Enfranchised Africans and Disfranchising Legislations: an Analysis of the Educated Landowners of Queenstown As an African Middle Class, C.1872-1909
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Enfranchised Africans and disfranchising legislations: An analysis of the educated landowners of Queenstown as an African middle class, c.1872-1909. by Beaurel Visser Thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch University Supervisor: Prof. Johan Fourie Co-supervisor: Dr Anton Ehlers March 2021 Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Declaration By submitting this thesis electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own, original work, that I am the sole author thereof (save to the extent explicitly otherwise stated), that reproduction and publication thereof by Stellenbosch University will not infringe any third party rights and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification. March 2021 Copyright © 2021 University of Stellenbosch All rights reserved Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Summary The right to vote in public political elections for parliamentary representatives in the Cape Colony was determined by various legislations reflected through the Cape franchise. For 34 years, Africans had the right to vote for parliamentary representatives in the Cape Colony under the Constitution Ordinance of 1853 with no barriers of racial discrimination. Under Responsible Government (1872-1909), franchise requirement became more stringent with the aim of excluding Africans from being able to vote given that they had started to register more frequently. The battle of an emerging African middle class against economic and political forces is explored through the analysis of the implementation of stringent disfranchising legislations implemented in 1887, 1892 and 1894. Newspapers are used alongside a range of government publications to illustrate how the effects of disfranchisement legislations in the Cape Colony were complex and more nuanced than has been explored in existing historiography. The study illustrates some of the effects disfranchisement legislations had on the enfranchised African middle class and uses the Queenstown electoral division as a lens through which it brings this into focus. The primary tools that were used to achieve disenfranchisement were land and education which are themes used throughout the study to demonstrate persistent voter registration of the African middle class despite the implementation of disfranchisement legislations. The study moves away from the emphasis of African political participation as a primary contributor to maintaining certain politicians in parliament but rather illuminates the agency of Africans who desired to participate in Cape politics through the franchise. What this study aims to contribute to historiography is a perspective on the views and experiences of Africans towards disfranchisement as expressed in a selection of newspapers. These African perspectives are complemented by a statistical analysis of the voters' rolls which more precisely determines the size of affected African voters and adds to an understanding of the extent to which Africans participated beyond 1887 with a focus on the Queenstown electoral division. Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Opsomming1 Verskeie wette, soos weerspieël in die Kaapse kiesreg, het die reg bepaal om in die Kaapkolonie in openbare politieke verkiesings vir parlementêre verteenwoordigers te stem. Ingevolge die Grondwetlike Verordening van 1853 het swart mense 34 jaar lank stemreg gehad sonder die beletsel van rassediskriminasie. Onder die stelsel van verantwoordelike regering (1872-1909) het stemregvereistes egter strenger geword. Dit het ten doel gehad om swart mense uit te sluit van stemreg aangesien hulle al hoe meer as kiesers begin registreer het. Hierdie tesis ondersoek ʼn opkomende swart middelklas se stryd teen ekonomiese en politieke magte. Die ondersoek word gedoen deur die wetgewing van 1887, 1892 en 1894 vir die ontkiesering van swart mense te analiseer. Koerante en ʼn reeks regeringspublikasies word gebruik om te wys dat die gevolge van die wetgewing in die Kaapkolonie om swart mense van stemreg te ontneem komplekser en meer genuanseerd was as wat tot dusver in die historiografie ondersoek is. Die studie illustreer ʼn paar van die gevolge wat die wetgewing op ontkiesering op die stemgeregtigde swart middelklas gehad het en wel deur die Queenstown-kiesafdeling as lens te gebruik. Die primêre instrumente wat gebruik is om stemreg te ontneem was grond en onderrig. Laasgenoemde is regdeur die studie as temas gebruik om die volgehoue registrasie van kiesers uit die swart middelklas, ondanks die implementering van wetgewing op die ontneming van stemreg, aan te toon. Die studie beweeg weg van die klem op swart politieke deelname as ʼn primêre bydraer om sekere politici in die parlement te hou en belig eerder die agentskap van swart mense wat graag deur hul stemreg aan die Kaapse politiek wou deelneem. Hierdie studie poog om ʼn perspektief op swart mense se sienings en ondervindings van ontkiesering, soos uitgebeeld in geselekteerde koerante, tot die historiografie by te dra. Hierdie perspektiewe word aangevul deur ʼn statistiese analise van die kieserslys wat die aantal swart kiesers wat beïnvloed is, meer presies bepaal en wat bydra tot ʼn begrip van die omvang van swart mense se politieke deelname na 1887 met ʼn fokus op die Queenstown-kiesersafdeling. 