die plaaslike geskiedenis. Kaapstad vera! het 'n Irk verlede wat vir die doel
 ontgin kan word. Dit bevestig hierdie sesde nommer van die reeks dan ook.
 l.I. HATTINGH
 Universiteit van wes-Kaapiand
 covered, usually in a variety of disciplines. No attempt is therefore made
 to impose any logical thematic unity on the papers chosen for publication.
 This book is no exception, ranging in topic from the impact of the environ-
 ment on pre-historic setdement patterns (N. Lancaster), through town plan-
 ning and housing policy in Cape Town between the world wars (1. Ie
 Grange), to contemporary English language poetry in South Africa O.
 Cronin).
 There are two papers on Namibian history. Brigitte Lau discusses the
 early German impact during the 19th century, and the resistarice offered
 them by indigenous people. Keith Gottschalk takes up the theme with
 his spirited re-examination of the famous Bondelswarts Rebellion of 1922,
 when it small Nam~ group invited colossal state repression when they refused
 to pay dog tax. He describes the process of land alienation from these pas-
 toral people and analyses the nature of the colonial state. He concludes
 that the 'rebellion' was a result of the determination of the authorities to
 exert their power over a people who resisted the drive of local whites for
 labourers.
 In an inter-disciplinary paper, Glen Mills criticises the tendency to read
 assumptions about ethniciry into vernacular building sryles. Lucien Ie Grange
 examines the way British urban renewal ideas were used in Cape Town to
 build an increasingly segregated ciry in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Jack
 Lewis examines the early development of migrant labour from the Ciskei,
 arguing that the growing ~liance on migrancy had as much to do with
 contradictions within African households and chiefdoms as with external
 forces. Ian Glenn takes us into the realm of English literature by examining
 the way in which the Immoraliry Act has been portrayed in English fiction;
 and Jeremy Cronin investigates black English-language poetry in the 1970s.
 Finally, educationalist Alan Morris seeks to fe-insert a sense of the importance
 of social-class background in any understanding of the success or failure
 of black and white schoolchildren respectively. -
 Although lacking unity, this volume demonstrates the vitality of research
 being undertaken in a variety of disciplines in Cape Town.
 17M KEEGAN
 University of the western Cape
 K. SCHOEMAN (ed.). The early days of the
 Orange Free State: Charles warden; W:D.
 Savage; Martha]ane Kirk.. Hu~an & Rousseau:
 Cape Town and Pretoria, 1989. 111 pp. R29,95
 (exclusive). llIus.
 ISBN 0 798123273.
 This collection of reminiscences from the
 pioneering days in the history of the Orange
 Free State is the tenth publication in the series
 Vrijstatza under the auspices of the prolific Karel
 Schoeman. In publishing memoirs, diaries,
 recollections and sketches of this nature from
 the history of the republican days, Schoeman
 has cenainlyrendered the history of the Orange
 Free State an invaluable service. Not only has forgotten and mislaid docu-
 mentation (e.g. the J.G. Fraser Basotho diary) been uneanhed, but an
 exciting window has been opened into the life and experiences of ordinary
 people (e.g. Sophie I.eviseur and Manha Kirk) during those distant d~ys.
 The early days of the Orange Free State comprises three recollections:
 those of Charles Frederick Warden, William Douglas Savage and Manha
 Jane Kirk. Warden's recollections cover the years 1846 to 1855. He was the
 son of Major H.D. Warden, British resident at Bloemfontein during the
 Orange River Sovereignty years. His reminiscences were first published in
 1899 by the Harrismith News after a talk to the Harrismith Uterary Society. A
 copy of this text is kept in the Mricana section of the library of the University
 of the OFS. Warden's recollections were recorded about 44 years after the
 events he described took place. He was ten years old when he lived through
 the first events depicted in these memoirs. It is therefore obvious that the
 memoirs should be treated with caution, and all the more so since he admit-
 ted to having relied on secondary sources such as those by G.M. Theal.
 The recollections of Savage, soldier, secretary, bookkeeper and town clerk
 of Bloemfontein (1884-1885), deal with the years between 1&53 and 1858.
 His 'Reminiscences of early days' was first published in De Express (1885)
 and in this case almost 30 years have therefore passed before pen was put
 to paper. Savage's memory seems to have left him in the lurch at times
 (e.g. he identifies De la Rey and Quigley as the two men executed after
 the BoomplaatS incident, while it was actUally Thomas Dreyer and Quigley).
 H~~ recollections should therefore also be treated circumspectly.
