“The History of the Cape is Already Written in that of America”

Abstract

This paper examines the influence that historical discussions about conquest and Indian/white relations in America played in the discourse about colonial expansion in the South African Cape during the 1830s, 1840s, and 1850s. It examines how the so-called “liberal humanitarians” in the Cape, like the editor of the South African Commercial Advertiser, John Fairbairn, and the missionary John Philip, used the history of colonization of Native Americans to condemn efforts at territorial expansion in South Africa. However, their political opponents, like the editor of the Graham's Town Journal, Robert Godlonton, also examined America's history of conquest to justify and defend their pro-expansionist agenda. This paper examines the different motivations, strategies, and goals that led different interest groups to articulate such dissimilar versions of American history.