Pepysian Perceptions of the Cape 1798-1828 (VRS III)

Selections from the Western Cape Diaries of Samuel Eusebius Hudson. This is the first time that substantial selections from the voluminous diaries of Samuel Eusebius Hudson (17641828) have been published. Written by an early British settler of humble social origin but of uncommon education, they are Pepysian in quantity and quality, rich in perceptions, and the more valuable for being unrevised. They cover four periods in the history of the Cape Colony between 1798 and 1828. In the first period, 17981800, they present a rare downstairs counterpoint to Lady Anne Barnards upstairs account of the first British occupation. In the next period, 18031806, we have Hudsons later recollections of life at the Cape under Batavian rule. Moving on to the second British occupation, the diaries uniquely preserve the rumours, true and false, swirling through Cape Town in the third period, 18231826, and the collective consciousness of protest building up against the repressive governorship of Lord Charles Somerset. In contrast, the concluding fourth period, 18261828, covers the reforms introduced by his successor, Sir Richard Bourke. In short, this volume provides rare perspectives on the Western Cape from the variety of social positions occupied by Hudson during the first thirty years of British rule.

Hardcover. English. Historical Publications South Africa (formerly VRS). 2019. ISBN: 9781990981401. 268 pp. NEW. Book No: 2507555