1 Kindly translated by Carine Janse van Rensburg. Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Acknowledgments I am grateful to all those whom I had the pleasure of working with throughout this project. I have learnt many personal and professional lessons throughout the time that I worked on the research project, which will forever remain with me. I had been fortunate to have had the financial support of the Biography of an Uncharted People project for this study, which I am grateful for. Thank you to my supervisors, Prof Johan Fourie and Dr Anton Ehlers for seeing this to the very end. Thank you to Pepler Head and Laureen Rushby for your consistent kindness and support in obtaining sources. My gratitude also goes to Prof Leonhard Praeg for editing and proofreading my work. Thanks to my friends and family for your support and for constantly having listened to me rambling about my research. Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 1 OVERVIEW 1 TERMINOLOGY 3 HISTORICAL CONTEXT 4 LITERATURE REVIEW 8 METHODOLOGY 17 CHAPTER 1 23 QUEENSTOWN 1852 - 1880 23 INTRODUCTION 23 LOCATING QUEENSTOWN 24 AFRICANS’ RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LAND AND THEIR AGRICULTURAL POSITION IN QUEENSTOWN 31 ADMINISTRATION STRUCTURE IN QUEENSTOWN 34 DROUGHT AND CONFLICT AS BARRIERS TO PROGRESSION 37 CONCLUSION 49 CHAPTER 2 51 AFRICAN FRANCHISE PARTICIPATION: IMPLEMENTATION OF, AND REACTIONS TO, THE PARLIAMENTARY REGISTRATION ACT OF 1887 51 INTRODUCTION 51 THE OCCUPATION OF LAND BY AFRICANS IN THE CAPE COLONY 52 AFRICAN POLITICAL PARTICIPATION THROUGH THE VOTE 57 CONTESTING THE PARLIAMENTARY REGISTRATION ACT OF 1887 65 AFRICAN FRANCHISE PARTICIPATION AND THE IMPACT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY REGISTRATION ACT OF 1887 71 FURTHER EFFORTS TOWARDS THE DISFRANCHISEMENT OF AFRICANS AFTER THE 1888 ELECTIONS 75 CONCLUSION 85 CHAPTER 3 87 EDUCATION, OCCUPATION, AND THE FRANCHISE AND BALLOT ACT OF 1892 87 INTRODUCTION 87 THE FRANCHISE AND BALLOT ACT 88 AFRICANS’ EDUCATION IN THE CAPE COLONY 95 EDUCATION AS A TOOL FOR PARTICIPATING IN THE FRANCHISE 102 AFRICAN PARTICIPATION THROUGH OCCUPATION 106 Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za CONTINUED AFRICAN PARTICIPATION 114 CONCLUSION 125 CHAPTER 4 126 GLEN GREY AND THE GLEN GREY ACT OF 1894 126 INTRODUCTION 126 THE GLEN GREY QUESTION AND ATTEMPTS TO ADDRESS LAND DISPUTES 127 LAND REMOVALS AND THE GLEN GREY QUESTION 130 PROPOSED SOLUTIONS TO THE GLEN GREY QUESTION 138 PRESENTING THE GLEN GREY ACT 144 CONTESTING THE GLEN GREY ACT 149 CONCLUSION 156 CONCLUSION 158 SOURCES 165 Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za List of illustrations: Maps Map 1: 1850s Map of Queenstown 25 Map 2: 1875 Map of the Cape Colony with relative proportions of race expressed as percentages in the various divisions 28 Map 3: 1875 Map of the Cape Colony with relative proportions of African population expressed as percentages in the various divisions 29 Images Image 1: Example of claimants on farm no.8, Hukuwa 42 Image 2: Example of claimants on farm no.1 of Kei and Bulhoek 43 Tables Table 1: Increase of voter registration according to Western, Eastern and Frontier Circle 30 Table 2: Agricultural technology in Kamastone & Oxkraal, 1876 36 Table 3: Livestock in Kamastone and Oxkraal, 1876 37 Table 4: Surveyed demarcations in Kamastone and Oxkraal 40 Table 5: African participation in frontier districts 61 Table 6: Number of schools according to ‘order’ categories, 1860-1900 100 Table 7: Franchise qualification requirements 1853-1892 108 Table 8: African participation according to 10 selected occupations 1887-1909 110 Table 9: Franchise qualification requirements 1853-1909 155 Figures Figure 1: Africans who purchased and leased land on the basis of individual tenure in the Ciskei 55 Figure 2: The number of Acres that were being purchased and leased by Africans on the basis of individual tenure in the Ciskei 56 Figure 3: Overall voter registration in Queenstown, 1872-1909 73 Figure 4: Voter registration in Queenstown 1872-1909 according to race 74 Figure 5: African participation in Queenstown according to profession qualification, farmer/agriculturalist