British Immigration during the Nineteenth Century: The American and South African Experience

Source: (2000) Race and Reconciliation in South Africa: A Multicultural Dialogue in Comparative Perspective. Ed. by William E. Van Vugt & G. Daan Cloete. Lanham: Lexington Books. 19-36.

In our attempt to comprehend the history of race and reconciliation in South Africa we can gain some insight by comparing two different and yet similar streams of British immigrants – those to the United States and those to South Africa during the formative years of the nineteenth century. A thorough social-economic and demographic analysis is beyond the scope of this chapter. Our more general interest the role of British immigration in the history of race in South Africa, within the comparative context of the United States. (excerpt)