Browsing by Subject "O’okiep"

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    The men who would not march: the surrender of Concordia Namaqualand April 1902
    (2011) Von Zeil, A G; Thomas, David G
    Those texts which have paid any attention to the surrender of the copper mining centre of Concordia in Namaqualand to General Smuts in April 1902, invariably blame this 'disgrace' on the cowardice of the elderly commandant, Captain F. Phillips, manager of the Concordia mine. Using documents retrieved from the South African National Archives, the authors argue that in fact the main reason for the surrender was a mutiny by the 100-odd coloured members of the Town Guard, who defied an order to abandon Concordia and march to O'okiep, since that would have meant leaving their families at the mercy of the Boers. However, the Town Guard had little chance of holding Concordia and when Smuts offered to spare it from destruction in exchange for its surrender, Phillips accepted. It is argued that this decision was commonsensical rather than cowardly. In advancing an alternative narrative to that of 'cowardly capitulation', the article also emphasises the unique nature of the Concordia mutiny as an act of resistance to what today would be considered white racism.