheid laws.
Houghton, D H and Dagut, J, eds, Source Material on the South African
Economy, 1860–1970, 3 vols., Johannesburg, 1973
This is available in some libraries in Scotland. The material is too detailed for
general use.
Johns, Sheridan and Davis, R Hunt, eds, Mandela, Tambo and the African
National Congress: the Struggle against Apartheid 1948–1990, Oxford: OUP,
1991.
This work is principally a digest of Karis and C arter.
Karis, Thomas and Carter, Gwendolen, eds, From Protest to Challenge. A
Documentary History of African Politics in South Africa , 1882–1990, 5 vols.,
Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1972 –97
Vol 1: Protest and Hope, 1882–1934
Vol 2: Hope and Challenge, 1935–1952
Vol 3: Challenge and Violence, 1953–1964
Vol 4: Political Profiles, 1882–1964
Vol 5: From Nadir to Resurgence, 1964–1979
Together, these volumes represent the most important collection of primary
sources available to the student of the South African liberation movements.
Although some of the more important documents relating to the ANC, and to key
figures within the ANC, are available elsewhere, these volumes contain a
massive amount of archival material and constitute an ind ispensable resource for
teachers of this field of study. The introductory material written by the Editors
provides a detailed context for the documents. (See also Section 5)
Kruger, D W, South African Parties and Politics. A Select Source Book, 1910 –
1960, Cape Town: Human & Rousseau, 1960
This work may be found in some libraries. While there are party political
manifestos and white politicians’ speeches that will be of some use for studies of
the 1910–1948 period, the coverage of the early apartheid p eriod is
disappointing.
Mandela, Nelson, No Easy Walk to Freedom, London: Heinemann, new ed., 1986
A collection of articles, speeches and transcripts from Mandela’s trials. The
sources are mainly available elsewhere (in Karis and Carter for example), but this
text can still be obtained and is useful for student use.
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Mandela, Nelson, The Struggle Is My Life, International Defence and Aid Fund,
1978, new ed., New York: Pathfinder Press, 1990
This collection of speeches, writings and documents was first p ublished as a
tribute to Mandela on his 60th birthday, and updated to include speeches made
during 1990. It includes many of Mandela’s most powerful addresses, including
his testimonies at the Treason and Rivonia trials, as well as a number of
important documents, such as the ANC Youth League Manifesto and the Freedom
Charter, with which Mandela is associated. Many of these documents are now
also available on the ANC website (see below, Section 5).
Plaatje, Sol, Selected Writings, ed. Brian Willan, Johannesburg: Witwatersrand
University Press, 1996
This carefully edited volume draws extensively on Plaatje’s newspaper articles
and editorials, as well as on speeches and private letters, to provide a useful
commentary on social and political developments in the first three decades of the
twentieth century. Willan has divided the book into three parts, to coincide with
identifiable phases in Plaatje’s life, each part being preceded by a biographical
outline. As far as the Advanced Higher syllabus is concerned, Part Two: 1910–
1923 (‘Champion for the Cause of our Peoples’) throws considerable light on the
attitudes and arguments of educated Africans as segregation became more
entrenched.
Selections from the Smuts Papers, eds W K Hancock and J van der Poel,
7 vols., Cambridge: CUP, 1966–73
This large collection contains a vast amount of information about Smuts’s
involvement in imperial and international affairs, as well as sources relating to
South African politics and internal affairs. It will be of use only for very
specialised studies relating to Smuts.
2.3
Autobiographies, memoirs, testimonies
Bernstein, Hilda, The World that Was Ours: the Story of the Rivonia Trial,
London: South African Writers, 1989
This is a very personal and subjective account. Wit h allowances being made for
this, it is a very powerful testimony.
Jabavu, N., Drawn in Colour, London: John Murray, 1960
Life under apartheid.
Joseph, Helen, Side by Side, London: Zed Books, 1986
The autobiography of a tireless white campaigner for just ice, this recounts Helen
Joseph’s bannings, gaol terms and police harassment. She never wavered in her
commitment to a fairer and more just South Africa.
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Kadalie, C, My Life and the ICU, ed. S Trapido, London: Cass, 1970
Originally written in 1946, this provides first-hand information on African trade
union activity in the interwar period. Kadalie has a particular interest for those
taking the course because of his Scottish links.
Kathrada, A, Letters from Robben Island: Prison Correspondence, 1964 –69,
Belville: Mayibuye, 2000
Luthuli, Albert, Let My People Go: an Autobiography, London: Collins, 1962
This is a very readable autobiography, providing important insights into the life
and thinking of one of the most impressive of apartheid’s opponents. It had a
considerable impact outside South Africa.
Mandela, Nelson, Long Walk to Freedom. The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela ,
London: Little Brown, 1994
Nelson Mandela has deservedly become a revered figure and his autobiography is
a fine, readable and often moving work which must be essential reading for any
student of South African history. Yet there is a danger of interpreting the past in
South Africa in the way that it is understood and explained by Mandela. As with
all autobiographies, the reader has to decide what to make of the claims the
author makes about himself, and those whom he has known; admiration for the
man must not make the historian forget his critical faculties.
Mathabane, Mark, Kaffir Boy, Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1986
An account of growing up in Alexandria.
Matthews, Z K, Freedom for my People, London: Rex Collings, 1981
A leading African intellectual and moderate, Matthews taught Mandela at Fort
Hare. In 1953 he suggested to the annual ANC conference that they should
convene the Congress of the People which finally met two years later.
Phayane, L (ed.), The Personal Papers of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Belville:
Mayibuye, 1999
Russell, Diana (ed.), Lives of Courage: Women for a New South Africa, New
York: Basic Books, 1989; also Lo ndon: Virago Press, 1990
The testimonies of twenty-four women activists drawn from all races and ethnic
backgrounds. A valuable source of information about women’s lives and about
the contribution women made in the struggle against apartheid.
