A New Thesis of Labor-Hungry Imperialism? the Scramble
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Christopher M. Paulin. White Men's Dreams, Black Men's Blood: African Labor and British Expansionism in Southern Africa, 1877-1895. Trenton: Africa World Press, 2001. viii + 258 pp. $84.95, cloth, ISBN 978-0-86543-928-3. Reviewed by Tsuneo Yoshikuni Published on H-SAfrica (January, 2004) A New Thesis of Labor-Hungry Imperialism? and problematic even within that school. Its fun‐ The Scramble for Southern Africa damental argument is that the need for cheap This is a study of British imperialism in late- African labor played a decisive role in generating nineteenth-century southern Africa. The book dis‐ and patterning British expansionist policies in the cusses the tangled course of events leading to the region--a much more decisive role than earlier expansion of the British empire into the southern writers, be they revisionists or not, have suggest‐ African interior in the wake of the discoveries of ed. diamonds and gold in South Africa--from the According to Paulin, the African labor ques‐ British annexation of the South African Republic tion was not merely an issue that spasmodically in 1877 to the failed Jameson Raid of 1895. intruded upon the early phases of South African The book's title tells us something about its history (as so treated in Etherington's study on the theoretical concerns. The author, Christopher M. British annexation of the Transvaal).[1] Nor did it Paulin, aims at studying the connection between start to assume significance only in the industrial‐ "White Men's Dreams" and "Black Men's Blood," ized twentieth century, when the African wage la‐ or, more precisely, "the birth of the mineral indus‐ bor system came to operate in full force (as tries in southern Africa and the conquest of virtu‐ Shillington suggests in his discussion on the ally every independent African polity in the British acquisition of southern Bechuanaland in African sub-continent," to quote the cover page. 1885).[2] Instead, labor was a perennial issue for Such an interest in the nexus of "economic histo‐ British circles from the early days. Particularly af‐ ry" and political-imperial history, together with an ter the discoveries of minerals, the pre-colonial Africanist thrust, would place the study in the indigenous communities were increasingly seen (perhaps now defunct) revisionist or radical as something to be tapped as a source of labor, school of historiography of South Africa. But its and the notion came to be so frmly fxed in the contention is, one hastens to add, highly unique imperial-colonial mind that it colored and influ‐ H-Net Reviews enced the events that punctuated the late-nine‐ tics, and strategy. Paulin, on the other hand, teenth-century expansion of the British empire-- draws a conclusion of a very different nature by conquest wars, the restriction of chiefly power, using the same type of materials, with this "twist" land alienation, confining the Africans to small re‐ being yet another intriguing aspect of his book. serves, the imposition of taxes, etc. Underlining White Men's Dreams, Black Men's Blood com‐ the labor issue as a motive factor in the establish‐ prises six chapters, bracketed by a short introduc‐ ment of British hegemony and racialist order in tion and conclusion. The frst two chapters look at the region, the author holds, in agreement with an aggressive phase of British policy following the Tim Keegan [3], that the twentieth-century ideolo‐ discovery of diamonds: chapter 1 primarily con‐ gy of racial supremacy known as apartheid is by cerns the annexation of the Transvaal, which is no means exclusively an Afrikaaner/Nationalist explained as a British reaction to, above all, a la‐ phenomenon, since its roots went as far back as bor crisis caused by the Transvaal legislation and the formative era of the British empire in the sub‐ practices. Chapter 2 discusses the "small wars" continent (pp. 8-9). against African states (the Xhosa, Pedi, Tswana, In specifying the motivating force(s) for Zulu, and Sotho) in 1877-81, arguing that a cardi‐ British imperialism, scholars have often been po‐ nal theme running through these wars was the larized into two camps, those focusing on the desire to remove that which was thought to be in‐ metropole (strategic concerns, etc.), and those on hibiting Africans from entering the labor market. the periphery (colonial interests, etc.).