 Popular Community in 18th-Century Southern Africa: Family, Fellowship, Alternative Networks, and Mutual Aid at the Cape of Good Hope, 1652–1795Nicole Ulrich Journal of Southern African Studies, 2014, vol. 40, issue 6, 1139-1157 Abstract: This paper examines the character of popular community in the Cape of Good Hope, located at the southern tip of Africa, from 1652 to 1795. The Cape's popular classes consisted of slaves, indigenous Khoesan labourers, and sailors and soldiers. Traditionally, scholars have portrayed the various sections of the popular classes as socially and politically atomised. I contest this view, and attempt to make sense of the numerous instances of popular social and political connection and co-operation in archival records – including government records, especially criminal records, private letters and diaries, and travellers' accounts – that have been obscured or dismissed by historians. I show that through family, fellowship, the construction of alternative social networks and communities, and practices of mutual aid and solidarity, the popular classes in the Cape established a broad, class-based sense of belonging, or common community. Date: 2014 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:cjssxx:v:40:y:2014:i:6:p:1139-1157 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from DOI: 10.1080/03057070.2014.967962 Access Statistics for this article Journal of Southern African Studies is currently edited by Ralph Smith More articles in Journal of Southern African Studies from Taylor & Francis Journals |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.