Segregation and plague: King William's Town and the plague outbreaks of 1900 - 1907.

Abstract

• Opsomming: Studies oor die geskiedenis van builepes in Kaapstad en Port Elizabeth het 'n noue verband aangetoon tussen 'n Victoriaanse obsessie met sanitasie en die ontwikkeling van stedelike segregasie in Suid-Afrika. Die reaksie van mediese beamptes en plaaslike owerhede in die stede is weerspieël in King William's Town waar rassevooroordeel hand aan hand gegaan het met die stadsraad se onvermoë en huiwering om uitgawes aan te gaan.• Summary: Studies in the history of bubonic plague in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth revealed the close connection between the Victorian obsession with sanitation and the development of urban segregation in South Africa. The response of the medical officials and local authorities in the cities was mirrored in King William's Town, where racial prejudges were compounded by the Town Council's incompetence and reluctance to incur any expenditure from its own coffers.