British diaspora in Africa
Total population | |
---|---|
2–2.5 million | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Afrikaners |
The British diaspora in Africa is a population group broadly defined as English-speaking people of mainly (but not only) British descent who live in or were born in Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority live in South Africa and other Southern African countries in which English is a primary language, including Zimbabwe, Namibia, Kenya, Botswana, Zambia. Their first language is usually English.
History
Colonialism
Although there were earlier British settlements at ports along the
In the late nineteenth century, the discovery of
As a result of the rise of nationalist and anti-colonial movements throughout the
Zimbabwe
The ruling white minority in Southern Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence as Rhodesia in 1965 but no provisions were made to incorporate the black African majority as political equals. Civil war lasted until 1979, as black nationalists fought against the white-dominated government. In 1980, the
In 2002 Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth due to human rights abuses and electoral fraud.[9] In 2003, Zimbabwe voluntarily terminated its Commonwealth membership.[10]
Northern Rhodesia became a separate nation, Zambia.
South Africa
White minority rule
In 1910, the two separate
The ethnic
In 1955, 33,000 Dutch (34.8%), Germans (33.7%), French (13.2%), people of colour (7%), British (5.2%), unknown origin (3.5%), other Europeans (2.6%) inDemocracy
In 1994, South Africa held its
The British diaspora population declined starting in the early 1990s as a result of a low
Despite the high emigration rate, many people of British descent continue to settle in South Africa, including many South African-born people who have returned home since the late-1990s, especially after the
Global presence
A significant number of the British diaspora in Africa have emigrated to other Commonwealth states such as the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Others have settled in countries such as the United States, the Republic of Ireland, and France. A large number of young people are also taking advantage of working holiday visas made available by the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth states.[20]
Culture
White Africans generally enjoy the outdoors lifestyle and sports. The
Language
Many White Africans speak a unique dialect of English, developed by interaction with other local languages.
Much like
A few South African English coinages are listed below:
bru | male friend, from Afrikaans broer meaning "brother" |
(my) china | (my) friend, from Cockney "china plate" which is rhyming slang for "mate" |
just now, now now |
an amount of time, could be anything from 5 seconds to 24 hours, could be past or future tense, from the Afrikaans net-nou and nou-nou (e.g. "He went out just now." or "I'll be done with it now now.") |
no | common speech disfluency or filler |
oke | male friend, either shortened from bloke or from the Afrikaans diminutive 'outjie' (oldie, used as a term of affection much like 'guy' in English, with English pronunciation approximating 'oakie') |
robot | traffic light |
sarmie | sandwich |
scheme | to think, as in the expression, "What are you scheming?" asked of a person deep in thought (e.g. "I scheme we should go home now.") |
shot | thank you |
takkies | running shoes
|
tune | to talk to someone in a derogatory way (e.g. "Are you tuning me?") |
Literature
The British diaspora in Africa has a long literary tradition, and has produced a number of notable
]Arts
The British diaspora has influenced modern African arts, and has often incorporated other African cultures.
Music
Notable African musicians of British descent include:
Education
The British diaspora and their forebears have been extensively involved in the founding and development of numerous educational institutions across Africa.[citation needed]
Universities
There are four universities in South Africa that were established by the British diaspora, which admitted limited numbers of Black students during apartheid. The South African College was founded in 1829 and later split into the University of Cape Town and the South African College Schools. The University of Natal merged with the University of Durban-Westville to form the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The University of the Witwatersrand was founded in Kimberley in 1896 as the South African School of Mines and is now based in Johannesburg. Finally, Rhodes University was established in 1904 with an initial grant from the Rhodes Trust.
Schools
There are two categories of schools founded by the British diaspora or British missionaries, those originally intended for the education of the children of the British diaspora and those founded for the education of the indigenous population.
The first category includes both notable
The second category of schools includes South African institutions such as the
Sport
Cricket, rugby, tennis, golf, and cycling are generally considered to be the most popular sports among the British diaspora.
