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John Philip's Role in Hottentot Emancipation1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 January 2009

Harry A. Gailey Jr
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Extract

Early in 1819 a two-man deputation from the London Missionary Society arrived in Capetown. They had been instructed by the Directors in London to investigate the conditions of the missionary establishment and to make recommendations which would halt its inward decay. John Campbell, the senior member, had only reluctantly accepted the appointment on the understanding that as soon as possible he would return to England. The second man was Dr John Philip, an Aberdeen minister, who, once convinced of the importance of his presence in southern Africa was to stay as Superintendent of the Society's missions. Until his retirement in 1842 he would champion many unpopular causes and be viewed by generations of South Africans as an uninformed, irresponsible, political meddler. He received much of this reputation because of his work for Hottentot emancipation, which culminated in the famous Fiftieth Ordinance. Only recently has it been possible to re-evaluate Philip's actions in this cause and thus counter the opinions of those historians who preserved the stereotype of Philip as a master intriguer.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of African History , Volume 3 , Issue 3 , November 1962 , pp. 419 - 433
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1962

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References

2 The early relations with the Hottentots can be found in Schapera, I. and Farrington, B., eds., Early Cape Hottentots Described in the Writings of Dapper Ten Rhyne and Grevenbroeck (Capetown, 1933)Google Scholar and Stow, William, The Native Races of South Africa (London, 1905).Google Scholar

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