Settler Colonialism and Land Rights in South Africa : Possession and Dispossession on the Orange River

This local history of Griqua Philippolis (1824-1862) and Afrikaner Orania (1990-2013) gets at the crux of the ever-pertinent land question in South Africa. Identifying the many layers of dispossession definitive of the South African past, the book presents a provocative new argument about land rights and the residues of settler colonialism. Front Matter....Pages i-xiv Introduction: Land, Sovereignty, and Indigeneity in South Africa....Pages 1-23 The Erasure of Past Interests in Land at Philippolis....Pages 24-39 The Griqua Land Regime and Its Challenges....Pages 40-61 The Erasure of Past Interests in Land at Orania....Pages 62-73 The Oranian Land Regime and Its Challenges....Pages 74-89 Conclusion: Land Regimes and Property Rights on the Orange River....Pages 90-100 Afterword: On Restitution and Dispossession....Pages 101-118 Back Matter....Pages 119-164 "Layers of dispossession and disruption are definitive of South African history. Bouncing from Griqua Philippolis (1824-1862) to Afrikaner Orania (1990-2013), this book shows how land rights are prioritised in pre-apartheid and post-apartheid contexts. The result is a new way of looking at the country's history - different to the version of history partially redressed by an idiosyncratic system of restitution and reconciliation during transformation."--Back cover