Cricket in Africa and particularly Zimbabwe has been dominated by the people of British heritage. Up until recently, the majority of Zimbabwean players were from the British diaspora, including: Andy Flower, Heath Streak, Brendan Taylor and Ray Price. Cricket in South Africa also traditionally features the British diaspora, including former national Test captain Graeme Smith and bowler Shaun Pollock. The England cricket team has often included many players of Southern African heritage in their ranks such as brothers Sam Curran and Tom Curran, Gary Ballance and Andrew Strauss. The England cricket team of 2010 that retained the 2010–11 Ashes series in Australia, for example, received significant contributions from South African captain Andrew Strauss, wicketkeeper Matt Prior, batsman Kevin Pietersen, batsman Jonathan Trott and coach Andy Flower.
A few examples of the notable contributions of the British diaspora to South African rugby are those made by Kitch Christie, the coach who led the Springboks to victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Bobby Skinstad and Percy Montgomery, the Springboks' all-time leader in appearances and points.
Members of the British diaspora have also had notable success in African rallying, while former Rhodesia in particular produced several world champion motorcycle road racers including Jim Redman and Kork Ballington.
Two-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome was born in Kenya, and grew up in South Africa.
Alternative names
I do see very clearly that there may come a time, and that time not very remote, when the Australian colonies may be brought more into the position of one great and united people. I do see a time when the South African colonies may be brought together into one great Anglo-African people. And I see that if a grand and powerful congeries of free communities, such as I have grouped, in three parts of the world, become steadily formed, they may enter into an allegiance with the parent State, on something like a broad ground of equality.
Henry Parkes (1815–1896), advocate of the Australian Federation, after writing about the formation of the Dominion of Canada[44][45]
The majority of white South Africans and Zimbabweans identify themselves as primarily South African and Zimbabwean respectively, regardless of their first language or ancestry.
The term Anglo-African has been used historically to describe people living in the British Empire in Africa,[52] although it has also been used to self-identify by people of mixed British and indigenous African ancestry.[53][54][55][56] The Anglo-African Who's Who and Biographical Sketch-Book published in London in 1905 contains details of prominent British and Afrikaner people in Africa at that time.[57]
'Cape Brit' is another term sometimes used to refer to South Africans of British descent. It refers to the Cape Colony where the immigrants to whom many South Africans can trace their origins from settled during its time as British colony. The term is considered an equivalent of 'Cape Dutch'.
Notable Africans of British descent
Explorers, politicians, civil servants, businesspeople and clergy
- Roy Bennett (1957-2018), Zimbabwean politician
- Verney Lovett Cameron (1844–1894), explorer
- Rob Davies (born 1948), South African Member of Parliament
- Port Elizabeth
- Tim Harris (born c. 1979), Shadow Minister of Finance in South Africa
- Emily Hobhouse (1860–1926), welfare campaigner
- Isitwalandwe Medallist
- Sir Leander Starr Jameson (also known as "Doctor Jim", 1853–1917), medical doctor and colleague of Cecil Rhodes
- Lucy Lloyd (1834–1914), philologist and explorer
- William Lloyd(1802–1881), Anglican clergyman
- Harry Johnston (1858–1927), explorer and civil servant
- Dick King (1813–1871), transport rider
- John Kirk (1832–1922), leader of Kenya settlers
- David Livingstone (1813–1873), medical missionary and explorer
- John X. Merriman (1841–1926), last Prime Minister of the Cape Colony
- E. D. Morel (1873–1924), British journalist, author and socialist politician
- Nicholas Mostyn (born 1957), British judge
- Tesla Motors
- Nicky Oppenheimer (born 1945), chairman of De Beers
- Mungo Park (1771–1806), explorer
- Cecil Rhodes (1853–1902), businessman and politician
- Guy Scott (born 1944), Vice President of Zambia
- Frederick Selous (1851–1917), explorer after whom the Selous Scouts were named
- Theophilus Shepstone (1817–1893), Zulu language interpreter and civil servant
- Canonical Ltd., space tourist
- Harry Smith (1787–1860), Governor of the Cape Colony and founder of Ladysmith, which he named after his wife
- Ian Smith (1919–2007), Prime Minister of Rhodesia, or Southern Rhodesia, from 1964 to 1979
- Richard Southey (1808–1901), Colonial Secretary and Treasurer, Lieutenant-Governor of Griqualand-West
