Poverty, War, and Violence in South Africa - Softcover

Crais, Clifton

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1107607957 ISBN 13: 9781107607958

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2011

Synopsis

Poverty, War, and Violence in South Africa Clifton Crais explores the relationship between colonial conquest and the making of South Africa's rural poor. Full description

About this title

Review:

'With brisk economy, this book provides a fresh and compelling explanation of the origins of rural poverty in nineteenth-century South Africa. It is indispensable reading for anyone who is seriously interested in understanding the persistence of crushing poverty in the South African countryside today.' Ivan Evans, University of California, San Diego

'South Africa is marked by extreme income inequality and crushing rural poverty. In this challenging and original work, Professor Clifton Crais reorients South African historiography, pointing squarely to the searing violence of colonial conquest - well before the mineral revolution or the rise of the apartheid state - as the root of poverty in South Africa's Eastern Cape. Though the argument is built on a close study of this one region, it has important implications for our understanding of the history of poverty and inequality across much of Africa. This thoughtful work, which looks closely at the consequences of conquest from the miseries of maize to the insecurity of land tenure, is sure to stimulate a lively debate.' Thomas McClendon, Southwestern University

'This work could be a watershed in South African historiography: it dispenses with some key orthodoxies in the established literature on the origins of modern South Africa and opens new perspectives on current concerns with enduring rural poverty and social inequalities.' André du Toit, University of Cape Town

'... all readers will find food for thought in this innovative and beautifully written study.' Norman Etherington, Journal of African History

Book Description:

Poverty and violence are issues of global importance. In Poverty, War, and Violence in South Africa, Clifton Crais explores the relationship between colonial conquest and the making of South Africa's rural poor. This detailed history changes our understanding of the origins of the gut-wrenching poverty that characterizes rural areas today.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1107607957
• ISBN 13: 9781107607958
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 198