Sachs, A, Jail Diary, London: Rex Collings, 1978
The diary kept by Sachs when held for 168 days, without charge, in solitary
confinement.
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Sampson, Anthony, Drum. A Venture into the New Africa, London: Collins, 1956
Sampson edited the famous magazine produced for bl ack readers in 1950s
Johannesburg. This is his valuable and interesting account of those years.
Slovo, Joe, The Unfinished Autobiography, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1996
This autobiography includes highly personal accounts of many of the main acts of
defiance throughout the 1950s, and of the decision to establish Umkhonto. Sadly,
Slovo had not written yet about his years in exile when he died from cancer in
1995. The second part of the published book consists of a collection of tributes
from those who knew and respected him.
Suzman, Helen, In No Uncertain Terms, London: Sinclair Stevenson, 1993
These are the memoirs of a leading white opponent of the NP’s policies. For
thirteen years Helen Suzman was the only member of the Progressive Party in the
House of Assembly, and for six of them she was the only female MP. This very
readable account explains why the Progressive Party was established and
describes her efforts to achieve a more just society. The book is a very useful
source of information for students researching white opposition to apartheid.
Woods, D, Asking for Trouble, London: Gollancz, 1980
The account of a leading white intellectual and communist who gained the trust
of the ANC. Hence his information is useful about more than just his own life
but this is, of course, an unfinished story.
2.4
Academic or polemical works of the past
(Please note the remarks in the Introduction about this grouping)
Adam, Heribert, Modernising Racial Domination, Berkeley, CA: University of
California Press, 1971
Adam, Heribert and Giliomee, H, Ethnic Power Mobilised: Can South Africa
Change?, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1979
Arnold, Guy, The Last Bunker. A Report on White South Africa , London:
Quartet, 1976
Bernstein, Hilda, For their Triumphs and for their Tears. Conditions and
Resistance of Women in Apartheid South Africa, London: International Defence
and Aid Fund, 1975
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Brewer, J, After Soweto, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986
A detailed study of the political situation as it seemed to be in t he early 1980s.
Bunting, Brian, The Rise of the South African Reich, Harmondsworth: Penguin,
1964
During the 1950s and early 1960s Bunting wrote for successive communist
newspapers, each of which was in turn closed down by the Nationalist
Government. In 1952 and again in 1962 he was banned from attending meetings
and for several months after the Sharpeville shootings both he and his wife were
held without trial. Finally in 1963 he was forbidden to produce any further
material for publication, and unable to find employment, he was forced to leave
the country. It was while working as a journalist in Britain that he wrote The Rise
of the South African Reich. The first part of the book suggests links between key
figures in the National Party and National Social ism while later chapters, all
prefaced with cleverly chosen quotations from Hitler, cover topics such as
‘Eliminating all Opposition’, ‘Indoctrinating the Young’ and ‘The Control of
Ideas’. The book remains a thought-provoking read, although Advanced Higher
candidates should be aware that Bunting was a committed opponent of the regime
and his prime aim was to draw the attention of the English -speaking world to
what was happening in South Africa.
Butler, Jeffrey; Elphick, Richard and Welsh, David, eds, Democratic Liberalism
in South Africa, Middletown: Wesleyan UP, 1987
Twenty-four essays on history and prospects of liberalism which are of greatly
varying interest.
Cawood, Lesley, The Churches and Race Relations in South Africa,
Johannesburg: South African Institute of Race Relations, 1964
Though a tract for the times, this does provide some useful information.
Desmond, Cosmos, The Discarded People, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1971
Desmond was a Franciscan priest who was appalled by the forced removal of
Africans from his mission in Natal. His investigation of what happened to those
who were ‘resettled’, and of the impact on people’s lives, led to the publication
of this widely read book.
Finnegan, William, Crossing the Line. A Year in the Land of Apartheid , New
York: Harper & Row, 1986
Finnegan spent a year in Cape Town and deals principally with that city’s
problems.
Hill, Christopher, Bantustans. The Fragmentation of South Africa , London:
OUP, 1964
A tract for its time designed to alert opinion in Europe.
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Huddleston, Trevor, Naught for your Comfort, London: Collins, 1956
Huddleston worked as an Anglican priest in the Johannesburg diocese in the late
1940s and early 1950s. Naught for your Comfort was his moving account of life
in Sophiatown, and of the hardships – and joys – of the Africans who lived there.
He describes the enforced destruction of an African community when the
inhabitants were ‘relocated’ to Soweto, and he writes from first -hand knowledge
of the effects of the Bantu Education Act, which he described as ‘Education for
Servitude’. Now out of print, this remains an important book for a number of
reasons. It provides the reader with a glimpse of African urban life, it illustrates
the impact of NP policies on the lives of ordinary Africans, a nd it demonstrates
the role of some members of the Anglican Church as a force for moderate
resistance to apartheid.
Kiewiet, C W de, A History of South Africa, Social and Economic, London: OUP,
1941
This classic work may be encountered on some library she lves. De Kiewiet was
the first significant historian to break away from a racial approach to the
country’s history. By seeing Africans as essentially a proletariat, he anticipated
the academic debates that were to come in the 1970s.
Kraak, Gerald, Breaking the Chains: Labour in South Africa in the 1970s and
1980s, New York: Pluto Press, 1993
Lelyveld, J, Move Your Shadow, London: Michael Joseph, 1985
This is one of the best pieces of reportage by an outside observer of life under
apartheid. Lelyveld was a correspondent in the 1960s and again in the 1980s. He
creates vivid impressions and writes with controlled passion.
