"Settlement and Gradual Expansion of the Europeans in Southern Africa": A History of the First Centuries of Colonial Rule in South Africa by Moravian Bishop Hans Peter Hallbeck

Abstract

abstract:This article offers a transcript and a translation of a text written in 1836 by Hans Peter Hallbeck, Moravian bishop in South Africa, about the first centuries of colonial rule in South Africa. Hallbeck proves to be one of the first historiographers of South Africa using primary sources. The article places this text in the context of other early histories of South Africa, such as histories by John Philip and Meent Borcherds. The comparison of these histories reveals how the authors' position in society in their own time influenced the way they viewed the past of South Africa: Philip sided with the original inhabitants, Borcherds with the Dutch colonists, whilst Hallbeck took a middle ground. Hallbeck's document laid virtually untouched in Moravian archives in Germany and South Africa, inaccessible to South African historians, mainly because of the old German handwriting. It proves to be a valuable addition not only to Moravian but also to South African historical research.