A UNION FOR SEGREGATION: WITNESSES FROM THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 1905

Abstract

It was 1903. South African colonies were still recovering from the horrors and damage caused by the countless wars and conflicts in that region. Political reconciliation would come on several fronts, one of them, the constitution of a parliamentary commission to discuss the native issue in the colonies in southern Africa. Appointed under the coordination of the high commissioner for native affairs, Sir Arthur Lawley, members of all southern Africa British colonies and protectorates were called on behalf of the Crown to organize, select and listen to the most varied witnesses on the subject. This article aims at relating the social positions and, consequently, the importance of certain colonies for the constitution of the South African Union. Moreover, this source is used as a way of reflect the South African segregation period before the apartheid. Through the listed professions and phenotypes, it will also be possible to establish some parameters for understanding the power and political relations in those territories in the first years of the 20th century.

Keywords:
South African Native Affairs Commission; Witness; Segregation Period