Book Review: Marthinus Theunis Steyn: Regsman, Staatsman en Volksman

This art icle was downloaded by: [ Universit y of Pret oria] , [ Lindie Koort s] On: 12 Decem ber 2011, At : 02: 44 Publisher: Rout ledge I nform a Lt d Regist ered in England and Wales Regist ered Num ber: 1072954 Regist ered office: Mort im er House, 37- 41 Mort im er St reet , London W1T 3JH, UK South African Historical Journal Publicat ion det ails, including inst ruct ions for aut hors and subscript ion informat ion: ht t p:/ / www.t andfonline.com/ loi/ rshj 20 Marthinus Theunis Steyn: Regsman, Staatsman en Volksman Lindie Koort s a Universit y of Pret oria Available online: 28 Nov 2011 To cite this article: Lindie Koort s (2011): Mart hinus Theunis St eyn: Regsman, St aat sman en Volksman, Sout h African Hist orical Journal, 63:4, 617-621 To link to this article: ht t p:/ / dx.doi.org/ 10.1080/ 02582473.2011.623176 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTI CLE Full t erm s and condit ions of use: ht t p: / / www.t andfonline.com / page/ t erm s- and- condit ions This art icle m ay be used for research, t eaching, and privat e st udy purposes. Any subst ant ial or syst em at ic reproduct ion, redist ribut ion, reselling, loan, sub- licensing, syst em at ic supply, or dist ribut ion in any form t o anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warrant y express or im plied or m ake any represent at ion t hat t he cont ent s will be com plet e or accurat e or up t o dat e. The accuracy of any inst ruct ions, form ulae, and drug doses should be independent ly verified wit h prim ary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, act ions, claim s, proceedings, dem and, or cost s or dam ages what soever or howsoever caused arising direct ly or indirect ly in connect ion wit h or arising out of t he use of t his m at erial. Downloaded by [University of Pretoria], [Lindie Koorts] at 02:44 12 December 2011 BOOK REVIEWS 617 Following its regionally specific opening, the book takes a thematic approach with chapters addressing non-white migrants and settlers, immigration networks, female migration, child migration and a final chapter on migrants returning home. The chapter on Africa south of the Sahara makes clear that the settler experience in the region was quite different from that in British north America and Australasia. As a place of settlement it attracted substantially fewer migrants than other destinations and those who moved were unevenly distributed around the region. The climate and diseases in much of West Africa discouraged large scale settlement and even in the more temperate zones of British East and Central Africa, settlement remained comparatively small. Significant settlement only took place in the territories which became the Union of South Africa and even then British migrants remained a minority within the white community, which itself was always outnumbered by the black African population. The large reserves of black labour plus occupational segregation meant that white working class migrants were in relatively low demand. The authors, however, contend that climate and pathogens do not provide sufficient reason to explain the patchy settlement of Africa by British immigrants; to them politics and economics provide more compelling reasons. West Africa was never considered by the British as a potential zone of white settlement, rather it was viewed as a place where British citizens would be conditionally encouraged to engage in other forms of economic exploitation. In East Africa, they argue, Goans and Arabs did more numerically to change the demographics of this part of Britain’s African Empire than anything affected by British emigration, since they diversified into other commercial activities, stayed and multiplied. After the First World War East Africa received a new infusion of British settlers with the introduction of a land settlement scheme for ex-service personal in 1919 which was supported by both the Kenyan and British governments. Migration and Empire is a welcome addition to the Oxford History of the British Empire Companion Series. Scholars and students with an interest in Empire migration will find a wealth of well-selected case studies and evidenced with a wide selection of sources. ANDREW COHEN University of Sheffield # 2011 Andrew Cohen Marthinus Theunis Steyn: Regsman, Staatsman en Volksman. By M.C.E. VAN SCHOOR. Pretoria: Protea Boekhuis, 2009. 448 pp. ISBN 978-1-869-19310-2. Many a historian, this reviewer included, dreams of writing history well beyond retirement
