An African Alternative : Nordic Migration to South Africa, 1815-1914

Bero Kuparinen ' . AN AFRICAN ALTERNATIVE Nordic Migration to South Africa, 1815-1914 During the 19th century migrations, tens of millions of Europeans exchanged their native lands for new homes beyond the oceans. Although the great majority made their way to North America, the other continents received their share, too. One of the least conspicuous groups of migrants consisted of those moving to South Africa, anp ' they are also amongst the least investigated. In this study the migration to South Africa has been examined in terms of the movement from the four Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. A comprehensive portrait is created of the African Alternative: its origins and causes, its historical development, its volume, patterns of geographical recruitment qnd composition. Who were the migrants, where did they come from, and why? Eero Kuparinen An African Alternative Suomen Historiallinen Seura Finska Historiska Samfundet Finnish Historical Society Studia Historica 40 Migration Studies C 10 Siirtolaisuus ins titu u tti Migrationsinstitutet Institute of Migration Eero Kuparinen An African Alternative: Nordic Migration to South Africa, 1815-1914 Finnish Historial Society / Helsinki 1991 Institute of Migration / Turku 1991 Cover design by Rauno Enden Painting: A. E. White after J. W. George, Prospecting Kimberley (c. 1870) The Finnish Historical Society and The Institute of Migration have published this study with the permission, granted on 21 November 1990, of Turku University, Faculty of Arts. Finnish Historical Society Institute of Migration Arkadiankatu 16 B 28 Piispankatu 3 SF-00100 Helsinki SF-20500 Turku ISSN 0081-6493 ISSN 0356-780X ISBN 951-8915-45-8 ISBN 951-9266-41-0 Printed by: Gummerus Kirjapaino Oy Jyvaskyla 1991 Acknowledgements The beginnings of this study reach back into the early 1970s, for it was in the spring of 1973 that Dr Vilho Niitemaa, at that time Professor of General History at the University of Turku, took me on as a member of his research project on Finnish overseas migration. The 'fief' I was given was Africa, the project's last still unexplored continent. For a young student, to be assigned a continent of my own represented a convincing gesture of confidence. Under Professor Niitemaa's guidance I took my first steps in migration research, and have always been very proud to have been one of his pupils and am grateful for his encouragement. Professor Niitemaa's successor, the late Professor Matti Lauerma, is no longer with us to receive my thanks; but his contribution in promoting my research, which had now been extended to cover all of the Nordic countries, is a memory which I cherish. Professor Lauerma always had time for a young research worker's problems, and he was also personally interested in South Africa, the focus of my research. The supervisor of my doctoral dissertation has been their present successor as Professor of General History at Turku, Dr Kalervo Hovi, under whose direction my work has reached its present final form. His advice, guidance and his help in ensuring the financial resources needed for this research have been of invaluable importance. Professor Hovi also acted as one of the two official Referees appointed by the Faculty of Humanities to examine my dissertation. For all his support, Professor Hovi deserves my warmest thanks. My second Referee has been Dr Keijo Virtanen, Professor of Cultural History at the University of Turku, who has significantly contributed to the structure of my research. I am very grateful for the interest he has shown in my research, and for the opportunities 5 I have had to draw upon his extensive expertise. In carrying out this research in Turku, I have been fortunate in having been able to benefit from the help of the most important scholars in the field of Finnish migration history. In addition to Professor Virtanen, my thanks are due in this respect to Dr Reino Kero, Associate Professor of General History, who has read my manuscript and suggested many valuable corrections. I would also like to thank my fellow-members of the postgraduate seminar and all my colleagues at General History at the University of Turku for their support. My gratitude is also due to all those Scandinavian research colleagues who have smoothed my path during investigations in the Nordic archives. For the provision of financial support for my research I am grateful to many sources. Grants for the investigation of archives abroad have been provided by the Alfred Kordelin Foundation, the Emil Aaltonen Foundation, the Finnish Committee of the Letterstedska Fi::ireningen, the Finnish-Swedish Cultural Fund, the Nordic Institute for African Studies, the Turku University Foundation and the University ofTurku. Contributions to the costs of