 The final contribution is made by the memoirs of Kirk, wife of a trader
 and smous, who spent most of their days trading among Basotho and whites
 in Basiltoland and the eastern Free State. Kirk's memoirs are the most com-
 prehensive of the three and cover the years 1848 to 1884. They were recorded
 when she was over 80 years old and consequently contain, like those of
 the others, accountS of a dubious nature (compare, for example, the section
 on Brand and the diamond fields related on p. 85).
 Although none of the memoirs is distinguished as being paniculatly
 notewonhy, they nevenheless contain some interesting anecdotes about
 evetyday life during those times. It is evident that the publication is intended
 rather for general consumption than for the specialist. Sometimes notes
 illuminate imponant events, places and people, while in other instances,
 people and places mentioned in the text are not identified. The editor
 has also decided to edit the original text in an attempt to lure the general
 public into reading histoty without having to wade through 'dreary stuff:
 But this has limited the scientific value of the publication since it is not
 always clear whether one is dealing with the edited or unedited versions.
 S.E MALAN
 University of South Africa
 A.D. SPIEGEL (ed.). Africa seminar: collected
 papers. Volume 5. Centre for African Studies,
 University of Cape Town: Cape Town, 1988.
 168 pp. RI0,OO (exclusive).
 ISBN 0 79921 180 X.
 This, the fifth volume in the Collected papers
 series from the weekly Africa seminar of the
 Centre for African Studies, UCT, is probably
 the last. The cost of production and the fact
 that there are many established academic jour-
 nals available for the publication of quality re-
 search, mean that the 'collected seminar papers'
 genre is no longer commercially viable. In all
 such collections a wide variety of topics is
 T. STRAUSS (comp.) and C. SAUNDERS (ed.).
 Cape Town and the Cape Peninsula post 1806:
 a working bibliography. Centre for African
 Studies, University of Cape Town: Cape Town,
 1989. 141 pp. Price unknown.
 ISBN 0 7992 1194 X.
 The aim of this bibliography is to assist those
 researching aspects of Cape Town life and histo-
 ry since the British occupation of the Cape in
 1806. It includes material, published up to
 1987, in the J.W. Jagger Library of the Universiry
 of Cape Town, the Library of Parliament and
 the South African Library. The criteria for inclu-
 sion were the following: a book, if sub-
 stantial reference was made ~o Cape Town, and a journal article if it related
 directly to Cape Town. Entries are arranged by broad subject listed in the
 table of contents. Items are listed once only, even if they could be placed
 under more than one heading. At the end of sections, cross references to
 other entries are found and at the back of the book there is an author index.
 This bibliography is to a great extent a duplication of existing biblio-
 graphies listed in section 1, as well as the South Afiican bibliography by
 Sidney Mendelssohn, A South Afiican bibliography to the year 1925, Retro-
 spective South Afiican national bibliography and South Afiican national
 bibliography. Although credit is due to the compiler and the editor for
 attempting such a project, one must carefully consider the value of
 publishing a bibliography in 1989. In a small country like South Africa
 there is always the problem of duplication. A time-consuming and expensive
 exercise, not only for the compiler but also for the user, it gives in published
 form that which a search in SABlNET (South African Bibliographic and
 Information NetWork) could provide -a list of monographs on Cape Town
 in all South African libraries linked to the database and not only in the
 three principal Cape Town libraries. The bibliography could have been of
 some value had it included journal articles, since there is at present no
 central database in South Africa which includes all journal articles published
 in and on South Mrica for the period 1806-1986. But again the bibliography
 duplicates material already indexed in the Index to South Afiican penodi-
 cals. It also does not cover all journals available in the three libraries men-
 tioned.
 The organization of the items by broad subject is never a very successful
 one for the user of a bibliography. The compiler chooses the subject most
 obvious to him but one which might not be the subject under which the
 user will search for information. The sources which the user might find
 useful thus remain virtually untraceable. Neither the cross references at
 the end of each section nor the author index compensate for the absence
 CONTREE 27/1990
of a subject index. Not all the authors mentioned in the entries are given
 in the index.
 This bibliography was intended to be a research tool for researchers interes-
 ted in aspects of Cape Town life and history. fur the inexperienced researcher,
 however, this might be a trap if he does not establish that it is an incomplete
 duplication of more extensive existing bibliographies. If historians want
 to contribute to reference material in this field, it is advisable that they
 do it in the areas where the biggest gaps exist. All researchers are faced
 with the absence of indexes to South African newspapers, and journals up
 to 1940 (when the Index to South Afiican penodicals was started). A far
 more valuable contribution would therefore have been an index to news-
 papers published in Cape Town, e.g. Die Burger and The Cape Argus, or
 to journals published before 1940. On a larger scale and to th~ benefit
 of all historians an index to A South African bibliography to the year 1925
 would have bridged the gap which individuals so often try to fill by
 publishing bibliographies on a small scale.
