This is your first writing prompt. Your essay should be 3 pages in length (no more than 4
pages!), double-spaced, and typed in 12-point New Times Roman font. You should devote a half
page to your introduction and another half to your conclusion. That means you have one page
for part iand another page for part ii.
Iris Berger examines South Africa’s history in different global contexts. Berger opens her
analysis with chapter discussions of the colonial origins of white supremacy and the links
between white supremacy and the international slave trade. Your first essay assignment
requires you to consider this issue from two possible perspectives: the period of Dutch rule
(focusing on the 1700s), including slavery, and the period of early British rule (focusing on
1806-1834), including the system of slavery before it was abolished. The systems of slavery in
South Africa depended on human captives from the coastal Atlantic world (for example, Angola)
and Indian Ocean ports (for examples, Mozambique, Bengal India, and Java or Indonesia).
Which of these systems of colonial rule in South Africa (Dutch or British) most strongly imposed an ideology or a set of coherent ideas, which enforced racial division and claimed European superiority? When you think about this question,
remember to explain which white settlers–in either the Dutch (VOC) or British period–were
truly powerful enough to determine “race relations” with indigenous African people who lived in
areas taken over by colonial power. This section of your essay should be one page.
In part two of your paper, consider how African people resisted colonial ideologies of
racial division and white supremacy. There are many possible examples to develop, so
please choose just two examples and develop them with specific contextual details and a clear
chronology of event(s). This section of your paper should be a page.
You should devote another paragraph (half a page) to the conclusion, which summarizes your
argument and major examples. An essay that uses quotes from Berger’s book to support key
insights, provides basic dates, and names particular actors who made or resisted oppressive
policies will receive the highest grades.