especially when the burdens of administration leave exhausted academics fantasising about limitless time for research projects that have been shelved for years. However, when one reads a book such as M.C.E. van Schoor’s Marthinus Theunis Steyn: Regsman, Staatsman en Volksman, one is forced to question the value of a work that might be an addition to the body of knowledge on the one hand, but is a historiographical relic of an era long past on the other. This leads one into the murky and unpleasant waters of ageism, as it is by no means valid or wise to dismiss the work of retired historians. Yet, Downloaded by [University of Pretoria], [Lindie Koorts] at 02:44 12 December 2011 618 BOOK REVIEWS when a book such as this belongs so firmly to the defunct category of Afrikaner nationalist historiography, its ability to ask fresh and penetrating questions about a key figure in South African history is doubtful and it represents an opportunity for revision that has been lost. Van Schoor never made a secret of his idolisation of the Free State triumvirate, M.T. Steyn, C.R. de Wet and J.D. Kestell.1 His many publications also included biographies of De Wet2 and Kestell.3 Marthinus Theunis Steyn, his final book, is a biography of the young Free State President whose republic fought alongside Paul Kruger’s Transvaal in the Anglo-Boer War and who insisted on remaining in the field long after his Transvaal allies were prepared to surrender. It cost him his health and made him a living martyr in the years after the war. According to his publisher, Van Schoor was overcome with emotion when he received his author’s copies. A few weeks later, aged 88, he died of cancer.4 With such a poignant image in mind, it is indeed unpleasant to level criticism at the book. It is, unfortunately, also unavoidable. From the onset, it is clear that Van Schoor did not aim at writing a dispassionate biography. Instead, his ambition was to let Steyn
‘he who was described as the first true Afrikaner’ (7, my translation) serve as an inspiration to the reader. The book was also intended to serve as a rectification of Steyn’s historiographical neglect. The last comprehensive biography of Steyn was published by his son-in-law, N.J. van der Merwe, in 1921. In addition to this, Van Schoor believed that Steyn had stood in Paul Kruger’s shadow for too long (and indeed throughout the book, his references to Kruger are less than complimentary), and needs to take his ‘rightful place in the history of the Afrikaner and of South Africa’ (7, my translation). As can be gathered from these phrases, the book promises to be uncritical of the concept ‘Afrikaner’ in general and of Steyn in particular
and it delivers on this promise. Steyn’s political views are described at length, rather than examined, as the author treated his patriotism and republicanism as self-evident and openly supported Steyn’s opinions.5 The distinction between biographer and biographical subject is generally blurred, as, on numerous occasions, the author chose to place himself in his subject’s mind and to conjecture what his thoughts would have been.6 Van Schoor romanticises Steyn to such an extent that the reader finds it difficult to identify with his person. One of the benefits of biography lies in the reader being able to recognise a common humanity with the biographical subject. This is achieved by a warts and all account, which emphasises the subject’s vulnerability as much as his or her virtues. Without detracting from the character. On the contrary, it serves to make the individual more plausible. Van Schoor did not follow this approach. One is hard-pressed even to gain a sufficient notion of Steyn’s personality, as there is no comprehensive description of his temperament to be found. The reader is left to search for clues throughout the text. The result is a picture of Steyn as a stoic who bid his family farewell and bravely rode off to war without shedding a tear (192). Such a one-dimensional treatment of the biographical subject could be the result of a number of factors: either the author felt uncomfortable in dealing with the ‘messiness’ that the private sphere usually entails, or the humanity and ‘weakness’ that it represents did not fit into his idealised perception of Steyn. The other possibility was that the scope of his sources or his research was of a limited nature. Van Schoor did not make use of references, but instead claimed that the book was not aimed at an academic Downloaded by [University of Pretoria], [Lindie Koorts] at 02:44 12 December 2011 BOOK REVIEWS 619 audience
and that any researcher ‘worth his salt’ would be able to check his information against the bibliography (7). Yet, when reading the text, one is struck by a thinly spread narrative, which is clearly the result of an absence of primary sources. The bibliography is equally wanting. According to his bibliography, Van Schoor consulted six edited collections of papers and three archival collections: the M.T. Steyn collection, the G.A. Fichardt collection and the Abraham Fischer collection, all housed at the Free State Archives. An examination of the M.T. Steyn collection’s catalogue revealed that its contents are severely limited and nearly devoid of Steyn’s replies to his correspondents.7 Steyn and a number of his confidantes lost their correspondence during the course of the Anglo-Boer War, which explains this dearth of primary sources. Yet, other authors, who have published works related to Steyn, have uncovered a myriad of relevant archival collections