[4] From the Chapter 3 addresses itself to the readjustment "labor perspective," however, Paulin sees less of a phase of 1881-83, which saw the reassertion of in‐ dichotomy: "London either directly initiated or ac‐ dependence by the Transvaal, raids by Boer "free‐ ceded to the conquest of the southern African booters" against African communities, the estab‐ lands," then proposed or agreed to the policy of lishment of Stellaland and Goshen, etc., all posing prodding Africans into the labor market (p. 8). in one way or another a threat to labor supplies to Here, the author's position may be seen as echo‐ the Kimberley mines. The revival of British ex‐ ing a growing body of recent scholarship which pansionism after 1884 is the subject of the re‐ treats colonial processes as a key factor, yet with‐ maining three chapters. Chapter 4 focuses on the out de-emphasizing their interactions with the London Convention, the Warren expedition, and metropole (although Paulin's thesis apparently the annexation and division of Bechuanaland in has little in common with the recent culturalist 1884-85, a process which is explained as being es‐ discourse). sentially a British attempt to secure and stabilize How does the book cast the evidential net? As labor supplies from the interior region. Chapter 5 primary sources, it appears to be based for the turns to the "land settlement" in the newly-estab‐ most part on correspondence, reports, memoran‐ lished British Bechuanaland which, it is said, gave da, and other official/private documents deposited Africans only limited lands in order to create a at the Public Records Office in the United King‐ surplus population. Chapter 6 looks at the forma‐ dom--indeed, the book's minute accounts of intra- tion and early activities of the British South Africa official communications, as well as discussions be‐ Company, which the author describes as "the new tween "men concerned," make most interesting engine of British expansion and conquest of reading. For obvious reasons, the sort of materials cheap potential labor" in the north (pp. 11-12). the book uses has typically provided ready evi‐ The main, and perhaps the most informative, dence for the "diplomatist" interpretation of impe‐ part of Paulin's work seems to be chapters 4 and rialism, which revolves around personalities, poli‐ 5, which concern Bechuanaland. Here are some of 2 H-Net Reviews the points of interest. First, the revival of British logic behind this proposal, Edward Fairfield, a dis‐ aggressiveness after 1884 has commonly been ex‐ senting official of the Colonial Office, commented: plained in reference to the German factor (the "If Sir S. Shippard's [administrator and chief possibility of a German-Transvaal alliance, etc.). magistrate for British Bechuanaland, and chair‐ [5] However, such a change in British attitude was man of the land commission] views are secured noticeable by early February 1884, when Lord about artificially restricting the supply of land for Derby, the Colonial Secretary, hardened his stance native reserves, in order to create a wage-earning towards Kruger and decided to dispatch a resi‐ class, they would apply equally as well in Zulu‐ dent commissioner to the disputed area in land as in Bechuanaland. Labourers are wanted Bechuanaland. At the time, Whitehall was still fg‐ for the Natal sugar estates and for the Barberton uring out Bismarck's agenda in southwestern Gold Fields, just as much as Rhodes' Mines at Kim‐ Africa; thus the German threat cannot be consid‐ berley.... Sir Hercules Robinson is as strong as Sir ered to have materially influenced the issue at S. Shippard in his opinions that the Restriction this stage (pp. 120-123). policy of the Land Commission should be up held, Second, the British policy was in fact very and shares Sir S. Shippard's phrase about this be‐ much based on the advice of Hercules Robinson, ing in the 'best interest' of the Natives" (p. 160). the High Commissioner, who informed London The ideas of Shippard and Robinson were not that the road to the north, which served as a pas‐ isolated: the new colonial secretary, Lord sage for migrant workers, "had equal value for Knutsford indicated to Fairfield that "Shippard's the Cape and London alike" (p. 114), and that the scheme implied no new digression in imperial British could not afford to lose the labor-supply‐ policy," and "indeed, encouraging Africans to be‐ ing Khama's country and the apparently gold-rich come wage laborers had been British practice in Matabeleland to the Transvaal. The London Con‐ southern Africa for some time" (p. 161). At any vention of February 1884, then, can be seen as the rate, the Imperial government accepted Ship‐ exchange of suzerainty (giving back indepen‐ pard's land settlement in its entirety in 1886. All dence to the Transvaal) for labor (securing the in‐ this weakens the validity of Shillington's account terior road) (p. 118). This view makes a sharp con‐ which points to the ambiguities of the "official trast with Schreuder's "strategist" interpretation, mind" at the time.[7] namely, that London, caring little for the Tswana Paulin repeatedly warns readers of the com‐ and even less for the frontiers, only wanted to plexities of the topic and reminds them that his control the Transvaal's foreign relations.[6] Ac‐ thesis is by no means a mono-causal one, but at cording to Paulin, further British involvement, times I cannot help thinking that he himself be‐ such as the Warren expedition, the annexation of trays these words.