‘Forgotten and Neglected’: Settlers, Government and Africans’ Education in Natal

Abstract

This chapter focuses on how land and labour were situated as central to the education of Africans in Natal. The settler colonial context fundamentally influenced the kinds of education promoted, the amount of funding given, and the level of government involvement in education. Thus, while there might have been broad ideas about the civilisation of Indigenous people throughout the Empire, this came up against a changing relationship between imperial and local governments in Natal. Many of the proposals for increased provision came up against opposition from colonial officials and settlers. By reading these ‘failed’ attempts at African education, I show how local settlers’ voices were increasingly dominant in Natal’s colonial politics. This had implications for the kinds of education that African pupils could access.