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- How South Africa Built Six Atom Bombs
- Dive South Africa
- Wreck Hunt
- Mercenary Invasion of Seychelles
- Jack Malloch
- Deadline Africa
- Battles of the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879
- Diving with Sharks
- Neall Ellis
- Barrel of a Gun
- South Africa's Border Wars
- The 'Coloured' People of South Africa and Apartheid
About our Authors:
Al J Venter
John H. Visser
Charles Shapiro
SITEMAP
Ashanti Publishing - Ashanti Books - THE 'COLOURED' PEOPLE OF SOUTH AFRICA AND APARTHEID
With a comprehensive Prologue and Epilogue by veteran South African political journalist Graham Linscott.
TEN SECTIONS OF HISTORICAL PHOTOS FROM THE FILES OF CAPE PHOTOGRAPHER CLOETE BREYTENBACH.
Due for publication early 2009
This book was originally published in 1973. It appeared under the title Coloured: a Profile of South Africa's Two Million South Africans
In his original introduction to this book, published in 1973, the author made the point that 'if White South Africans cannot come to terms with this group, with whom they share a common history, language and culture. They will never be able to deal with what has been called "the slowly awakening African Giant".'
A massive work, the author deals with all aspects of 'Coloured' society, especially the effects of often-brutal and intrusive racial legislation that included racial classification, job reservation, the Group Areas Act and the Immorality Act together with enough security measures to create what one observer referred to as a 'permanent state of emergency having been forced onto the people of South Africa by the country's all-white Parliament'.
The author looks back on 'Coloured' history, how the forefathers (and mothers) of this burgeoning society originally arrived in the country, many of them as slaves. There is much about the early role that these folk were to play in the country that like it or not, was to become their new and permanent home. The came from all over and quite a few were of Asian extraction from the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and present-day Malaysia and Madagascar. Others arrived from West Africa, landed at Cape Town after having been rescued from Atlantic slavers by European warships, the Royal Navy especially.
Covered in the 50 chapters that make up this volume are traditional 'Coloured' areas like District Six, the Cape Flats, Elsies River, the Boland, Johannesburg, Riverlea and the 1972 election, Gelvandale and the Eastern Cape, the Griquas, Namibia's Rehoboth Basters as well as some of the prominent families that evolved following racial intermarriage in centuries past including the Dunns of Natal, the Buys family who fought with Kruger's irregulars against the British in the Boer War and others.
Also dealt with is the illustrious role of 'Coloured' servicemen in two world wars. The Cape Corps - and the famous Battle of Square Hill is accorded a chapter of its own.
Other issues include traditional 'Coloured' culture, welfare (or lack of it), the University of the Western Cape, originally established specifically for people of mixed blood, 'White' support groups in the various universities, the role of the church among these people in South Africa as well as one of the immediate consequences of it all - emigration.
The two final sections in the book cover economical aspects and how they affected this society as well as Government and Politics, four chapters that deal with the Administration of Coloured Affairs, Historical Coloured Politics, The Coloured representative Council, as well as White Politics and How They Affected the Coloured Group.
ANC activist Robert McBride said about the 'Coloured' book: 'My father made me read 'Coloured: A profile of Two Million South Africans', an unusually progressive book for its time. The book draws attention to the contributions of Coloured people in the struggle against apartheid, some of whom who went into exile and chose violent resistance [like McBride himself].
It introduces McBride to Coloured activists such as James April, Don Matera, Jakes Gerwel, Basil February and his own uncle, the Reverend Clive McBride [who features prominently in the book].
Discussions that young Robert has with his father around these issues create a lasting impression in him.
Due for publication early 2009