in the Free State and beyond
which Van Schoor did not exploit. I am referring in particular to Van Schoor’s limited use of Karel Schoeman’s In Liefde en Trou: Die Lewe van President M.T. Steyn en Mevrou Tibbie Steyn, Met ‘n Keuse Uit Hulle Korrespondensie,8 which is an annotated selection of the Steyn family’s correspondence, and Elbie Truter’s biography of Steyn’s wife, Tibbie. Rachel Isabella Steyn, 1865
1955: Haar Lewe Was Haar Boodskap.9 In particular, the latter book, while certainly not devoid of excessive sentimentality, is the result of thorough research that unearthed a broad range of archival collections, which Van Schoor did not consult.10 I would speculate that he was unaware of the materials used by Truter because he does not examine her book. He did not, in general, refer to secondary publications that appeared after the 1960s. A survey of Van Schoor’s bibliography reveals that the vast majority of publications consulted were published before 1969. A total of five publications were published in the 1970s and three published in the 1980s
the youngest publication dates back to 1982. In so doing, the author not only overlooked nearly three decades of historiography, but he also neglected one of the most crucial aspects of biography: his subject’s family. Steyn’s wife and children are relegated to cursory references and Steyn himself becomes the opposite of what Karel Schoeman set out to achieve in publishing the family’s private papers, that is ‘to introduce them [the Steyn-family], in as far as possible, as living persons, and not solemn waxworks in a historical tableau’.11 Since both of the above-mentioned publications deal with Steyn’s family (and since Van Schoor evidently had access to Schoeman’s book), the reason for this could not have been a lack of sources. It seems more likely that he chose to focus on Steyn the public figure, rather than Steyn the man. In contrast to Van Schoor’s portrayal of Steyn, a very different character emerges from Truter’s account. She quotes from Steyn and his wife’s private correspondence to paint a picture of a couple whose marriage was not devoid of quarrels, but yet who pined for each another when one was away.12 None of this vulnerability is present in Van Schoor’s account
apart from his description of Steyn’s anguish and feelings of guilt as he surveyed the Anglo-Boer War’s human cost, and a touching description of the collapse of his health as the Treaty of Vereeniging was being negotiated (282
285, 289
292). This description, however, entrenches Steyn’s image as a martyr and serves to Downloaded by [University of Pretoria], [Lindie Koorts] at 02:44 12 December 2011 620 BOOK REVIEWS contribute to the nationalist meta-narrative that dominates the author’s treatment of his subject. This meta-narrative, however, does not manifest itself in the conventional narrative structure that biographers usually employ and points to the distinction between historical writing and biographical writing. While historians might choose to compartmentalise information in a thematic or analytical structure, biographers are confined to a chronological or narrative structure, as good storytelling technique is a crucial aspect of the genre and its success. In this biography, however, the author employs a chronological structure until he reaches the Anglo-Boer War. In order to deal with its complexities, he then reverts to a thematic structure. Purportedly, this was to prevent the book from becoming a mere chronology of the war (141). Such a dilemma could have been solved by focussing only on Steyn’s, as the central character, experience of the war. Once the war is over, Van Schoor returns to a chronological structure
only to write a thematic chapter (Chapter 19), as part of his final chapters, in order to outline Steyn’s various concerns, such as religion, education, white poverty and the Afrikaans language. Even in the chronological chapters, information is grouped under section headings. Not only does this disturb the narrative, but the opportunity to write a gripping story is lost. Ironically, the chapters on the Anglo-Boer War (Chapters 8 to 15) are the highlight of this book. Their structure may not make for good biography, but they are good history, as they provide a nuanced account of disagreements between the Free State and Transvaal commands and the difficulties of keeping the ill-disciplined Boer forces in the field. Taken as a whole, producing a 448 page biography represents an enormous achievement for a person of Van Schoor’s age
especially if one considers that he was plagued by ill health towards the end of his life. It is, however, a book that was not targeted at academic readers and which is better suited to an antiquarian readership. A comprehensive and critical biography of M.T. Steyn has yet to be written. Notes 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. A. Wessels, ‘In Memoriam: Professor Tienie Van Schoor (24 November 1920
