The Dawning of Apartheid

Interest in apartheid remains at a high level, both
in South Africa and worldwide. Most accounts of
apartheid, however, give short shrift to apartheid s
deep historical roots in South Africa, and to the
wider historical context in which it took shape.
Meanwhile, little historical research has been done
on the nature of British racial policy in the
immediate post-war years. This book, therefore,
fills a critical gap by examining British and South
African attitudes to racial policy at the highest and
most decisive level: in the Westminster and Cape Town
Parliaments. By an analysis of the racial attitudes
expressed in the Parliamentary debates regarding
several important themes, this book sheds light on
the growing schism between British and South African
perspectives on race. It emerges that the 1948
election in South Africa, which brought an apartheid
Government to power, was less determinative than many
commentators have suggested. Readers interested in
the evolution of racial attitudes and racial policy
will find the book indispensable, as will those who
wish to gain insight into the increasingly strained
relationship between South Africa and Britain from
1945 to 1961.

Autorentext
Nicholas L. Waddy, Ph.D. University of Rochester (2001): Currently Associate Professor of History at SUNY Alfred. Author of numerous articles, works of historical fiction, and a forthcoming textbook, The Essential Guide to Western Civilization.

Klappentext
Interest in apartheid remains at a high level, both in South Africa and worldwide. Most accounts of apartheid, however, give short shrift to apartheid's deep historical roots in South Africa, and to the wider historical context in which it took shape. Meanwhile, little historical research has been done on the nature of British racial policy in the immediate post-war years. This book, therefore, fills a critical gap by examining British and South African attitudes to racial policy at the highest and most decisive level: in the Westminster and Cape Town Parliaments. By an analysis of the racial attitudes expressed in the Parliamentary debates regarding several important themes, this book sheds light on the growing schism between British and South African perspectives on race. It emerges that the 1948 election in South Africa, which brought an apartheid Government to power, was less determinative than many commentators have suggested. Readers interested in the evolution of racial attitudes and racial policy will find the book indispensable, as will those who wish to gain insight into the increasingly strained relationship between South Africa and Britain from 1945 to 1961.