- Henry Morton Stanley (1841–1904), colleague of David Livingstone
- George Steer (1909–1944), British journalist notable for his coverage of various conflicts during the 1930s and early 1940s
- Edwin Swales, V.C. (1915–1945), pilot killed in World War II
- Custer's Last Stand
Authors, poets, academics and journalists
- Allan MacLeod Cormack (1924-1998), physicist
- Jani Allan (born 1952), journalist
- William Boyd (born 1952), writer
- Robert Broom (1866–1951), doctor and paleontologist
- Guy Butler ( 1918–2001), author, poet and playwright
- Roy Campbell (1901–1957), poet
- Jack Cope (1913–1991), author
- Bryce Courtenay (1933–2012), author
- Robyn Curnow (born 1972), journalist
- Alex Crawford (born 1963), journalist
- Richard Dawkins (born 1941), evolutionary biologist, author of The God Delusion
- John Edmond (born 1936), folk singer
- Percy FitzPatrick (1862–1931), transport rider and author
- Bruce Fordyce (born 1955), ultra-marathon runner
- Athol Fugard (born 1932), author, actor and playwright
- Alexandra Fuller (born 1969), author
- Peter Godwin(born 1957), author and journalist
- Nadine Gordimer (1923-2014), author, anti-apartheid activist and winner of 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature
- A. C. Grayling (born 1949), philosopher and academic
- William Hamilton (1891–1917), poet killed in World War I
- Glynn Isaac (1937–1985), palaeoanthropologist
- Louis Leakey (1903–1972), palaeoanthropologist
- Mary Leakey (1913–1996), palaeoanthropologist
- Richard Leakey (born 1944), palaeoanthropologist and conservationist
- Doris Lessing (1919-2013), author
- David Lewis-Williams (born 1934), archaeologist
- Alan Paton (1903–1988), author
- David Grey Rattray (1958–2007), historian
- Olive Schreiner (1855–1920), author
- Wilbur Smith (born 1933), author
- Nieman Fellowand political commentator
- Edward Stourton (born 1957), journalist
- Winston Sterzel travel vlogger, documentary maker and businessman
- J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973), author
Sportspeople, musicians and actors
- Charlene, Princess of Monaco (born 1978), Olympic swimmer
- Saffron (born Samatha Sprackling), lead singer of Republica
- Kork Ballington (born 1951), motorcycle road racer
- Rory Byrne (born 1944), engineer and Formula One car designer
- Mike Catt (born 1971), rugby player
- Kitch Christie (1940–1998), rugby coach who took the Springboks to victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup
- Johnny Clegg (also known as "The White Zulu", 1953-2019), musician
- Sharlto Copley (born 1973), film actor, producer and director
- Kirsty Coventry (born 1983), Olympic swimmer
- Kevin Curren (born 1958), tennis player
- Andy Flower (born 1968), cricketer, coach of England's national cricket team
- Chris Froome (born 1985), cyclist
- Richard E. Grant (born 1957), actor, director and screenwriter
- Butch James (born 1979), rugby player
- Watkin Tudor Jones (born 1974), rapper, music producer, satirist, Die Antwoord lead vocalist
- Dave Matthews (born 1967), musician
- Alexander McCall Smith (born 1948), author
- Mark McNulty (born 1953), golfer
- Percy Montgomery (born 1974), rugby player
- Gordon Murray (born 1946), Formula One car designer
- Steve Nash (born 1974), basketball player
- Kevin Pietersen (born 1980), cricketer
- Gary Player (born 1935), golfer
- Graeme Pollock (born 1944), cricketer
- Shaun Pollock (born 1973), cricketer
- Nick Price (born 1957), golfer
- Ray Price (born 1976), cricketer
- Matt Prior (born 1982), cricketer
- Jim Redman (born 1931), motorcycle road racer
- Barry Richards (born 1945), cricketer
- Jonty Rhodes (born 1969), cricketer
- Rory Sabbatini (born 1976), golfer
- Bobby Skinstad (born 1976), rugby player
- Heath Streak (born 1974), cricketer
- Graeme Smith (born 1981), cricketer
- Jordy Smith (born 1988), professional surfer
- Winston Sterzel travel vlogger, documentary maker and businessman
- Andrew Strauss (born 1977), cricketer
- Wrex Tarr (1934–2006), comedian
- Brendan Taylor (born 1986), cricketer
- Clem Tholet (1948–2004), folk singer
- Jonathan Trott (born 1981), cricketer
- Hugo Weaving (born 1960), actor
- Roger Whittaker (born 1936), musician
References
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- ^ Bannerman, Lucy (10 March 2012). "Dr Scott, I presume?". The Spectator. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
Less than 40,000 of Zambia's 13-million-strong population are white
- ^ "Census 2009 Summary: Ethnic Affiliation". Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original on 21 November 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2013. Out of a total Kenyan population of 38,610,097 in Census 2009, the ethnic affiliation given for 5,166 was Kenyan Europeans and that given for 27,172 was Europe.
