Elections in the Mid-Nineteenth Century British Empire Naomi Gabrielle Parkinson November 2017 Hughes Hall This dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Elections in the Mid-Nineteenth Century British Empire Naomi Gabrielle Parkinson Abstract This thesis presents a comparative analysis of the operation and significance of elections in the British colonies of Jamaica, New South Wales and the Cape, from 1849- 1860, with a particular focus on the creation and reconstruction of ideas of politically- entitled British subjecthood over this period. Beginning with the first elections under a system of representative government in New South Wales and the Cape, and the early elections of the post-emancipation period in Jamaica, it questions how residents within these sites engaged with elections via the cultures of the canvass, public meetings, open nominations and viva voce polling. Through this study, I show how mid-century elections became critical sites for the articulation of social tensions and long-standing rivalries between competing settler groups within each of these colonies. I argue that the franchise, although highly demonstrative of the Colonial Office and settlers’ attempts to reconcile the respective competing histories of and justifications for colonisation, was often frustrated in practice. Cultures of violence, the manipulation of land-values, double-voting and bribery provided avenues through which laws governing the right to vote were transcended during elections. Through this thesis, I show how both residents and officials used such mechanisms to reshape the function and meaning of the franchise. I also show the lasting implications of such changes, particularly for their impact on nascent attitudes to race. Via a close examination of case studies across the three sites, this history broadens understandings of the mid-century as a period in which locally-elected legislatures increasingly became the prerogative of white ‘settler’ colonies and political rights iii increasingly centred on an individual, defined by his race and gender, as well as his class. Although affirming the importance of the period, it shows the complexities and inconsistencies of attempts to define the boundaries of enfranchisement over this period, and the impact of struggles to achieve it via changes to electoral law and practice. The comparison between New South Wales, the Cape and Jamaica illuminates the manner through which global discourses of reform, including those relating to bribery, privacy and order, would come to be repurposed within each site. It also serves to reinforce the striking role that attitudes to race would come to play in the formation and regulation of electoral practice across the British Empire. In this manner, this thesis aims to advance imperial historiography by highlighting the role of electoral culture as a reflection of and instigating factor in wider reconceptions of political rights across the British colonial world. iv Declaration This dissertation is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. It is not substantially the same as any that I have submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for a degree or diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. I further state that no substantial part of my dissertation has already been submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for any such degree, diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. It does not exceed the prescribed word limit for the relevant Degree Committee. v Acknowledgements This work is indebted to the assistance and dedication of archivists in libraries and repositories across Britain, Jamaica, Australia and South Africa, who offered me much guidance during long research trips. Particular thanks must go to staff at the Western Cape Archives, the National Library of South Africa, and at the State Records Office of New South Wales and the National Archives and National Library of Jamaica, who not only offered detailed advice with their collections, but continued to offer follow up assistance after my departure. Equal thanks to those who offered much needed company at the archives and during these trips. To Lindsey and Yann, my housemates in Cape Town, and Raphael and Leontine in the archives. Also to the members of the Atlantic Athletic Club generally and Tim, in particular, who accompanied me on tours around Cape Town and much of the Western Cape, including helping me visit many of the sites covered in this thesis. Nigel Worden set me up at the University of Cape Town and made me feel very welcome while I was there, as did members of the History Department Seminar and reading group. With thanks also to the Empires reading group at the University of Sydney, and to Kirsten McKenzie for her advice during my stay in Australia. Chris Holdridge, particularly, has offered lively discussion from the first days of this thesis. In Cambridge, I would like to thank the World History community, particularly my fellow graduate students and the members of the World History Workshop. With special thanks to Emma Hunter for her early supervision and continued support of this project, and the MPhil that preceded it. Utmost thanks must go to my supervisor, Alison Bashford, who has offered constant support and critical guidance throughout this project. Finally, to my family, Ben, Judith, Michael and Miriam, who have been by my side throughout. vii Funding for this PhD and its research was generously provided by the Cambridge Trusts, the SMUTS Memorial Fund, the Holland Rose Fund and the Cambridge University History Faculty, for which I am very grateful. viii Contents ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ VII CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................. IX FIGURES AND MAPS ................................................................................................................. XI FIGURES ....................................................................................................................................................... XI MAPS .............................................................................................................................................................. XI TABLES AND GRAPHS ............................................................................................................ XII TABLES ....................................................................................................................................................... XII GRAPHS ...................................................................................................................................................... XII ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................................... XIII INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 1 MID-CENTURY COLONIAL ELECTIONS .......................................................................................... 4 ELECTIONS IN BRITISH AND IMPERIAL HISTORIOGRAPHY ............................................... 8 SOURCES AND METHODS: .................................................................................................................. 18 CHAPTER OUTLINE: .............................................................................................................................. 21 CHAPTER ONE: ESTABLISHING A COLONIAL FRANCHISE .......................................... 25 DEBATING THE FRANCHISE IN POST-EMANCIPATION JAMAICA ................................. 33 THE CAPE CONSTITUTION AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CAPE QUALIFIED FRANCHISE, 1830-1853 ................................................................... 43 THE CAPE’S ‘NON-RACIAL’ FRANCHISE IN IDEOLOGY AND OPERATION ................ 46 NEW SOUTH WALES AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE ‘UNIVERSAL’ FRANCHISE .................................................................................................. 53 ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIANS AND THE ISSUES OF POLITICAL SUBJECTHOOD ....... 59 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................ 63 CHAPTER TWO: IMPERSONATING A VOTER ..................................................................... 66 THE POLITICS OF REGISTRATION ................................................................................................. 68 CHRISTIAN RESPECTABILITY AND THE MISSION STATIONS OF THE CAPE ............................................................................................................................................ 71 GENADENDAL AND THE 1859 ELECTION FOR CALEDON ................................................ 79 GENADENDAL’S VOTERS AND THE MEANING OF THE CAPE QUALIFIED FRANCHISE ...............................................................................................................................................