Macmillan, W M, Bantu, Boer and Briton, Oxford: OUP, 1926, 2nd ed., London:
OUP, 1969
The first and most influential of the liberal his torians of South Africa, Macmillan
had a racial approach and was paternalistic about Africans. The book is now of
little direct use for the course, but it is important from an historiographical point
of view and may be found in some libraries.
Marquard, Leo, The Peoples and Policies of South Africa , 2nd ed., London:
OUP, 1969
Another classic text in the Macmillan tradition; its mild suggestions for African
participation in politics were enough to get it banned in South Africa. Like
Macmillan, it is now of more interest historiographically than for its content.
HIST O RY
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SO U RC E S
Mbeki, Govan, South Africa: the Peasants’ Revolt, Harmondsworth: Penguin,
1964.
An important work that showed Africans as trying to avoid incorporation in a
society managed for the benefits of cap italism but it is not very easy for
inexperienced students to use. (This work is available on the internet: see
Section 5, below.)
Neame, Lawrence, The History of Apartheid: the Story of Colour War in South
Africa. London: Pall Mall, 1962
A liberal criticism of apartheid, this was written for its time but it has some
useful information.
Plaatje, Sol, Native Life in South Africa, London, 1916, new ed., Johannesburg:
Ravan, 1982, 1995
Plaatje deals for the most part with earlier periods not directly releva nt for the
course. But his attempt to show that black Africans as well as Boers and Britons
had a history is an important landmark.
Roux, E, Time Longer than Rope, The Story of the Black Man’s Struggle for
Freedom in South Africa. London, 1948; 2nd ed., Madison, WI: University of
Wisconsin Press, 1964
This is a very detailed account of certain episodes and movements among black
Africans in the earlier twentieth century. It will be useful only for specialised
studies in that area.
Sparks, Allister, The Mind of South Africa, New York: Knopf, 1990; Arrow
Books (paperback) 1997
In this study Sparks, a prize-winning journalist and former editor of the Rand
Daily Mail, attempts to analyse and explain those Afrikaner values that created
and sustained apartheid. His opposition to apartheid is evident on every page, but
this is an inspirational book that will encourage many students to find out more
about Afrikaner nationalism and the regime which it created.
Tabbata, I B, Education for Barbarism in South Africa, London: Pall Mall, 1960
Uhlig, M A, Apartheid in Crisis, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1986
.
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SECTION 3
3.1
Studies of particular problems or periods:
(a)
1910–1948 or spanning both periods
Alexander, P, Workers, War and the Origins of Apartheid: Lab our and Politics in
South Africa, 1939–1948, Oxford: OUP, 2000
A very detailed study covering what many see as a crucial period.
Archer, R and Bouillon, A, The South African Game: Sport and Racism , London:
1982
Archer and Bouillon consider black sport as well as white, and there is a useful
chapter on sport and social life in the townships. Rugby is described as ‘the
chosen sport of a chosen people’ and there is a now somewhat outdated coverage
of sport and apartheid.
Benson, Mary, The African Patriots: the ANC 1912–1960, London: Faber, 1963
This is a good, clear account, much easier to use than Walshe (see below).
Black, David R and Nauright, J, Rugby and the South African Nation,
Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1998
A critical examination of the role that rugby has played in the development of
white society in South Africa, and of its centrality to the apartheid era elite.
There are useful chapters on rugby, the Broederbond and the National Party,
sporting ideologies and racial politics and on sanctions and politics. The book
also considers the influence of international rugby in forging a racist national
identity.
Bonner, Philip et al. (ed.), Apartheid’s Genesis, 1935–1962, Johannesburg:
Ravan, 1993
Published papers from two conferences, held in 1987 at Oxford and 1990 at
Witwatersrand.
Bundy, Colin, The Rise and Fall of the South African Peasantry , 2nd ed., Oxford:
James Currey, 1988
Historiographically, this is an important book. Bundy’s interest in African
rural society, and the extent to which it adapted to meet the changing
circumstances in the mid-nineteenth century, has prompted much other work on
the subject. Bundy argues that an innovative and dynamic African peasantry
responded positively to new opportunities towards the end of the nineteenth
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century, but that the emergence of capitalist white agriculture, supported by state
intervention in the early twentieth century, helped to destroy a relatively
independent African peasantry. Although only the final section of this book is of
direct relevance to the period after 1910, the implications of Bundy’s argument
are central to discussion of the 1913 Native Land Act and its effects. Although
Bundy’s argument has been challenged, and he subsequently modified his
position somewhat, The Rise and Fall of the South African Peasantry opened up a
debate about rural social classes in Southern Africa.
Clark, Nancy, Manufacturing Apartheid: State Corporations in South Africa, New
Haven, CT: Yale UP, 1994
This would be very detailed and difficult for students.
Dubow, Saul, Racial Segregation and the Origins of Apartheid , Basingstoke:
Macmillan, 1989
Dubow’s important work challenges the Radical /Revisionist argument that
segregation was solely an economic strategy intended to guarantee a cheap la bour
force for capitalist industry and agriculture. He cites the increased fear of black
militancy and the prospect of a radicalised black working class as key factors.
He also draws attention to the views of liberals who favoured segregation as a
way of preserving an endangered African way of life.
Dubow, Saul, The African National Congress (Sutton Pocket Histories), Stroud:
Sutton, 2000
A very useful, non-partisan introduction to the history of the ANC is provided.
Dubow acknowledges the difficulty of writing an institutionally focused history
in his Preface, since this approach means that many other oppositional struggles
have to be ignored. Despite the author’s misgivings, he achieves a balanced
assessment of the ANC’s role in the struggle against ap artheid and suggests
plausible explanations for its eventual success.
