Slavery, Emancipation and Colonial Rule in South Africa

“This is a major work of South African history, putting economics and exploitation back where they belong, in

the centre of the country’s historiography.”

“This book is an important study that has made a significant contribution to the existing historiography of Africa in general and the Cape Colony in particular. It is based on an impressive archival research. Indeed, Dooling’s meticulous scouring and skillful use of the previously ‘almost unused’ records of bankruptcy, estates, and other records like land transfers, mortgage bonds, and literature on Cape slavery, economy, and the landed class facilitated his construction of a detailed history of the experiences of the landed class in Cape Colony in general....” ~Journal of World History

“Wayne Dooling’s book is a major contribution to the burgeoning corpus of works surrounding the institution of slavery in the early colonial Cape.… (T)he author is as focused on continuity as he is on transformation, and while he pays due attention to slave liberations and to the immediate crisis of emancipation for slave-owners, he is more concerned with weaving this moment into the longer narrative he constructs.” ~American Historical Review