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- Title
TELLING TELEGRAMS: ANOTHER DIMENSION TO PAUL KRUGER?
- Authors
Erasmus, Charlotte
- Abstract
Over the past century the type casting of President SJP Kruger has remained largely unchanged. Generally, he is portrayed as a kind of people's (volks) hero whilst on the other hand he is depicted as an ignorant Boer tyrant. Consequently, it can be argued that his character has crystallised around a dualistic representation where the "common" Kruger is perceived in primarily positive or negative terms. This representation is particularly apparent in the period before and during the Anglo-Boer South African War of 1899-1902 as Kruger represented the epitome of Boer Republican independence. Nevertheless, this general stereotypical representation of Kruger consequently resulted in the downplaying of some of his other characteristics. An analysis of a selection of Kruger's wartime telegraphic correspondence from May 1900 to September 1900 -Kruger's so-called crisis period-demonstrated the need to challenge this general representation. Not only do Kruger's war telegrams point to a more "humane " side of the President but they also emphasizes the value of the war telegram as a historical source. This article therefore fi rstly endeavours to demonstrate how Kruger has been depicted in a selection of works written by both contemporary and twentieth century (and later) authors. In addition, it seeks to investigate the character of the "wartime Kruger " as is refl ected in his war telegrams.
- Subjects
KRUGER, Paul, 1825-1904; SOUTH African War, 1899-1902; TELEGRAMS; MALABOCH War, South Africa, 1894; COMBAT
- Publication
South African Journal of Cultural History, 2017, Vol 31, Issue 1, p19
- ISSN
1018-0745
- Publication type
Article