SOCIAL SPACE AND RACIAL IDENTITY IN COLONIAL PIETERSBURG (1886-1910)

Abstract

In die konteks van sosio-ruimtelike onregverdighede in Suid-Afrikaanse stede, word geskeide ruimtes beskou as manifestasies van rasidentiteit. Die identiteit van Pietersburg as 'n kulturele bestaansplek vir wit mense het sy oorsprong met die proklamasie van die dorp in 1886. Daaropvolgende identiteit van rasse-vooroordeel is gevoed nog lank voordat dit deur wetgewing gemanipuleer is gedurende die apartheid era. Hierdie artikel ondersoek die ontstaan van Pietersburg gedurende die pre-Uniale periode (1886-1910), en vra ten slotte die vraag of die pleknaam moet verander in post-apartheid Suid Afrika. 

In the context of socio-spatial injustice in South African cities, divided spaces are viewed as manifestations of racial identity. Pietersburg's identity as a cultural place for whites originates in its proclamation as a town in 1886. Its subsequent racial identity was fostered by means of pure prejudice long before it was manipulated by legislation during the apartheid era. This article assesses the creation of Pietersburg during the pre-Union period (1886 to 1910) and ask whether the place name should now change in the post-apartheid era to restore its original identity.