KwaZulu-Natal

Alan Paton Selected Letters

2021-02-25T19:55:16+00:00July 24th, 2009|

Alan Paton was a dedicated letter-writer whose letters are almost like a series of vigorous conversations, displaying his capacity for friendship, his lively personality and his principled commitment to South African society. This collection of 350 previously unpublished letters are a major aspect of his writings. They range from those written as a brilliant student of 18 to his old age, illustrating many of the facets of his literary interests, his work as a teacher and reformatory principle and his political activism.

Norwegian missionaries in Natal and Zululand: selected correspondence (1844-1900)

2021-02-24T14:31:56+00:00July 24th, 1996|

The Norwegian Missionary Society established its first permanent stations north of the Tugela in the 1840s. The Zulu Lutheran Church which developed from conversions in the 1860s only really developed after the conquest of Zululand in 1879. The Norwegian missionaries were strategically located to view changes in Zulu culture and civilisation and their letters and reports comprise a rich and detailed historical source.

Johan August Wahlberg: Travel Journals and from letters, South Africa, Namibia and Botswana, 1838-1856

2021-02-24T10:03:10+00:00July 24th, 1992|

Johan August Wahlberg (1810-1856), a Swedish naturalist, travelled through much of southern Africa, including Natal and Namibia, before the mid-19th century. He had been chosen by the Swedish Academy of Sciences to collect plants and animals in southern Africa for the Natural History Museum in Stockholm. His account of his travels is often terse and businesslike but his accounts of the people he encountered are usually fair and open-minded.

The Letters of Jane Elizabeth Waterston 1866-1905

2021-03-28T11:05:12+00:00July 24th, 1983|

Jane Waterston (1843-1932) accompanied the missionary, Dr James Stewart, to the Eastern Cape when he became principal of the Lovedale Institution. There she started the Girls' Institution but her real desire was to work as a doctor amongst women in the interior of Africa. In 1874 she returned to England where she was amongst the first women to train in medicine at the London School of Medicine for Women. After a brief and disillusioning stay in Nyasaland, she moved to Cape Town where she became a notable figure, participating actively in the political life of the town. She retained her friendship with James Stewart throughout her life, writing to him regularly on a wide variety of topics.

Andrew Smith and Natal: documents relating to the early history of the Province

2022-05-29T11:50:40+00:00July 25th, 1955|

Andrew Smith, a British doctor, journeyed to Natal in 1832, ostensibly for scientific purposes, but almost certainly operating under instructions. The text includes an account of his visit to Dingane and notes on the different tribal groups which he encountered, the Cape Town Merchants' Memorial of 1835 and some of the records of the South African Land and Emigration Association

Letters of the American Missionaries, 1835-1838

2020-10-06T05:54:29+00:00July 25th, 1950|

The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was one of the last missionary societies to begin work in South Africa. Since the Cape Colony was well-populated with missionaries, the Americans concentrated initially on the Matabele in the Transvaal, and on Natal. Their arrival coincided with the Great Trek and Boer expansion north and east so they were well placed to observed developments in Voortrekker society and its impact on indigenous societies.

Journals of Andrew Geddes Bain, trader, explorer, soldier, road engineer and geologist

2022-07-17T19:29:51+00:00July 25th, 1949|

Andrew Geddes Bain is best known for his building of Cape roads and passes. His diaries, from 1826 to the 1840s, were both working journals and accounts of his experiences and descriptions of the people he encountered in the course of his work. This volume includes his chronicle of his journey in 1826 to the northern Cape.

Travels and Adventures in Eastern Africa by Nathaniel Isaacs; Vol. II

2020-09-24T15:28:30+00:00July 25th, 1936|

Isaac’s journal is one of the first reports of a European on Natal and the kingdom of the Zulus. The first volume begins in 1825 when Isaacs went to Natal for the first time. The major portion of the text consists of a detailed description of Shaka, his society and culture. In 1830 Isaacs returned to Natal when Dingaan reigned here. He reports on the early white settlement; in addition the volume includes a good deal of information on Zulu culture.

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