Du Pre, Roy H, Separate but Unequal: the Coloured People of South Africa ,
Parklands: Ball, 1994
In a very readable, non-academic account of the experiences of the coloured
community of South Africa under apartheid, the history of the coloureds before
1948 is dealt with in the first fifty pages. Part II concentrates on the impact of
particular aspects of apartheid, such as racial classification, the Group Areas Act,
education and the coloured vote. Political segregation is considered in more
detail in the final section. The author does not seek to disguise his partisan
approach, so the reviled Coloured Persons’ Representative Council is introduced
with the chapter heading ‘A Political Obscenity’.
February, Vernon A, The Afrikaners of South Africa, London: Kegan Paul, 1991
A somewhat odd and difficult book which is not recommended for general use.
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Frederickson, George M, Black Liberation. A Comparative History of Black
Ideologies in the United States and South Africa, New York: OUP, 1995
Written by a distinguished American academic, this comparative study contains
much that is of interest to students of South African history. Frederickson places
considerable emphasis on black ideologies before World War II, but the two final
chapters, which concentrate on non-violent resistance after 1940 and on the
ideology of Black Power and on black consciousness, are of particular relevance
to the Advanced Higher course.
Giliomee, H, ‘The Growth of Afrikaner Identity’, in Beinart and Dubow, pp.
189–205 (See Section 3.5)
This is a very useful short article.
Gish, Steven D, Alfred B Xuma: African, American, South African ,
Harmondsworth: Penguin, 2000
Here is an overdue re-appraisal of Dr Xuma, ANC President between 1940 and
1949. Although it was recognised at the time that Xuma had done much to revive
the ANC, his ‘gentlemanly’ approach to black politics left younger members
frustrated and contributed to the formation of the ANC Youth League.
Grundlingh, A M, ‘Afrikaner Nationalism and White Politics’, in Liebenberg
and Spies (see Section 3.5)
Hofmeyr, Isobel, ‘Building a nation from words: Afrikaans language, literature
and ethnic identity, 1902–1924’, in Marks and Trapido, The Politics of Race,
Class and Nationalism in Twentieth-century South Africa (see 3.5, below)
Jones, Stuart and Miller, A, The South African Economy, 1910–1990,
Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1990
In writing this useful introductory textbook, the authors have avoided the
Liberal-Radical ideological debate that so often surrounds the whole issue of the
economy in South Africa. The book is divided into three parts chronologically,
with each section beginning with a survey of population and economic growth.
Thereafter, the authors consider each of the three main sectors of the economy
over the given time span.
Le May, G H, The Afrikaners, Oxford: Blackwell, 1995
A useful text for those interested in Afrikaner nationalism and the history of the
Afrikaner people.
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Lipton, Merle, Capitalism and Apartheid: South Africa, 1910 –1984, Totowa, NJ:
Rowman & Allenheld, 1985
Writing at a time when the Liberal-Radical debate about the relationship between
capitalism and apartheid was still very much alive, Lipton’s expressed aim is to
consider the way in which that relationship changed over time. As with many
books written in the 1980s, her preoccupation with capital, rather than with the
whole economy, makes the book seem rather dated.
Maylam, Paul, ‘The Rise and Decline of Urban Apartheid i n South Africa’,
African Affairs, 89 (1990) pp. 69–84
This is a short but very detailed account of its subject covering the whole period
of the course. It shows how social and economic realities constantly made
attempted controls ineffective. This import ant work is excellent background for
teachers and could perhaps be used by a student specialising in the subject for a
dissertation.
Mbeki, Govan, The Struggle for Liberation in South Africa: a Short History,
Cape Town and Johannesburg: David Philip, 1992
Written under the auspices of the Mayibuye Centre for History and Culture in
South Africa, Mbeki’s short account is a good example of ANC history written by
a leading ‘insider’. The book is mainly concerned with the period before the
Rivonia Trial and the consequent imprisonment of most of the leadership –
including Mbeki. The period of the armed struggle is dealt with only in the last
few pages. The main interest of the book lies in the author’s first -hand
knowledge of the organisation, although this is not an autobiographical account.
Meli, Francis, A History of the ANC. South Africa Belongs to Us , Oxford: James
Currey, 1988
This is very much an ‘insider’ history. Meli was a member of the ANC executive
from 1985 until his death, and his view of the rol e of the ANC is at times as
partisan as the title suggests. Nonetheless, it is a valuable addition to literature
about the ANC. It quotes from many documents.
Moodie, T Dunbar, The Rise of Afrikanerdom. Power, Apartheid and the
Afrikaner Civil Religion, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1975
This important study of the roots of Afrikaner Nationalist ideology remains a key
work in this field, although it is not an easy read for Advanced Higher students.
Moodie’s aim is to show the importance o f what he defines as civil religion – the
religious dimension of the state – in the development of National Party beliefs
and apartheid policies. He places considerable emphasis on Afrikaner
interpretations of their history, and on the part that these play ed, both in creating
a sense of national identity and in shaping government policies once the National
Party came to power.
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Moodie, T Dunbar with Vivienne Ndatshe, Men, Mines and Migration, Berkeley,
CA: University of California Press, 1994
Dunbar Moodie has produced a fascinating study of the lives of migrant black
miners, based on oral as well as archival evidence. Although the author is a
sociologist, he treats the subject historically and the book contains a wealth of
detail about mining routines and compound life which will be helpful to anyone
seeking to achieve a clearer understanding of the lives of miners. The author also
examines the ways in which miners responded to the changes that led to an
increasingly proletarianised work force in the mines in the course of the 1970s.
