Abstract

DE KLERK, Pieter. De Zuid-Afrikaan se standpunt oor stemreg vir bruin mense voor die totstandkoming van die Kaapse koloniale parlement in 1854The viewpoint of The Zuid-Afrikaan on the franchise for coloured people prior to the establishment of the Cape colonial parliament in 1854. Historia [online]. 2014, vol.59, n.1, pp.1-17. ISSN 2309-8392.

The newspaper De Zuid-Afrikaan was founded in 1830 mainly to serve as a mouthpiece of the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of the Cape Colony. It was strongly in favour of the establishment of a legislative body as part of a system of representative government for the colony. De Zuid-Afrikaan advocated an educational qualification to determine which inhabitants should participate in the appointment of members of this body. The main colonial officials and leading colonists, however, were in favour of a property qualification. Some of them wanted a high property qualification while others preferred a lower property requirement. De Zuid-Afrikaan expressed itself in favour of a low property qualification, and advanced as its main argument that a high property requirement would almost completely exclude the coloured people from the franchise. In 1853 the British government approved a constitution for the colony which included a low property qualification for the franchise. De Zuid-Afrikaan welcomed the new constitution as "liberal beyond expectation" and expressed the hope that considerations based on class and colour would not play a role in the new parliament.

Keywords : Cape Colony; representative government; legislative assembly; coloured people; franchise qualifications.

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