 E. VERWEY
 Human Sciences Research Council
 om drie prominente historiese gebeure in die Suid-Afrikaanse verlede te
 herdenk. Die eerste hou verband met die Ponugees Banolomeu Dias se
 omseiling van die Kaap in 1488; die tweede met die koms twee eeue later
 van die Franse Hugenote na Suid-Afrika. Derdens word die jaar 1838, toe
 die Groot Trek 'n hoogtepunt bereik het, in herinnering geroep. Temas
 uit die sleutelgebeure in die vaderlandse geskiedenis is gedurende die her-
 denkingsjaar in 'n reeks lesings by die Vniversiteit van Pretoria aangebied.
 Die publikasie onder bespreking is clan die produk van die referentese
 navorsing 'in verwerkte en bygewerkte vorm' (p viii).
 Om Ponugal se verbintenis met die Suiderland in konteks te plaas, behan-
 del die eerste twee bydraes aspekte van die Ponugese kultuur gedurende
 die ontdekkingsreise (OJ.O. Ferreira) en Ponugal se rol in Suidelike Afrika
 (A.PJ. van Rensburg). In R.TJ. wmbard se anikel word die bydrae van
 die Franse Hugenote tot Suid-Afrika se bevolkingsamestelling toegelig.
 Aan die Groot Trek is die meeste ruimte afgestaan. Dit sluit in uiteen-
 lopende onderwerpe soos volkekundige groeperings in die binneland ten
 tyde van die trek (R.D. Coenze); die invloed van die epiese gebeunenis
 op die Mrikaner se historiese bewussyn (F.A. vanJaarsveld); Mricana-prente
 uit die tyd van die Groot Trek a.C. Pretorius); die voorstelling van dieVoor-
 trekkers in die kuns (N J. Coetzee); die vraag of wuis Trigardt Afrikaans
 gepraat het (L.C. Eksteen), en leg beg, die prikkelende bespreking deur
 T. Gouws 90r die Voonrekkervrou as 'dwarstrekker'!
 Oar sowel die temas as die sprekers/oureurs, sou claar seker meningsverskil
 kon wees. Die indruk kan naamlik by baie gewek wold dat die seleksie
 en aanbieding 'n ietwat Mrikaner- (en blank-) sentriese uitgangspunt weer-
 spieel -jets wat kennelik verband hou met die Fakulteit Lettere en Wysbe-
 geene van V.P. se versoek tot die redakteur om 'n reeks lesings 'te reel waar
 dosente toepaslike navorsingsresultate kan voordra' (p. ix).
 Dit is voons jammer dat 'n andersins wetenskaplike en deeglike werk
 soos hierdie oar geeD literatuurlys (bibliografie) of register beskik Die. Oak
 die verwysingstegniek by voetnote sal Die aIlerwee as ketnagtig en logies
 beskou word Die.
 Op die keper beskou, is HerdenkingsjlZar 1988 beslis 'n waardevolle toe-
 voeging tot die Africana-literatuur. Ongelukkig sal die taalmedium, die
 gebrek aan eenheid en kontinulteit en die keuse van bydraes waarskynlik
 die publikasie se ttefkrag veel kleiner maak as wat dit verdien.
 C.C. EWFF
 Raad vir Geesteswetenskaplike NlZvorsing
 R.E. VAN DER Ross. The rise and decline of
 apartheid: a study of politIcal movements
 among the coloured people of South Africa,
 1800-1985. Tafelberg: Kaapstad, 1986.416 pp.
 Geili. Prys onvermeld.
 ISBN 0 624 02426 1.
 Met hierdie hoek bet prof. Richard van der
 Ross 'n langgekoesterde ideaal vervul. Die
 navorsing daarvoor en die Skryf daarvan bet oar
 'n tydperk van twintig jaar geskied en afgesien
 van dokumentere inligting is oak op eie erva-
 tinge sedert die vroee 1940's staatgemaak.
 Die negentien hoofswkke kan in drie verdeel
 word: hoofstuk een tot tien handel oar die op-
 koms van apartheid en reaksie vanuit die kleurling-gemeenskappe, soos
 die stigting van die Afrikaner league in 1883. Veral die bespreking oar
 die groei van groepsidentiteit ter verkryging van politieke regte in kIeurling-
 geledere bring verfrissende nuwe interpretasies.
 Hoofstuk elf tot agtien ontleed die rydvak na die Tweede Wereldootlog.