O’Meara, Dan, Volkskapitalisme. Class, Capital and Ideology in the Development
of Afrikaner Nationalism, 1934–1948, Cambridge: CUP, 1983
This is an important revisionist attempt to explain Afrikaner political
mobilisation in economic and class terms. The Introduction, which sets
O’Meara’s argument within a neo -Marxist framework, is highly theoretical and
too difficult for most Advanced Higher students. The text itself, however,
contains much that is interesting about economic d evelopments within the
Afrikaner community, and the contribution these made to the rise of the National
Party.
Posel, Deborah, ‘The Meaning of Apartheid before 1948: Conflicting Interests
and Forces within the Afrikaner Nationalist Alliance’ , in Beinart and Dubow,
pp. 206–30 (see Section 3.5)
Ross, R E van der, The Rise and Decline of Apartheid, Goodwood: Tafelberg,
1986
This is worth mentioning because it is one of the few studies concentrating on
Coloured peoples from 1880 to 1985. It will be in some libraries.
Spies, S B, ‘South Africa in the First World War,’ in Liebenberg and Spies (see
Section 3.5)
Sundkler, B, Bantu Prophets in South Africa, London: OUP, 1948
Not appropriate for general use on the course, but anyone interested in African
religious developments should be aware of Bishop Sundkler’s classic and
pioneering work on independent churches.
Van Onselen, Charles, The Seed is Mine. The Life of Kas Maine, a South African
Sharecropper, 1894–1985, Oxford: James Currey, 1996
Based largely on interviews with Kas Maine and those who knew him, this
moving tale of one man’s struggle through life has been widely praised as a
splendid example of social history at its best.
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Venter, Chris, ‘Political Developments in South Africa, 1910 -1948’, History
Teaching Review Year Book, 15 (2001) pp. 32–9
This SATH publication’s commissioned article provides a very clear short
summary of the period although constitutional issues are not fully covered.
Walker, Cherryl, Women and Resistance in South Africa, London: Onyx, 1982
For those interested in women’s history, Walker includes a useful overview of
their changing position within the developing South African capitalist economy.
The book is divided into three parts, the first dealing with political organisation
among women 1910–39, while the second examines the same issue from 1939 to
1953. The final section of the book considers the role of the Federation of South
African Women (FEDSAW) between 1954 and 1963.
Walshe, A P, ‘Southern Africa’ in Cambridge History of Africa Vol. VII, 1905–
1940, ed. Andrew Roberts, Cambridge: CUP, 1986, pp. 544 –601
Walshe subdivides the period up to 1940 into three sub -periods and
systematically considers politics, economics and the life of every community in
each. For a clear exposition of much basic information, this would be hard to
better.
Walshe, Peter, The Rise of African Nationalism in South Africa: The African
National Congress , 1912–1952, London: Hurst, 1970
Written from the perspective of a liberal historian, this study remains an
indispensable, if somewhat dated, starting point for anyone who needs an in depth study of the early years of the ANC. It is dense, detailed and sometimes
difficult.
Wells, Julia, We Now Demand! The History of Women’s Resistance to Pass Laws
in South Africa, Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press, 1993
Based on research largely carried out in the 1970s, when women’s history was
still a relatively novel concept, Wells’ book concentrates on three case studies of
resistance, chosen to illustrate the social dynamics operating at different periods.
The first episode occurred in Bloemfontein in 1913, the second was in
Potchsfstroom in 1930, and the final case study examines the protracted anti -pass
campaign in Johannesburg from 1954 to 1958. In a useful Introduction, the author
examines briefly what she describes as ‘pass law historiography’, and
acknowledges the influence of historians such as Charles van Onselen and
Belinda Bozzoli on her own research.
Wilson, Francis, Labour in the South African Gold Mines, 1911–1969,
Cambridge: CUP, 1972
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3.2
(b)
1948 to the 1990s
Booth, Douglas, The Race Game: Sport and Politics in South Africa , London:
Cass, 1998
Carter, Gwendolen, The Politics of Inequality: South Africa since 1948 , London:
Thames & Hudson, 1959
Although difficult to obtain, this remains a valuable source of information about
the apartheid legislation of the 1950s, providing more detail than is available in
other secondary sources.
Davis, Stephen M, Apartheid’s Rebels: Inside South Africa’s Hidden War, New
Haven, CT: Yale UP, 1987
This is an account of the ANC in exile
.
Ellis, Stephen and Sechaba, Tsepo, Comrades against Apartheid: the ANC and the
South African Communist Party in Exile, Oxford: James Currey, 1992
Written by a journalist and by an active member of the South African
Communist Party, this purports to be an ‘insider’ account of the relationship
between the ANC and the SACP. More balanced than this collaboration might
suggest, it is a useful book for anyone interested in t he nature of the interaction
between the ANC and the SACP after 1960. The SACP’s history since 1953 is
covered.
Gerhart, Gail M, Black Power in South Africa. The Evolution of an Ideology ,
Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1978
This history of black resistance is written from an Africanist point of view; it
tends to concentrate on the Pan Africanist Congress and the Black Consciousness
movement.
Gruchy, John W de, The Church Struggle in South Africa, London: SPCK, 1979
This is perhaps a tract for its time more than an analysis, but it does have
something to offer.
Grundy, K, The Militarization of South African Politics, Bloomington, IN:
Indiana UP, 1986
This deals in great detail with the period 1961 –78 and is for specialist use only.
Hachten, William A, The Press and Apartheid, Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1984
Another very specialised work but essential for anyone working on the press
under apartheid.
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Hirschmann, D, ‘The Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa’, Journal
of Modern African Studies, 28 (1990)
Kallaway, P (ed.), Apartheid in Education: the Education of Black South
Africans, Johannesburg: Ravan, 1987
This is a collection of studies of varying merit.
Lapping, Brian, Apartheid. A History, London: Paladin, 1987
A useful enough general account, it has the perspective of the period in which it
was written.
