Eighteenth century cape society and its historiography
Culture, race, and class
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3625784 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Hermann Giliomee (University of Cape Town, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1983 |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 18-29 |
| Publication date | 1983-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Dynamics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0253-3952 • E-ISSN: 1940-7874 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02533958308458331 |
| OpenAlex | W2163291932 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 18 |
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 American South 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
Agrarian society · Archaeology · Cape · Caste · Class analysis · Class consciousness · Ethnology · Frontier · Geography · Historiography · Political science · Politics · Social class · Social science · Social stratification · Sociology · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Gender Studies · Historical Economic and Social Studies · History · Law · South African History and Culture
White supremacy
The Frontier in History
Racism and Colonialism
Economy and society in pre-industrial South Africa
Neither Black nor White
“Most Painful to Our Hearts”
Race Attitudes in South Africa
The 'White' population of South Africa in the eighteenth century
The Journal of Interdisciplinary History
The `White' Population of South Africa in the Eighteenth Century
On the shaping of South African society
Sex Composition and Correlated Culture Patterns of Colonial America
A Comparative History of White Supremacy
The Problem of Slavery in Western Culture
Race in the social structure of South Africa, 1652-1836
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,25 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2022 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |