Eighteenth Century Cape Society and its Historiography: Culture, Race, and Class

dc.contributor.authorGiliomee, Hermann
dc.date.accessioned2017-09-26T09:37:43Z
dc.date.available2017-09-26T09:37:43Z
dc.date.issued1983
dc.description.abstractThe revisionist literature of the 1970s approached social stratification in South Africa with the insistence that proper 'weighting' of the race and class factors should occur. Arguing that class and not racial consciousness was the key determinant of social structure in pre-industrial South Africa, it concluded that eighteenth century Cape society in certain areas of the colony was characterised by greater fluidity than the caste system of the AmericanSouth or industrialised South Africa. George Fredrickson's comparative analysis of American and South African history rejects the first mentioned approach but agrees with the conclusion. This article argues that Fredrickson erred by characterising Cape society as being largely based on class and a permeable colour line. The extent to which Cape Town or frontier society can be categorised as such was limited,while the agrarian Western Cape, in terms of manumission rates and the incidence of mixed marriages, was one of the most rigid caste societies in the world.The article concludes by observing that only by studying how political and class relationships reinforced each other can the full complexity of eighteenth century Cape society be revealed.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationGiliomee, H. (1983). Eighteenth Century Cape Society and its Historiography: Culture, Race, and Class. <i>Social Dynamics</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25372en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationGiliomee, Hermann "Eighteenth Century Cape Society and its Historiography: Culture, Race, and Class." <i>Social Dynamics</i> (1983) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25372en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationGiliomee, H. (1983). Eighteenth Century Cape Society and its Historiography: Culture, Race, and Class. Social Dynamics, 9(1): 18-29.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0253-3952en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Giliomee, Hermann AB - The revisionist literature of the 1970s approached social stratification in South Africa with the insistence that proper 'weighting' of the race and class factors should occur. Arguing that class and not racial consciousness was the key determinant of social structure in pre-industrial South Africa, it concluded that eighteenth century Cape society in certain areas of the colony was characterised by greater fluidity than the caste system of the AmericanSouth or industrialised South Africa. George Fredrickson's comparative analysis of American and South African history rejects the first mentioned approach but agrees with the conclusion. This article argues that Fredrickson erred by characterising Cape society as being largely based on class and a permeable colour line. The extent to which Cape Town or frontier society can be categorised as such was limited,while the agrarian Western Cape, in terms of manumission rates and the incidence of mixed marriages, was one of the most rigid caste societies in the world.The article concludes by observing that only by studying how political and class relationships reinforced each other can the full complexity of eighteenth century Cape society be revealed. DA - 1983 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town J1 - Social Dynamics LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 1983 SM - 0253-3952 T1 - Eighteenth Century Cape Society and its Historiography: Culture, Race, and Class TI - Eighteenth Century Cape Society and its Historiography: Culture, Race, and Class UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25372 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/25372
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationGiliomee H. Eighteenth Century Cape Society and its Historiography: Culture, Race, and Class. Social Dynamics. 1983; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25372.en_ZA
dc.languageengen_ZA
dc.publisherTaylor & Francisen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Political Studiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.sourceSocial Dynamicsen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rsdy20
dc.titleEighteenth Century Cape Society and its Historiography: Culture, Race, and Classen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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