Lazerson, Joshua, Against the Tide. Whites in the Struggle against Apartheid,
Belville: Mayibuye, 1994
An important study, if partly because little has so far been published on this
topic, this book focuses on the Congress of Democrats and whites involved in
anti-apartheid activities before 1964. Chapters entitled ‘White Radicals: a
Collective Biographical Sketch’ and ‘White Democrats and the Question of
Identity’, may help students understand something about those who chose to go
‘against the tide’.
Lemon, A, Apartheid, Farnborough: Saxon Press, 1976
This is basically a geographical study of the situation as it was in the 1970s with
lots of useful basic information. It shows how Indians and Coloureds were made
to fit into the system.
Lemon, A, Apartheid in Transition, Aldershot: Gower, 1987
Writing at a time when the historiographical debate about the nature of apartheid
was still fierce, Lemon’s stated aim is to inform rather than argue about South
Africa’s past. Although the last part of the book is very dated, there is useful
information here, including, again, a section on the Indians and Coloureds.
Lodge, Tom, Black Politics in South Africa since 1945 , London: Longman, 1983
Lodge’s work is still the best history of black politics in the 1950s and early
1960s, although it is unfortunately no longer in print. His central interest is the
impact that mass urbanisation of the 1940s had on established black political
movements, and the more assertive nationalism and mass political campaigning
that emerged as a result.
Lundahl, Mats, Apartheid in Theory and Practice: an Economic Analysis,
Boulder, CO: Westview, 1992
The economic analysis is very detailed and difficult to abso rb.
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McKinley, D T, The ANC and the Liberation Struggle. A Critical Political
Biography, London: Pluto Press, 1997
McKinley is a committed socialist who had been involved in the struggle against
apartheid and injustice in South Africa for the previous tw enty years. He is
highly critical of the ANC, arguing that they failed to stay in touch with the
masses – the very people in whose name the liberation struggle was conducted.
Students using this book should be aware that McKinley’s Marxist –Leninist line
of argument is controversial, and possibly rather dated. Many statements may
seem to be more soap box than scholarship, but this text provides a useful
counterweight to the often uncritical approach taken in recent appraisals of the
ANC.
Michelman, Cherry, The Black Sash of South Africa, London: OUP, 1975
Although old, this is a sensible and detailed account of the movement with good
quotations.
O’Meara, Dan, Forty Lost Years; The Apartheid State and the politics of the
National Party 1948–1994, Johannesburg: Ravan, 1995
A major study of the conflicts within the National Party in the context of the
broader political struggles that affected the apartheid state. Much of the book is
too specialised for Advanced Higher students, but the first part contains a n
excellent explanation of the National Party’s victory in the election of 1948 as
well as a chapter ’At last we have got our country back’, that considers the period
1948–60 in some depth.
Pirie, G H, ‘Rolling Segregation into Apartheid: South African R ailways, 1948–
53’, Journal of Contemporary History, 27 (1992) pp. 671–93
Posel, Deborah, The Making of Apartheid 1948–1961; Conflict and Compromise,
Oxford: OUP, 1991
Although this is a challenging book for Advanced Higher students, Posel’s work
is significant historiographically and is of importance to anyone interested in the
implementation of apartheid in the 1950s. On the basis of a detailed study of the
policy and practice of influx control (the attempts to limit the number of blacks
entering South Africa’s towns), Posel challenges the view that the National Party
had a single ‘grand plan’ for apartheid that they enacted ruthlessly, once in
power. Instead, she claims that influx control policies were shaped and modified
by a variety of different interest groups with very different attitudes towards the
existence of an urbanised black working class. Posel also argues that there was a
distinct, unplanned change in the development of apartheid at the beginning of
the 1960s, brought about largely by the e scalation of African urban resistance.
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Robertson, Janet, Liberalism in South Africa, 1948–1963, Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1971
This is still a useful study, not least for showing why liberalism was not a
solution.
Schrire, Robert, Adapt or Die: the End of White Politics in South Africa, London:
Hurst, 1992
The Introduction has already been mentioned in 1.1, above. The main text is an
important treatment of the apartheid state’s attempts to adapt to changing
conditions in 1978–85.
Spink, Kathryn, Black Sash: the Beginning of a Bridge in South Africa, London:
Methuen, 1991
A study of the women’s movement founded to protest at the changes in the
constitution that disenfranchised the Cape Coloureds, this will be useful for those
students interested in white opposition to apartheid policies.
Vigne, Randolph, Liberals against Apartheid. A History of the Liberal Party of
South Africa 1953–1968, London: Macmillan, 1997
This history of South Africa’s non-racial Liberal Party was written by a leading
member of the party that is most often associated with Alan Paton. Vigne
himself was ‘banned’ by the National Party in 1963 and escaped abroad in 1964,
by which time he was a member of the underground African Resistance
Movement. It is a valuable book for anyone wi th an interest in white opposition
to apartheid.
Wilson, Francis, ‘Southern Africa’, Cambridge History of Africa Vol. VIII, 1940 –
1975, ed. M Crowder, Cambridge: CUP, 1984, pp. 251 –330
This is packed with useful information and statistics, especially on t he economy,
but students will find it much more difficult to use than the preceding volume of
the Cambridge History and the finishing date of 1975 is awkward.
Wolpe, Harold, Race, Class and the Apartheid State , Oxford: James Currey, 1988
Wolpe made a seminal contribution to the Radical-Revisionist interpretation of
South African history. He argued that segregation ensured a supply of cheap,
migrant labour, ‘subsidised’ by economies of the African ‘reserves’ and that
apartheid was introduced as a way of mai ntaining the migrant labour system at a
time when the economies of the reserves were failing. This book is a later
synthesis of his views. (See Beinart and Dubow (3.5), for Wolpe’s ‘Capitalism
and Cheap-Labour Power in South Africa: from Segregation to Apa rtheid’.)
