Rethinking Empire in Southern Africa

Abstract

"...This special issue on the 'South African empire' evolved from the South African empire research project, the origins of which lie in the discomfort of a number of historians of Namibia with dominant characteristics of the treatment of Namibia within the main lines of South African historiography. In addition to the authors of this article, the members of the research project group were Martha Akawa (University of Namibia), Patricia Hayes (University of the Western Cape), Jeremy Silvester (Museums Association of Namibia) and Marion Wallace (British Library).View all notes South African historians, they felt, failed to understand the importance of South Africa's only colony, South West Africa/Namibia, and that this was an expression of the reproduction of what seemed like the codes and conventions of a continuing imperial repertoire of South Africa itself...."