Contribution of blacks to Great Trek restored
Well-referenced book draws from dissertation to deal with the various narratives propounded by historians
Mfecane: The Role Played by Blacks in the Great Trek, 1835-1854 Peter Halala P&H Publishers In the first half of the 19th century, the Great Trek shaped the course of South African history and politics, but it remains contested by different interpretations that are almost always controversial because there is no universally agreed lens through which to study it among scholars. With a master’s degree in Southern African studies, majoring in history, from the University of York in the UK, and a doctorate in history from the University of Limpopo, Peter Halala says he wrote his book to correct distortions. One of those distortions is that the Great Trek was successfully executed by the brave and triumphant Boers only. Halala says white historians have deliberately minimised the magnitude of the participation of black Trekkers as slaves, servants, apprentices and as "willing travellers" — which sealed their oppression by the descendants of the Trekkers. The major point of Mfecane: The R...
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