The Illovo Chronicles: A History of Illovo and the Pearce Family
This lavishly illustrated, privately published, coffee-table volume was the initiative of Warren Taylor of Kent in England. Having read my book, Sugar and Settlers, on the history of the Natal South Coast, he asked me to research and to contribute various chapters. Since the Illovo Sugar Company was central to the research, I was very
Labourer or Settler – Colonial Natal’s Indian Dilemma 1860 – 1897
DuBois addresses the question of how, neither by accident nor design, Natal became home to over 50,000 Indian immigrants during the latter half of the nineteenth century. Duncan Du Bois recounts how, from 1860, at the request of fewer than 50 sugar planters, colonial Natal embarked on a labour dispensation that significantly transformed its character.
RACE RELATIONS PIONEER – The legacy of Joseph Baynes
Commissioned and published by the Baynesfield Trust in 2016, this 56 page booklet reveals that not all Natal’s colonial figures were indifferent to the plight of Africans and Indians. Contact the Baynesfield Trust for copies.fm@baynesfield.co.zaTel 033 251 0044 In this age of anti-colonial sentiment. Duncan Du Bois’ research has unearthed evidence of colonial Natal agriculturist,
Sugar and Settlers: A History of the Natal South Coast
From a wealth of archival sources, Du eruditely narrates what is arguably the seminal chronicle of the South Coast’s development. He comprehensively unravels the kaleidoscope of personalities and unpacks the various interests that impact this otherwise parochial backwater. Black Africans, white settlers, Indian labourers competed for the agrarian “playing field” that was dominated by sugar
Portraits of Colonial Natal
Portraits of Colonial Natal by duncan DuBois is a collection of twelve thoroughly researched articles by the author of Labourer or Settler? Colonial Natal’s Indian dilemma (2011) and Sugar and Settlers: A history of the Natal South Coast 1850-1910 (2015). “Duncan Du Bois must be the worst nightmare of those student activists who shout about ‘decolonising’
Political Correctness – Gen. Louis Botha
Remembering Louis Botha – South Africa’s First Prime Minister A century ago this week on August 27, 1919, General Louis Botha, South Africa’s first Prime Minister, passed away at the age of 57. In the Preface to his recent biography of Botha, Richard Steyn noted that nowadays memories of such figures are focused “more on apportioning
Published Academic Articles
Towards a New Dispensation: Background to the Arrival of Indians in Natal in 1860,’ Natalia, Journal of the Natal Society, No. 40, 2010, pp. 12–19. ‘Colonial river port shipping on the South Coast, Natalia: Journal of the Natal Society,’ No. 41, 2011, pp. 71–81. ‘Sugar and Settlers: Early Isipingo,’ Natalia, Journal of the Natal Society,
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