Afrikaner Political Thought by André du Toit & Hermann Giliomee

Afrikaner Political Thought (David Philip First Southern African Edition, 1983)

A Landmark Collection of Source Documents on the Roots of Afrikaner Political Thought, 1780–1850

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Afrikaner Political Thought: Analysis and Documents, Volume One: 1780–1850
• Authors: André du Toit & Hermann Giliomee
• Publisher: David Philip, Cape Town & Johannesburg
• Publication Date: 1983
• ISBN-10: 0908396708
• Edition Details: First published in Southern Africa by David Philip, Cape Town and Johannesburg, 1983. Volume One of a planned trilogy.
• Binding: Publisher's blue boards with orange design, in a glossy illustrated dust jacket. Spine lettered in cream with the David Philip publisher's logo.
• Physical Format: Medium octavo hardcover. No maps or plates.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Good (G)
• Exterior / Boards: The blue boards are intact and the spine is glossy and otherwise clean. There is slight chipping or wear at the top of the spine. Corners and edges are not described.
• Interior: The title page is clean and bright, with no foxing. It carries a purple ex libris stamp and a purple stamped number, 141091.
• Provenance: Purple ex libris stamp to the title page: "Ex Libris J. N. Warren", with a decorative J, together with a purple stamped number, 141091.
• The Dust Jacket: Present, in glossy laminated finish, protected in a Mylar sleeve. The front panel shows a patch of lost surface or label residue over the lower right of the lettering, and there is chipping at the top of the spine.

Synopsis & Historical Value

Afrikaner Political Thought: Analysis and Documents, Volume One: 1780–1850, edited by André du Toit and Hermann Giliomee, gathers around 140 primary documents, including letters, speeches, manifestos, petitions and newspaper editorials, each accompanied by critical commentary.

The editors set out to make the core documents of Afrikaner political thought available in English. This first volume of a planned trilogy traces the formative decades from the late VOC and early British Cape period to the mid-nineteenth century, a span that takes in the Great Trek.

This is the David Philip edition, published in Cape Town and Johannesburg in 1983. The same volume also appeared from the University of California Press in the Perspectives on Southern Africa series. It remains a valuable source book for anyone studying Afrikaner history and identity, and a useful companion to a collection on Afrikaner history.

Author Profile: Hermann Giliomee and André du Toit

Hermann Giliomee, born in 1938 in Sterkstroom, studied history at Stellenbosch. He was Professor of History at the University of Cape Town from 1983 to 2002, later Extraordinary Professor of History at Stellenbosch, and president of the South African Institute of Race Relations from 1995 to 1997. His other works include The Shaping of South African Society (1988), Negotiating South Africa's Future (1989), The Awkward Embrace (1999) and The Afrikaners: Biography of a People (2003).

In 1984 Giliomee co-founded the Afrikaans journal Die Suid-Afrikaan with his co-editor André du Toit, who has been described as a mentor and as one of the critics of the apartheid-era regime.

Afrikaner Political Thought 1780–1850 · Du Toit and Giliomee · Hermann Giliomee David Philip 1983 · Afrikaner history source documents · Afrikaner nationalism origins book · David Philip first Southern African edition · Great Trek era political documents