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3.3
Biographies
Benson, Mary, Nelson Mandela: the Man and the Movement, New York: Nolan,
1986 and Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1986, revised 1994
Bourlay, Shirley du, Tutu: Voice of the Voiceless, Harmondsworth: Penguin,
1988
In the absence of accessible books on the Christian Churches in South Africa
under apartheid, this is a source of information although it is now out of date on
Tutu himself.
Hancock, W K, Smuts, 2 vols., Cambridge: CUP, 1962–8
The ‘standard’ biography will be useful only for t hose specialising in Smuts.
Ingham, Kenneth: Jan Christian Smuts. The Conscience of a South African ,
London: Weidenfeld, 1986
Here is a shorter work on Smuts that is much easier to use than Hancock.
Paton, Alan, Hofmeyr, London: OUP, 1964
The great hope of the liberals is here lauded by another liberal.
Pirow, Oswald, J B M Hertzog, Cape Town: Timmins, n.d. [1958]
Some libraries may have this work. It is admiring, almost hagiographical, but
one of the few sources of information in English.
Pogrund, B, How Can Man Die Better...? Sobukwe and Apartheid, London:
Halban, 1990
This biography of the leader of the Pan Africanist Congress is written by a
journalist whose work for the Rand Daily Mail led to friendship with Sobukwe.
Sampson, Anthony, Mandela: the Authorised Biography, London: HarperCollins, 1999
This is by far the best and most important of the available biographies of
Mandela. Sampson had access to Mandela’s unpublished correspondence and
writings and the result is an altogether more informativ e book than his subject’s
autobiography.
Woods, Donald, Biko, London: Paddington Press, 1978
This is the biography that helped to establish Biko’s status as a martyr suffering
and dying under an oppressive regime.
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S ECO ND AR Y M AT E R IA L S
3.4
International aspects
Baker, Pauline, The United States and South Africa: the Reagan Years , New
York: Ford Foundation, 1989
Barber, James and Barratt, John, South Africa’s Foreign Policy, 1945–1988: the
Search for Status and Security, Cambridge: CUP, 1990
This is a very detailed but clear account.
Berridge, G R, South Africa: the Colonial Powers and African Defence: the Rise
and Fall of the White Entente, Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1992
Calvocoressi, Peter, South Africa and World Opinion, London: OUP, 1961
Mansergh, Nicholas, Documents and Speeches on British Commonwealth Affairs,
1931–1952, 2 vols., London: OUP, 1953
This has sections on South Africa’s constitutional position in the Empire and
Commonwealth that will provide good data for anyone specialising on that.
Marks, Shula, ‘Southern Africa’, Oxford History of the British Empire Vol IV:
the Twentieth Century (eds, Judith M Brown and W R Louis), Oxford: OUP,
1999, pp. 545–73
As one might expect, the emphasis in this chapter is on British attitudes to
Southern Africa. There are shrewd summaries of the major developments in the
Union and Republic, but this will be of use mainly to anyone wishing to consider
the important question of South Africa’s international position.
Spence, J E, Republic under Pressure: a Study of South African F oreign Policy,
London: OUP, 1965
Thomas, Scott, The Diplomacy of Liberation: the Foreign Relations of the ANC
since 1960, London: Tauris, 1995
3.5
‘Readers’ and collections
(Some constituents of these books have been mentioned individually above.)
Beinart, W and Dubow, S (eds), Segregation and Apartheid in Twentieth-Century
South Africa, London: Routledge, 1995
An important but at times difficult collection of eleven articles or extracts
published in the Routledge series ‘Rewriting Histories’. The intro ductory
chapter, ‘The Historiography of Segregation and Apartheid’, repays careful
study and introduces the student to the main elements in the race -classethnicity debate. Each extract/article is prefaced with a short introduction,
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setting the extract in its historiographical context. Among the contents are
extracts from works by key radical/revisionist historians Martin Legassick and
Harold Wolpe, as well as articles by Beinart and Bozzoli that challenge some of
the assumptions on which the radical revisionists based their arguments.
Bozzoli, Belinda (ed.), Town and Countryside in the Transvaal, Johannesburg:
Ravan Press, 1983
The second in a series of Witwatersrand History Workshop publications, this
volume has most to offer Advanced Higher students. Belinda Bozzoli is closely
associated with the increased interest shown in history ‘from below’ in the 1970s
and 1980s and all of the papers reproduced here reflect that interest. The
collection includes two papers by Tom Lodge, one on the destruction of
Sophiatown and one on the parents’ school boycott, when the Bantu Education
Act was implemented; elsewhere, Dunbar Moodie writes on mine culture and
miners’ identity, and Eddie Koch analyses slumyard culture in Johannesburg,
1918–40.
Crush, Jonathan; Jeeves, Alan and Yudelman, David (eds), South Africa’s
Labour Empire. A History of Black Migrancy to the Gold Mines, Cambridge:
CUP, 1995
Liebenberg, B J and Spies, S B (eds), South Africa in the Twentieth Century,
Pretoria: Schaik, 1993
Although it has been difficult to obtain a copy, Dr Venter cites this as an
important collection in his article for the SATH Review of 2001.
Marks, Shula and Rathbone, Richard, (eds), Industrialisation and Social Change
in South Africa. Essays on African Class Formatio n, Culture and Consciousness,
1870–1930, Harlow: Longman, 1982
Marks, Shula and Trapido, Stanley (eds), The Politics of Race, Class and
Nationalism in Twentieth Century South Africa , Harlow: Longman, 1987
This is collection of sixteen important essays, s everal of which are referred to
elsewhere in this bibliography. The editors’ introductory chapter sets the various
essays in context.