- ^ "Zimbabwe: Treatment of white Zimbabweans who are not farmers and available state protection". UNHCR. 22 July 2010. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
According to an article in World Affairs, a bi-monthly international affairs journal published in Washington, DC (World Affairs n.d.), there were 296,000 white Zimbabweans in 1975, 120,000 in 1999, and 30,000 in 2010 (World Affairs 1 May 2010).
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- ^ Selby, Angus (2006). White Farmers in Zimbabwe, 1890–2005 (PDF) (PhD). Oxford University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 August 2012.
- ^ "Individuals and entities from Zimbabwe on US sanctions list". US Treasury OFAC. 25 July 2008. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
- ^ "Council Common Position renewing restrictive measures against Zimbabwe" (PDF). Council of the European Union. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
- ^ "Zimbabwe Suspended Indefinitely from Commonwealth". Human Rights First. 8 December 2003. Archived from the original on 10 June 2008. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
- ^ "Commonwealth website confirms Zimbabwe 'terminated' its membership with effect from 7 December 2003". Commonwealth Secretariat. 12 December 2003. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
- ^ a b c "South Africa". The Commonwealth. 15 August 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
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- ^ Rossouw, Mandy (25 March 2011). "Is the DA the new black?". Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
It is to be the poster boy for the new DA, a party that has been aggressively attempting to shake off the image of white, middle-class and predominantly English-speaking.
- ^ Eligon, John (27 January 2012). "A South African Party's New Face, and Lightning Rod". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
She is now the face of an effort to diversify the party's leadership, shed. Its stereotype as the party of South Africa's white elite and give it any hope of catching up to the A.N.C., which captured more than 65 percent of the vote to the alliance's 16 percent during the last national election in 2009.
- ^ du Plessis, Carien (25 November 2012). "New – black and young – faces in the DA". City Press. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
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- ^ a b Haynie, Devon (27 July 2008). "More people returning to SA than leaving". Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
The South African Department of Home Affairs says it does not track South Africans who move abroad and then return. Anecdotal evidence, however, indicates more South Africans have been returning to the country since the late-1990s.
- ^ a b c Wende, Hamilton (7 January 2011). "Hope returns – behind high walls". Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
They are part of a growing number of mostly thirtysomething South Africans who have returned to the country in the past two years. Exact numbers are hard to find but a recent CNN report quoted a British employment survey which found that about 100 000 South African job-seekers were planning to return home ... The CNN report estimates that up to 20% of South African professionals, almost exclusively White, have left the country since 1995—a loss of about 800,000 people, from a White population of 4.5 million.
- ^ Conway, Daniel (26 July 2010). "The changing lives of expats in South Africa". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
Furthermore, with its 'retirement visa' scheme, South Africa is a very popular destination for British retirees.
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An estimated 5.5m British people live permanently abroad ... South Africa: 212,000
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The Republic of South Africa is home to more than 200,000 UK expats, drawn by a lower cost of living, warmer climate, beautiful beaches and amazing wildlife and game parks, as well as opportunities for an outdoors-focused lifestyle; plus the country's incredible scenery. Figures from the Department of Work and Pensions show there are more than 38,000 UK citizens living in South Africa and receiving the UK State Pension.
