HENRY RIDER HAGGARD AND JOHN LANGALIBALELE DUBE ON THE NATIVE AND LAND QUESTION IN SOUTH AFRICA AFTER THE PASSING OF THE NATIVES LAND ACT (1913)

Abstract

The interview which took place in Durban between Henry Rider Haggard and John Langalibalele Dube in 1914 was one of these precious moments which rarely happen. It took place at an important political and historical period and it made sense when dealing with the question of race and identity. The famous writer was touring South Africa as a member of the Royal Dominion Commission at the time the Natives Land Act which forbade natives to buy and rent land was strongly discussed. In this paper, we will see that Haggard did not only use Zulu legends and history as a primary source in his romances, he also used his own experience and doubts to question the colonial experience and the native/settler interaction at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century.  We will, thus, consider why this encounter between the two men is symbolical and prophetic regarding the question of land restitution in South Africa.