translating and publishing the dissertation have been provided by the Emil Aaltonen Foundation, the Hjalmar Lehtinen Fund, the Institute of Migration, the Turku Finnish University Association, the Turku University Foundation, and in particular by the Finnish Historical Society, which, together with the Institute of Migration, has accepted this text for publication within their respective series. The dissertation has been translated into English by Dr Keith Battarbee, to whom I am grateful not only for a translation reflecting extensive knowledge of migration research, but also for many discussions. It has been of great assistance to me in studying the British world to have had access to the advice of a native British scholar. In producing the diagrams and maps for this investigation I have received valuable help from Mr Totti Tuhkanen, MA. My special thanks are also due to the Executive Director of the Finnish Historical Society, Mr Rauno Enden, MA, for his professional skill in handling the publication of the text. Co-operation with him has proceeded exceptionally smoothly. Another debt of gratitude, however, is due on the home front. I am very thankful to my mother, Mrs Senja Kuparinen, for having encouraged her son into the paths of scholarship, and to my wife, 6 Aino-Maija, for her support and patience. Living for years amidst thousands of filing cards on migration cannot have always been very congenial. My apologies also belong to my son Tero, whose play has been disturbed by my research. I trust, however, that he will agree that even if his father cannot, like a magician, produce a rabbit out of his doctoral hat, it may nevertheless have been worth the effort. Vanhalinna, 11 March 1991 Eero Kuparinen 7 Contents 1. Introduction........................................................................... 13 1.1. The Context of the Investigation................................... 13 1.2. The Research Design ..................................................... 16 1.3. Sources........................................................................... 22 1.4. The Applicability of Migration Statistics to the Investigation of the Migration to South Africa ............ 27 2. Migration to South Africa from the Beginning of British Rule to the First World War (1815-1914) ........................... 31 2.1. The Assisted Immigration Era...................................... 31 2.2. Spontaneous Migration to South Africa....................... 41 2.3. Migration and the Creation of a Nation........................ 50 2.4. From British Settlement to International Migration: the Composition of the Migration to South Africa by Nationality of Origin ....................... ......................... 58 3. The Nordic Response to South Africa in the 19th Century: Growing Interest in a Land of Growing Opportunities......................................................................... 71 3.1. The Origins of Nordic Knowledge about South Africa............................................................................. 71 3 .1.1. The Role of Literature and the Press in Propagating Information about South Africa .. .. 71 3.1.1.1. Travellers' Journals and Missionary Literature .......................... 71 3.1.1.2. Handbooks and Travellers' Guides..... 75 3.1.1.3. The Press.............................................. 78 3.1.2. From Etappe Contacts to Freight Trade: Nordic Marine Contacts with South Africa during the 19th Century .................................... 87 3.2. Nordic Settlement in South Africa prior to the Rise of the Mining Industry (to 1885) ................................... 97 9 3.2.1. The First Half-Century of British Rule: The Swedish Era................................................ 97 3.2.1.1. Jacob Letterstedt................................... 97 3.2.1.2. The Possible Recruitment of Swedish Immigrants to South Africa ................. 100 3.2.1.3. 0. W. A. Forssman's Transvaal Expedition ............................................ 102 3.2.2. Scandinavians and Assisted Passages in the 1870s: the Danish Invasion ................................ 104 3.2.3. Norwegian Settlers in Natal: from Missionaries into Settlers .......................... 109 3.2.3.1. Early Stages of Norwegian Immigration .......................................... 109 3.2.3.2. The Marburg Scheme ........................... 112 3.2.4. Nordic Late Arrivals: Finnish Migration to South Africa .................... 118 3.2.5. Regional Structure of Nordic Emigration to South Africa, 1815-1885 .................................. 124 4. Nordic Migration to South Africa from the Rise of the Transvaal Gold Mining Industry to the First World War (1886-1914) ...................... ................................... ................. 133 4.1. The Availability

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