The Journals of Sophia Pigot: Performing Gentility in the Eastern Cape

Abstract

Abstract This article examines the experience of an 1820 settler woman, Sophia Pigot, who immigrated with her family to the eastern Cape as part of the 1819 government-sponsored scheme. Existing scholarship has dealt with the experiences of some 1820 settler wives who left accounts of their experiences. However, Sophia Pigot has not been the subject of historical research. Based on her journals, this article seeks to fill this gap. Although Sophia’s journals seem to be an unworthy historical account due to their short entries, repetitious style, and seemingly mundane details, they reflect her preoccupation with maintaining a genteel lifestyle in the eastern Cape. The article examines some of the challenges that she encountered in this respect. The article builds on the growing body of scholarship on how British women maintained gentility in various colonial settings.