Deneys Reitz: “South African First, Dutchman Second” – A Case Study of the Evolution of South African Identity in South Africa in the First Half of the Twentieth Century

Abstract

This thesis considers the life of Deneys Reitz, a South African soldier, author and politician who was a key member of the Afrikaner ruling elite in South Africa in the first half of the twentieth century. This was a seminal period in South African history, which included the formation of the new Union of South Africa in 1910. During this time, a distinctive new South African identity, known as “South Africanism” developed, centered around reconciliation between the two primary white linguistic groups in South Africa, and an acceptance of South Africa’s place within the British Empire. Over time, under the influence of his mentor and future Prime Minister Jan Smuts, Reitz became a fervent advocate of this new philosophy and an ardent Anglophile. Through a biographical examination of Reitz’s life and works (and that of certain of his contemporaries), this thesis considers the factors that influenced moderate Afrikaners like Reitz to embrace this new identity. It contends that these factors were complex and multifaceted, and, at least initially, had more to do with personal loyalties and internal Afrikaner politics than a genuine ideological belief in the importance of reconciliation and the values of Empire. In some cases, like Reitz and Smuts, the ideological belief evolved over time. However, this thesis argues that at the heart of many other moderate Afrikaners’ acceptance of South Africanism lay a more transactional trade-off – a willingness to reconcile with their English-speaking countrymen and accept British sovereignty, in exchange for a restoration and protection of Afrikaner political and cultural rights and the economic and security benefits of being part of the British Empire. For many Afrikaners (particularly those who didn’t necessarily share Reitz and Smuts’ Anglophilia) this trade-off was arguably made more palatable in the years between the two World Wars by the increasing degree of autonomy afforded to the Afrikaner-controlled South African government as a result of Britain’s slow-motion retreat from Empire after the First World War. This thesis further contends that a key motivating factor underpinning the philosophy of South Africanism was a belief in the necessity of white racial solidarity between Afrikaners and English South Africans of British origin, which was ultimately prioritized over other linguistic, ethnic and class divisions. Finally, this thesis considers the role played by moderate South African women in creating this new South African identity, with a particular focus on Deneys Reitz’s wife Leila (a strong advocate for women’s rights and South Africa’s first female parliamentarian). It argues that women, both South African and British, played a key role in encouraging Afrikaner / English reconciliation. It also seeks to show how white racial unity became an important justificatory factor in the fight for female rights such as suffrage and birth control, and ultimately helped ensure a political alignment across the gender divide.