Sosiale Darwinisme as katalisator vir ontluikende nasionalistiese sentimente onder Afrikaners ná die Anglo-Boereoorlog: ʼn Histories-analitiese beskouing van die jare 1902 tot 1914

Abstract

Some scientific discoveries in the 18th and 19th centuries brought about significant changes in European thought and debates. Most notably was the development of evolutionary theories that overturned the entire origin and understanding of mankind. The impact of these findings was profound, leading to active evolutionary discourses, from church squares to parliamentary corridors. This thesis investigates the way in which European evolutionary theories and their various applications obtained a foothold (economic, social and political) in South Africa. Darwinism was controversial and not openly accepted by everyone. However, there were more than enough supporters of the theory to consider it one of the most influential theories in the 19th and 20th centuries. Social Darwinism and imperialism later began to develop a symbiotic relationship with the integration of concepts such as survival of the fittest and natural selection. British imperialism became significantly more militaristic and aggressive after 1870. It was classified as New Imperialism, that especially regarded notions such as "survival of the fittest" as justification for British colonisation and expansion. It was this form of British imperialism that surfaced in the late 19th to early 20th century during and after the Anglo-Boer War. In the thesis the historiographical analysis of the presence of this form of imperialism in South Africa during and after the war will be emphasised. The conflict became known among Afrikaner groups as an overarching theme in nationalist discourses. The lived experiences among Afrikaners under British dominance and "superior" mentality fuelled a resistance movement among the Afrikaners, which was focused on the inculcation of self-respect for language and culture. The need for establishing cultural movements and education systems that were not under imperial influence was emphasised. Upliftment and a dawning nationalist identity under a new political system, i.e., the political change to the Union of South Africa, was one of the ways in which Afrikaners were able to escape the social Darwinistic discourse of 1902 to 1914. The thesis thus investigates the (hidden) catalytic influence that social Darwinist approaches by British imperial rule had on the development of Afrikaner nationalist sentiments.