 Persoonlike gewaatwordinge word gemtegreer met inligting uit koerante
 en ander bronne en klem word gele op die organisering binne kleurling-
 politiek om die onmeming van politieke regte deur afsondetlike ontwik-
 keling teen te staan. Die onsensitiewe bantering van die aparte kieserslys
 word as die hoofoorsaak van die hedendaagse wantroue en gebrek aan same-
 werking russen die blanke regering en die kIeurling-gemeenskappe geldenti-
 fiseer.
 Van der Ross se eie standpunte oar cedes vir die mislukking van die apart-
 heidsbeleid vorm hoofsaaklik die inhoud van hoofstuk negentien en die
 epiloog. Hy skets hierin oak sy scenario van 'n moontlike nuwe politi eke
 bestel in Suid-Afrika. Insiggewend is sy bewering dat 'n oplossing vir die
 politieke skaakmatsituasie in die hande Ie van gematigde kleutlinge war
 saam met gematigdes uit ander gemeenskappe die toekorns deur onderhan-
 deling sal bepaal. So 'n oplossing sal gegrond wees op '... an economy based
 on social and market principles, an economy that is basically capitalist in
 that it allows private ownership, but with a strong and explicit social respon-
 sibility'. Die siening weerspieel die gematigdheid waarmee die skrywer die
 sensitiewe aspekte in die Suid-Mrikaanse maatskaplike, politieke en ekono-
 miese konteks hanteer.
 Die skrywer analiseer nie net vanaf 'n afstand nie, maar oak as 'n betrok-
 kene by die politi eke proses. Alhoewel hy lid is van 'n gemeenskap war
 aan die onrvangkant van verskeie politi eke eksperimente is (was)?, gee hy
 blywende nuwe insigte. Hierdie werk is 'n moet vir enigeen wat in die Suid-
 Afrikaanse geskiedenis belangstel. Soos Hermann Giliomee tereg in die
 vootwoord opmerk: 'This study belongs to that rare category of books that
 can fundamentally change people's views of political realities, past and
 present.'
 NJ. jOOSTE
 Universiteit van Fort Hare
 Kort mededelings / Short notices
 BJ.T. LEVERTON (ed.). Ret:ords of Natlll, II, September 1828July 183.5.
 Government Printer: Pretoria, 1989. 318 pp. R6,06 (inclusive).
 ISBN 07970 1403 9.
 This is the fifth volume in the Archives Commission series of South
 Afiit:an art:hivlll ret:ords, Important Cape dot:uments and within that series,
 the second volume of the Ret:ords ofNatlll spanning the period September
 1828 to July 1835. At first glance, there was little happening in south-east
 Mrica during that period, and that, as the editor, Dr BJ.T. kvc:non, remarks,
 accounts for the relatively heterogeneous natUre of the documentary material
 brought together in this volume. The period saw a lull between at least
 two storms; the mfet:ane, on the one hand, and those of the Great Trek
 and the outbreak of the Sixth Frontier War, on the other. The death of
 Shaka in 1828 brought to an abrupt end the intensive effons made by the
 Zulu polity to establish an alliance with the Cape. But despite the ensuing
 lack of contact and the abandonment of Shaka's expansionist policies by
 his brother and successor, Dingane, the correspondence included in this
 work reflects a desire for greater interdependence of the Cape and Natal
 and the extension of British authority up the whole of the south-east coast
 beyond the Kei.
 The reader's attention is drawn to the fact that Sir Benjamin D'Urban's
 aggressive and expansionist policy on the eastern Cape frontier was not
 just a local issue. It was, funhermore, approved of by a great many officials
 and traders.
 Of considerable interest are the fears that were expressed by some, inclu-
 ding correspondents in senior positions, that unless Britain stepped into
 the power vacuum of south-east Africa, another countty would. America
 was, at that time, considered the major potential threat. Of even greater
 interest is the conespondence in connection with the plans of a Madagascan
 prince and general, representing cenain American interests, to emigrate
 to Natal with a large body of his warriors. These are fascinating glimpses
 of America fishing in the same troubled waters as agents of Imperial Ger-
 many were to do 50 years later.
 Much credit is due to the editor whose professional touch as a trained
 archivist with first-hand kQowledge of the archives of both Natal and the
 Cape is vety evident. Although this work lacks in imagination, ,it has been
 carefully and meticulously compiled and the footnotes are practical.~
 H.C. HUMMEL
 Rhodes University
 J.S. BERGH (red.). Herdenkingsjaar 1988: Porlugese, Hugenote en Voortrek-
 kers. Dejager -HAUM: Pretoria, 1988. 189 pp. Gelll. R24,95 (eksklusief).
 ISBN 0 7986 2927 4.
 SoDS uit die titel afgelei kan word, is hierdie 'n geleentheidspublikasie
 CONTREE 27/1990