25 Julie 2009)’, Historia, 54, 2 (2009), 3; F. Pretorius, ‘Professor Tienie van Schoor: Die Einde van ‘n Era’, Historia, 54, 2 (2009), 5. M.C.E. van Schoor, Christiaan Rudolph de Wet: krygsman en volksman (Pretoria: Protea Boekhuis, 2007). M.C.E. van Schoor, John Daniël Kestell, 1854
1941: Outobiografies Beskryf (Bloemfontein: Oorlogsmuseum van die Boere-republieke, 1992). N. Stassen, ‘Professor Tienie van Schoor en Protea Boekhuis’, Historia, 54, 2 (2009), 9
11. A case in point is Van Schoor’s uncritical acceptance of Steyn’s handling of the dispute between J.B.M. Hertzog and Louis Botha. See Van Schoor, Marthinus Theunis Steyn, 360
370. For examples of this, see Ibid., 80, 212. My thanks are due to the archivist, Mr Donald van Wyk, who was kind enough to email me an electronic copy of the M.T. Steyn collection’s catalogue, as well as the catalogues of a number of related collections. K. Schoeman, In liefde en trou: Die lewe van president M.T. Steyn en mevrou Tibbie Steyn, met ‘n keuse uit hulle korrespondensie (Cape Town: Human & Rousseau, 1983). Van Shoor refers to this publication in his preface, but does not list it in his biography. It would seem that he made limited use of its contents and that its omission from the bibliography was an oversight. E. Truter, Tibbie. Rachel Isabella Steyn, 1865
1955: Haar lewe was haar boodskap (Cape Town: Human & Rousseau, 1997). There is no reference to this publication in Van Schoor’s book. See Truter’s extensive bibliography, Ibid., 293
317. BOOK REVIEWS 11. 12. 621 Schoeman, In liefde en trou, x (translated from the original Afrikaans, my translation). See for example Truter, Tibbie, 27
34. Downloaded by [University of Pretoria], [Lindie Koorts] at 02:44 12 December 2011 LINDIE KOORTS University of Pretoria # 2011 Lindie Koorts The South African Intelligence Services: From Apartheid to Democracy, 1948
2005. By KEVIN O’BRIEN. London: Routledge, 2011. 301 pp. ISBN 978-0-415-43397-6. In recent years intelligence history has become a burgeoning field. The International Intelligence History Association, founded in 1993, has, for example, from 2001 published the Journal of Intelligence History. There is an obvious fascination in trying to find out what the intelligence services were up to, and in some cases remarkable new material has become available, while it has been shown that intelligence work was extremely influential in shaping the course of events: one immediately thinks of Ultra and the use of the enigma machines at Bletchley Park in the Second World War.1 Christopher Andrew and Keith Jeffrey have published major histories of the British intelligence agency MI6, and the book under review appears in a ‘Studies in Intelligence Series’, edited by Richard Aldrich and Andrew, that includes some 50 titles. Kevin O’Brien provides a clearly structured account of the development of the South African intelligence services from 1948 to 2005, within the context of increased resistance and counter-revolutionary strategies by the state. He includes short sections on the ANC’s intelligence operations in exile, and his book goes on to discuss the amalgamation of the different intelligence services that was part of the transition in the 1990s. O’Brien is a prolific scholar: his bibliography lists two chapters in books he has authored along with 11 articles in journals that he published between 1999 and 2002, about the time he was completing the doctoral thesis for the University of Hull (2000) on which this book is partly based. As his thesis and many of the articles are not readily accessible in South Africa, it is good to have this book available. As with all such studies, sources present a major problem. As so little documentation survives, much must remain speculation. O’Brien tells us that he has had confidential interviews in many countries (237, n. 4). How did he gain this access to intelligence operatives? We are told that he ‘has served for a number of years as a senior adviser to Western government and critical infrastructural sectors on public security and intelligence matters’ (i), which suggests that he has worked in intelligence himself. What is not clear from his bibliography and his notes is how much time, if any, he has spent going through, say, the records of the Military Intelligence Division of the South African Defence Force (DMI). The existence of these was not made known to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and access to them only became possible through the access of information requests of the South African History Archive at the University of the Witwatersrand. Though this book claims to be ‘the first full history of South African intelligence’ (i), that claim is misleading, in that there was of course intelligence gathering long before the Second World War; the history of pre-colonial intelligence deserves to be written. Moreover, any