Today in Kimberley's History
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Sir Alfred Milner arrives as Governor of the Cape - 1897
The British Secretary of State for the Colonies, Joseph Chamberlain, appointed Sir Alfred Milner as Governor of the Cape Colony in 1897. Milner arrived in Cape Town on 5 May 1897 to assume his new position. Soon after taking up the position, he advocated a sterner policy with regard to the Transvaal Republic than that suggested by Chamberlain and Salisbury. He continued to emphasise the grievances of the Uitlanders with the intention to 'work up a crisis'. This hard-line attitude earned him the reputation of being a convinced imperialist.
The British Secretary of State for the Colonies, Joseph Chamberlain, appointed Sir Alfred Milner as Governor of the Cape Colony in 1897. Milner arrived in Cape Town on 5 May 1897 to assume his new position. Soon after taking up the position, he advocated a sterner policy with regard to the Transvaal Republic than that suggested by Chamberlain and Salisbury. He continued to emphasise the grievances of the Uitlanders with the intention to 'work up a crisis'. This hard-line attitude earned him the reputation of being a convinced imperialist.
Afrikaans is declared an official language of South Africa - 1925
According to Act 8 of 1925, Afrikaans became one of the official languages of South Africa. The development of Afrikaans can be traced to arrival of settlers to the Cape. This is however not the sole factor that led to the development of Afrikaans, as it was employed by the servants, slaves and indigenous traders to communicate with the Dutch. This is substantiated by the variety of influences present in Afrikaans. These would include Khoisan, Malaysian, French, Dutch, English and German among others. This does not mean that the language is only limited to these influences, as various dialects are spoken all over South Africa, with the dominant indigenous language of a region influencing the dialect of Afrikaans in that region.
The popularity of Afrikaans and its subsequent endorsement by the Apartheid government, have their roots in the attempted social engineering project by which the Dutch population in South Africa sought to unify members of this group. It aimed to build a South African nationalism that recognised their varied origins, but one that emphasised a unique South African identity. However this identity was largely based on race and Afrikaans as a language thus became synonymous with White oppression in South Africa. Despite this attempt at creating a schism with regard to language and race among South Africans, Afrikaans is widely spoken by Black people.
According to Act 8 of 1925, Afrikaans became one of the official languages of South Africa. The development of Afrikaans can be traced to arrival of settlers to the Cape. This is however not the sole factor that led to the development of Afrikaans, as it was employed by the servants, slaves and indigenous traders to communicate with the Dutch. This is substantiated by the variety of influences present in Afrikaans. These would include Khoisan, Malaysian, French, Dutch, English and German among others. This does not mean that the language is only limited to these influences, as various dialects are spoken all over South Africa, with the dominant indigenous language of a region influencing the dialect of Afrikaans in that region.
The popularity of Afrikaans and its subsequent endorsement by the Apartheid government, have their roots in the attempted social engineering project by which the Dutch population in South Africa sought to unify members of this group. It aimed to build a South African nationalism that recognised their varied origins, but one that emphasised a unique South African identity. However this identity was largely based on race and Afrikaans as a language thus became synonymous with White oppression in South Africa. Despite this attempt at creating a schism with regard to language and race among South Africans, Afrikaans is widely spoken by Black people.