Rescuing the Rebels from Ruin: Afrikaner Nationalism and the Political Economy of the Helpmekaar (Mutual Aid) Movement and its £100 Fund, 1915–1917

Abstract

ABSTRACT The broad focus of this article is on the economic aftermath of the Afrikaner Rebellion of 1914–1915 and its wider repercussions as viewed through the lens of the Helpmekaar movement and its £100 Fund. In its engagement with the economic underpinnings which served as a springboard for incipient and embryonic Afrikaner nationalism it elaborates on the work of Hermann Giliomee and Dan O'Meara in this regard. Firstly, it presents the Helpmekaar movement as it operated in the period 1915–1917 as a “poverty-alleviation programme” – a scheme to avert an escalation of the poor white problem by ensuring that 11 000 rebels do not permanently join the ranks of the poor whites. As such, it ranks among the most successful schemes of its kind in Afrikaner history. The second specific focus of the article is on the political economy of the £100 fund. By analysing the geographical distribution of the contributions to the fund an attempt is made to determine the possible correlation between this distribution and the geographical distribution of National Party (NP) support in the 1915 election. As far as the political impact of the Helpmekaar movement and its symbolic standard-bearer – the £100 Fund – on the fortunes of Afrikaner nationalism is concerned, the quantitative analysis demonstrated a significant correlation between support for the NP and its translation into support for the Helpmekaar movement and vice versa. It is therefore suggested that the £100 fund established the template for the future growth and eventual success of Afrikaner nationalism and ethnic mobilization.