Chapter Seven. A ‘Black Legend’ Of Dutch Colonialism In The Travels (1801–1804) Of John Barrow

Abstract

In this chapter the author wants to investigate how English colonial official John Barrow merges the representation of the Dutch colonists and the Dutch colonial administration into a plea for maintaining or restoring British colonial authority over the Cape Colony, when the Cape reverted to Dutch administration. In the first part of his travel account, he did this in the form of sketches with which he wanted to present a nuanced image of South Africa. In the second part, the importance of the Cape of Good Hope to the different European powers, their reprehensibility were emphasised more strongly. The author wants to examine how Barrow constructs his representation of the Boer and refer to the contrasting picture he presents of the indigenous population. This essay was included in Pratt's influential study on colonial travel accounts, in which she presents a highly charged image of the first part of Barrow's Travels.Keywords: Black Legend; British colonial authority; Cape Colony; Dutch Colonialism; John Barrow; reverted; South Africa; Travels