Promise and Despair: The First Struggle for a Non-Racial South Africa

by Martin Plaut

The struggle for freedom in South Africa goes back a long way. In 1909, a remarkable interracial delegation of South Africans traveled to London to lobby for a non-racialized constitution and franchise for all. Among their allies was Mahatma Gandhi, who later encapsulated lessons from the experience in his most important book, Hind Swaraj. Though the mission failed, the London debates were critical to the formation of the African National Congress in 1912. With impeccable storytelling and rich character depictions, Martin Plaut describes the early quest for black franchise and the seeds it planted for a new South Africa. While most people believe that black South Africans obtained the vote in 1994, men of all races voted in the Cape Colony for almost a century, sometimes deciding election outcomes. The London mission was part of a long history of nonwhite political agency. Taking as its centerpiece the 1909 delegation, Promise and Despair covers the twelve years between the South African War and the First World War, during which the major forces that would shape twentieth-century South Africa were forged. Plaut reveals new details of the close collaboration between Gandhi and the ANC leadership during the Indian-South African community’s struggle for their rights, the influence of the American South on South African racial practices, and the workings of the Imperial system.

Genres: History

272 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2016

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative. Learnt a lot about South African history leading up to the formation of the South African Union and the eventual reign of The Nats and their destruction and clamp down on human rights in South Africa. Would have liked to learn a bit more about the formation of the ANC and more fleshing out on activities on well known figures of Sol Plaatje, John Dube and others. Loved the insight into The African Political Organization. Learnt a lot about Gandhi's role in South Africa at that time and his fight for the rights of Indians in South Africa - beginnings of his use of passive resistance as a protest strategy. Learnt a lot about some progressive female political figures - perhaps not classed as politicians in their day but most definitely engaged in politics in a very instrumental way. Would've been nice to see their faces also featured on the book cover.

[Jacques Siebrits · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well worth reading for South Africans ( and others) who want to know more about this rather sad sequence of events, when at formation of the union the qualified vote for non-whites was taken away where it was applicable (or maybe all South Africans should read this, better to understand where we are today?). It's written in a rather academic style, so don't expect an exciting tome, but still a good read.