Seeds of racial strife sown

TOWARDS the end of the first decade of the 20th century, the seeds of racial strife that would plague South Africa until 1994 were sowed at a National Convention by 30 white politicians who had been tasked with discussing the future of the southern African region.

The mission of the delegates was unity between Boer and Briton and between the Cape Province, the Transvaal (the former Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek), the Orange River Colony and Natal.

And it was achieved – by giving not an iota at national level to their black compatriots.

By contrast, the aspirations of the region’s African population, many of whom had fought on the side of the British in the South African Anglo-Boer War, and who had believed so passionately that their reward for their loyalty to the Crown would be meaningful political rights, were crushed.

But the process, and the direction the talks had quickly taken, was widely welcomed by whites.

The outcome – a type of “unity on our terms” – proved to be a triumph for the former Boer republics, who less than a decade earlier had been forced to sue for peace in terms of the Treaty of Vereeniging. ‘Cape Times’ will be found in the series of messages to the People of South Africa, which in response to our request, the Delegates to the National Convention have commissioned through the medium of this edition. The messages are produced in facsimile, and all breathe the spirit of hope and confidence in the future. If the sound advice and practical wisdom to which they give expression direct the future counsels of the young nation, there need be no doubt that, under the guidance of Providence, the Union of South Africa is destined to be happy and prosperous.”

In the same edition, the economics of the Union of South Africa was spelled out.

“From today’s date, in terms of