History of South Africa

Thompson sets before himself quite a challenge. He aims to portray South Africa from the beginning of recorded history to the early 1990s. This effort is not based simply on a wish to be comprehensive, but rather on the belief that one must know the past in order to be effective in the present: "Modern Western culture is inordinately present-minded. Politicians are ignorant of the past." For example, some

historians are so committed to emphasizing the role of capitalism as the molder of modern Southern Africa that they ignore the processes that shaped society before Europeans began to intrude in the region (1).

Thompson's book is a successful effort to show that the foundations of South

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ith it from the past. Historians, as specialists in knowledge of the past, have an obligation to communicate their knowledge to other people as effectively as possible. If that means making myths---that is to say, describing exemplary events powerfully---then historians should indeed be mythmakers (24). In other words, in analyzing the myths behind the establishment, maintenance and justification of apartheid, historians such as Thompson inevitably take part in the political and historical processes themselves. This involvement is expressed in the subtle and/or blatant ways in which historians either refute or defend, reject or accept, those myths. A myth is, after all, merely "a tale told about the past" (1). The questions are: is that tale true or false? Is there any truth to it, if it is false? Who told the tale and perpetuated it? What role does it serve politically in either maintaining the present political rule or attempting to bring it down? By focusing on apartheid mythology, Thompson is able to help, in his way, destroy the regime which is based on that mythology. He wants to point out the fallacies in apartheid mythology, as well as show the function it has played in establishing and maintaining the regime. Thompson
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Some common words found in the essay are:
South Africa, South African, Southern Africa, South Africa's, South Africans, Separate Development, Cape Colony, Southern African, Indians Australians, National Party, south africa, thompson's book, south african, political mythology, segregation apartheid, racist policies, apartheid inevitable, modern south africa, modern south, historical political, social economic, social economic political, south african government, historical political process, haven yale university,
Approximate Word count = 2989
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page)

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