Morrell, Robert (ed.), White but Poor: Essays on the History of Poor Whites in
Southern Africa 1880–1914, Pretoria: University of South Africa Press, 1992
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IM AG I NA T IV E L I T E R AT U R E
SECTION 4
It is not possible in a bibliography of this kind to attempt any substantial coverage
of South Africa’s impressive array of poetry, novels and plays. But students may
find that literature contemporary with a period they are studying can add to their
understanding.
4.1
Guides
Coetzee, J M, White Writing; on the Culture of Letters in South Africa, New
Haven, CT and London: Yale UP, 1988
This covers Afrikaans as well as English writings.
Gorman, G, The South African Novel since 1950, Boston, MA: Hall, 1978
This bibliography is now very out of date.
White, Landeg and Couzens, Tim, Literature and Society in South Africa ,
London: Longman, 1984
Coverage is given to Bantu, Afrikaans and English literature.
4.2
Some examples
Fugard, Athol, Three Port Elizabeth Plays, London: OUP, 1974
Gordimer, Nadine, A World of Strangers, London: Gollancz, 1958 and Penguin,
1962
– The Late Bourgeois World, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1966 and later eds
– Burger’s Daughter, London: Cape, 1979 (and many others)
Joubert, Elsa, Poppie, London: Hodder, 1980
Mutloatse, Mothobi (ed.), Africa South: Contemporary Writings, London:
Heinemann, 1981
A collection of short stories and other pieces.
Paton, Alan, Cry the Beloved Country, London: Cape, 1948
This novel and the film made from it probably did more to alert the general public in
Britain to what was going on in South Africa than any regular news reports.
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SECTION 5
There are 263,000 web documents on South Africa according to on e search engine.
Many items are encyclopedia type articles on South Africa and for the most part too
short and general to be of much help to Advanced Higher students. On the other
hand, one or two sites contain extremely valuable materials. Given a cons tantly
changing array of websites, it would be counterproductive to attempt a listing of any
length, but one or two examples may illustrate the possibilities revealed by a search
of the internet.
www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history is an archive of historical materials about the
African National Congress and has links to information on other institutions or
organisations that were associated with the ANC such as the SAIC, Federation of
South African Women, etc. A books section provides the complete texts of ce rtain
works, such as Govan Mbeki’s South Africa. The Peasants’ Revolt.
www.truth.org.za is the site for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The
whole report itself is available at:
www.polity.org.za/govdocs/commissions/1998trc/index.htm
www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/history.html leads to some useful materials.
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H I S TO R IO G RA PH Y A ND B IB L IO GR APH Y
SECTION 6
6.1
Historiography
Beinart, W and Dubow, S, ‘The Historiography of Segregation and Apartheid’,
in Beinart and Dubow, 1995, pp. 1–24
See comments in section 3.5, above. This article is, in fact, an important account
of scholarly developments. It is probably more for teachers than students.
Saunders, Christopher, The Making of the South African Past: Major Historians
on Race and Class, Cape Town: Philip, 1988
The biographical details that Saunders provides in this fascinating and very
readable book make it easier to understand the point of view of individual
historians. This is particularly true of the revisionist historians Legassick and
Wolpe whose historical perspective was so much influenced by their own
experiences.
Smith, I, ‘The Revolution in South African Historiography’, History Today, Vol.
38 (1988) pp. 8–10
Although somewhat out of date, this short article still provides a useful
introduction to the main trends in interpreting and explaining South African
history.
Worden, Nigel, The Making of Modern South Africa may be mentioned here
because of its historiographical approach (see Section 1.1)
Worger, William, ‘Southern and Central Africa’, Oxford History of the British
Empire Vol V: Historiography (ed. R W Winks), Oxford: OUP, 1999,
pp. 513–40
This chapter is a useful, up-to-date review of the main issues that have
preoccupied historians. Given the provenance, it is not surprising that it gives
considerable space to the debate about Britain’s imperial motives in Africa.
These are, however, more relevant to the period before 1910. Since the focus is
so much on the nineteenth century, it would possibly disconcert students. This is
more for teachers.
Wright, Harrison, The Burden of the Present, Cape Town: Philip, 1977
Although written when the Liberal-Radical/Revisionist debate was central
to South African history, the concluding chapter is still of significance today.
Wright criticises both the liberals and the radicals for the way in which they
have used the past to fight the battles of the present. He then calls on
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historians to abandon their obsession with oversimplified historical explanations
and recognise the complexities of South Africa’s past. Written in 1977, this
shows a remarkable degree of prescience about the way in which South African
history would develop by the end of the twentieth century.
6.2
Bibliographical guides
Of course, many of the works mentioned in the main part of this listing have
excellent bibliographies. The fullest and most comprehensive are to be found in the
two Cambridge History of Africa volumes mentioned in Sections 3.1 and 3.2. In
both cases, bibliographical essays accompany the lists. Unfortunately these
bibliographies are now rather out of date. The bibliography provided by Worden (see
1.1) is a very useful one covering, as it does, academic works on specialist topics
that are beyond the scope of this present bibliography for schools.
Three other titles are:
Greyling, J J C and Miskin, J, Bibliography on Indians in South Africa , Durban,
1976
McIlwaine, John, Africa: a Guide to Reference Material, London: Zed, 1993
South Africa is covered from Item 1355. This is for specialised searches only.
Musiker, R, South Africa (World Bibliographic Series), Oxford: Clio, 1979
6.3
Some periodical publications
African Affairs (1901–)
Journal of African History (1961–)
Journal of Modern African Studies (1961–)
Journal of Southern African Studies (1974–)
South African Historical Journal
South Africa International
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