Skip to main content

What are the historical similarities between South Africa and India? Since I am analyzing July’s People and the Miracle of Purun Bhagat, I need...

Great Britain had a direct and large colonial presence in both South Africa and India, and in both cases, the British implemented colonial governments run by white settlers, and subjugated the native populations through brute force and the implementation of caste systems. Britain's colonization of India was somewhat more straightforward and much more massive in scale than its colonization of South Africa, partly because the so-called Cape Colony (which later became South Africa) was first colonized by the Dutch in the late 1640s. Later in the 1680s, the Dutch settlers were joined by German and French Calvinists. Unlike the white English settlers who came to form the enormous colonial government of India (The British Raj), the Europeans who settled in what is now South Africa intermarried with the indigenous population, and the progeny of those matches created what would later become known as the "colored population," under Apartheid Rule.

Whereas British rule of the so-called Indian Subcontinent, which consisted of India and Pakistan, was never threatened by rival European settlements, Britain's rule over South Africa came as a result of multiple wars and bloody skirmishes. The British officially annexed Cape Colony in 1815, as the result of the Napoleonic Wars, and the British Colonial government encouraged its white settlers there to farm in the territories claimed by Dutch (Boer) farmers.


These competing European settlements in the Cape Colony led to a series of wars, which pitted the Dutch Boers and the indigenous Zulu tribe against the English settlers. Only in the late 1890s did the British finally succeed in defeating the Zulus and Boers, in the very bloody and costly Second Anglo-Boer War. Although the British abolished slavery in the Cape Colony in 1833, against the will of the Dutch Boers, they maintained strict white control of power, and designated the “colored” population as second-class citizens. This kind of Apartheid was similar to what the British Raj practiced in the Indian Subcontinent.


A key difference between Britain’s role in India versus in South Africa is that the British retained direct control over India until the mid mid-20th century (1947), while the British relinquished direct rule over South Africa starting in 1910, when the “Union of South Africa” became a self-governing dominion of the British Empire, meaning that it remained closely allied to Britain and stayed under the auspices of the Empire, but enjoyed a great deal of sovereignty in terms of domestic governance. India, on the other hand, remained firmly under the thumb of the massive British Raj, which brutally suppressed numerous rebellions across the subcontinent until Partition in 1947, when the British Empire, reeling from World War Two, finally realized that it no longer had the resources or political will to keep such a massive territory under its control.  

Popular posts from this blog

In chapter one of The Great Gatsby, what advice does Nick's father give him? How does this make him a good person to tell this story?

Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches... Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches into a discussion of how pe...
Post a Comment
Read more

How and why does James Gatz become Jay Gatsby? Describe the young Gatsby/Gatz.

James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune,... James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune, whereas they arose from well-to-do families. Gatz became Gatsby through determination and discipline. At the end of the novel, the narr...
Post a Comment
Read more

Explain and discuss how the definitions of freedom change for the nation, for the freedmen and for southern whites after the Civil War.

After the Civil War, the definition of freedom changed in the nation, as slavery was ended with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. The practice of slavery was disallowed, but definition of the freedom that would take its place was a subject of controversy, ongoing debate, and even violence in the decades to come.  For freedmen, freedom often meant reconciling with their families, who were broken up by slavery; choosing which church to... After the Civil War, the definition of freedom changed in the nation, as slavery was ended with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. The practice of slavery was disallowed, but definition of the freedom that would take its place was a subject of controversy, ongoing debate, and even violence in the decades to come.  For freedmen, freedom often meant reconciling with their families, who were broken up by slavery; choosing which church to belong to without being ordered to attend religious services (or not to attend) by their mast...
Post a Comment
Read more