South Africa: The early quest for liberty and democracy

Wim A Dreyer

doi:10.4102/hts.v71i3.2873

Abstract

The early quest for liberty and political freedom in South Africa had been influenced by various factors, inter alia political sentiments which originated in Reformed, Huguenot and Patriotten political theory. An analysis of early political ideas indicates that religious sentiments had a significant influence on the development of political ideas. These sentiments and ideas all contributed to a passionate search for freedom, justice and democracy. The different strata of religious and political ideas manifest in a continuous and discontinuous way, giving the impression of fragmented and contorted ideas, but still recognisable in terms of their origins. This contribution is an attempt to identify some of the fragmented and contorted strata of ideas which influenced the early quest for political freedom and the rejection of British colonial rule in South Africa.

Highlights

The French philosopher Michel Foucault (1972) used the notion of an ‘archaeology of knowledge’ as a way to reveal discontinuous, fragmented and contorted ideas in history (Beukes 2008:74)
Analysis of early political ideas indicates that religious sentiments had a significant influence on the development of political ideas
When we unearth the layers of socio-political ideas and sentiments during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the prominence of the Cape Patriotten 6 movement is quite evident

Summary

Introduction

The French philosopher Michel Foucault (1972) used the notion of an ‘archaeology of knowledge’ as a way to reveal discontinuous, fragmented and contorted ideas in history (Beukes 2008:74). Using this notion of an archaeology of knowledge, I will attempt to identify some of the fragmented and contorted strata of ideas which influenced the early (1652–1852) quest for political freedom and the rejection of British colonial rule in South Africa. One example would be their knowledge of Article 36 of the Belgic Confession, which reads as follows according to the official translation of the Reformed Church of America 5: We believe that because of the depravity of the human race, our good God has ordained kings, princes, and civil officers.

Results

Conclusion