The Forgotten Frontier: Colonist and Khoisan on the Cape's Northern Frontier in the 18 th Century (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Forgotten Frontier: Colonist and Khoisan on the Cape's Northern Frontier in the 18th Century Gary Marquardt The Forgotten Frontier: Colonist and Khoisan on the Cape's Northern Frontier in the 18th Century. By Nigel Penn. (Athens: Ohio University Press, 2005). Storytelling in the discipline of History is a lost art, leaving history to be told through theoretical constructs that often manhandle the story. Every so often, however, a book such as Nigel Penn's The Forgotten Frontier comes along to refocus or, at the very least, make us reconsider the virtues of a good story and what it can tell us about history. Yes, Penn is "a master storyteller with a novelist's sensitivity" as the back of the book states. Yes, Penn's book is a dream-come-true for academics looking to access a treasure trove of primary source materials about life in the Cape Colony's northern frontier zone during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. And finally, yes, Penn is filling in a gaping hole in South Africa's literature that has, for too long, gone unnoticed. But where is the theory? This book goes a long way in advancing our understanding of the political, cultural, and environmental processes that determined the advancement of the Cape's northern frontier. However, it could have increased its impact by taking some chances with interpretation of the sources and thus leading frontier histories in a brave new direction. To his credit, Penn appears to relieve himself of this Herculean task in the introduction, stating, "[This book's] intention is to go some way towards rectifying the omissions and neglect which this, in many ways foremost, frontier has suffered" (14). Over 287 pages, The Forgotten Frontier not only rectifies these omissions, it makes up considerable ground on the more popular eastern frontier in South Africa, a topic whose literature spans five decades. Penn's most vital contribution is the detail he reveals in the social relationships among the indigenous and settler groups that inhabit this region. Indigenous groups of the Orange River region are prominently displayed in chapter 5. But Penn's narrative best succeeds when discussing the shifting ground of identities and relationships between such populations. In his discussion of commando units, Penn notes how white frontier settlers begin to see changes within the "Hottentot" community, noting that the term "Bastaard-Hottentots" first appears in print during the mid-1770s. Penn notes that such a change in terminology is not trivial. Among commando units (and society), the distinction as to whether individuals could be considered "Bastaards," "Hottentots," or "Bastaard-Hottentots" had a profound influence on what role they could play in such units. Such distinctions ultimately decided who could "shoot, ride, speak Dutch and profess Christianity," not to mention who formed alliances and who became enemies (138). In spite of these revealing views of peripheral societies, the overall direction of Penn's work is conservative; he aims to tell a story, not necessarily interpret it. Therefore, the moments in which he analyzes the story or even attempts to "read between the lines" are few and far between. In numerous parts, Penn reveals the uneven legal terrain of prosecuting Khoi, San and white settlers, noting that some whites were indeed punished for their actions against indigenous communities at certain times. The fact that whites were punished for their treatment of Khoi or San is nothing new. However, the idea that these verdicts and the consequential punishment varied at different points in time (and places) is revealing. Why did this happen? Who were the individuals involved and what were their backgrounds? Are there any patterns that dictate the legal decisions regarding criminal cases in these frontier territories? Such questions, I believe, are relevant when considering that Penn's major focus is social history, especially in that it illuminates violent acts and how they are handled by the state and frontier societies. The majority of this book looks at the relationship between Dutch and local societies through a top down approach, using the vast colonial archive to inform the story. Penn hints at the Khoi and/or San voice a few times throughout the book, alluding to...