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The Scots Presbyterian mission station of Lovedale was the centre of this process, with a reach that spread all over southern Africa, either by direct evangelisation, as in Malawi, or by the example of the quality and level of the education that could be obtained there. Lovedale became a centre of 'higher' education for black people for more than a century. Amongst many others, Seretse Khama of Botswana and Thabo Mbeki were pupils there.
- ^ "Tiger Kloof Educational Institution". Retrieved 15 July 2013.
- ^ "Historic Schools Project: South Africa". Historic Schools Restoration Project. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
- ^ "Historic schools must be restored: Ndungane". News24. 24 September 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
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- ^ Alexander, Mary (30 June 2006). "Black, white – or South African?". SAinfo. Archived from the original on 24 July 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
With 82% defining themselves as 'South African', whites identify with the country the most, followed by coloureds and Indians. Five percent of whites consider themselves to be Africans, while 4% identify themselves according to race and 2% according to language or ethnicity.
- ^ "A Nation in the Making: A Discussion Document on Macro-Social Trends in South Africa" (PDF). Government of South Africa. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 July 2006. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ^ Donald G. McNeil Jr (11 October 1998). "Like Politics, All Political Correctness Is Local". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008.
Meanwhile, English-speaking whites call uncouth Afrikaner ones 'hairybacks' or 'rockspiders,' while Afrikaners call the other whites 'rooinek' – rednecks, as in sunburned British soldiers – or worse.
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- ^ Africanus (December 1918). The adjustment of the German colonial claims – Dedicated to the American and British delegates of the peace conference. Bern. p. 7. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
Sir Harry Johnston, the former Governor General of Central British Africa said after the conquest of German East Africa in the 'Daily News': ... Another well known Anglo-African and Colonial politician E. D. Morel in an article in the 'Labour Leader' entitled 'The Way Out' writes as follows: ...'
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Harry Johnston (1858–1927) and E. D. Morel (1873–1924) are referred to as Anglo-Africans in this publication. - ISBN 0-19-520639-8.
A startling feature in the rhetoric of black institutional leadership on the eve of the Civil War was the popularity of the term, 'Anglo-African.' ... By 1900, 'Anglo-African' had been replaced by 'Afro-American' and such variants as 'Euro-African', and 'Negro-Saxon'.
- ISBN 9780684815824.
The festival was to be given at Gloucester with Coleridge-Taylor himself conducting the three choirs. As it was advertised that the conductor was an Anglo-African, the audience expected a white man. What was its surprise to see instead a dark-skinned Negro, quick-moving, slight of build, with an enormous head of high, thick, frizzly hair, broad nostrils, flashing white teeth, and a winning smile.
- ISBN 978-1-91989-514-7.
Because the area had only been colonised in the 1890s, the Anglo-African community of Nyasaland during the 1930s, for the most part, consisted of first-generation persons of 'mixed' racial descent. This is reflected in their preference of the term 'Anglo-African' over 'coloured' and 'half-caste'. Although all three were used, 'Anglo-African' had the advantage of emphasising their partial descent from colonists.
- ISBN 978-0230340183.
At different historical junctures in Northern Rhodesia's racialized landscape, persons of mixed descent were categorized accordingly: 'half-caste,' 'Anglo-African,' 'Indo-African,' 'Euro-African, 'Eurafrican,' and 'Coloured.'
- ^ Wills, Walter H; Barrett, R. J, eds. (1905). The Anglo-African Who's Who and Biographical Sketch-Book. London: George Routledge & Sons, Ltd. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
But we may perhaps claim that, incomplete as it is, it contains many records of Anglo-Africans which are not readily available in any similar work of reference, and it is only necessary to add that we hope to remedy its sins of omission and commission in future editions.
Further reading
- Campbell, Colin Turing (1897). British South Africa: A History of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope from its Conquest 1795 to the Settlement of Albany by the British Emigration of 1819 (1795–1825) with Notices of Some of the British Settlers of 1820. John Haddon & Co. Retrieved 25 July 2013.