In April 2015, the bronze statue of Cecil John Rhodes- notorious mining magnate, archimperialist and champion of a global Anglo-Saxon empire- was removed from its concrete plinth overlooking Cape Town, South Africa. This came as a result of the #RhodesMustFall (#RMF) movement, a movement that would see statues questioned and vandalised across the country. Two years later, fierce contestation over the hegemonic narrative told through the American South’s symbolic landscape erupted over the proposed removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, resulting in the deaths of multiple people in Charlottesville, Virginia. Increasing research on the removal of Rhodes and the removal of Confederate statuary has emerged in recent years. However, previous scholarship has failed to compare the wider phenomena of the calls for removal, from the memorialised figures to their change in symbolic capital, the movements’ inception and its outcomes. There is subsequently a gap in the literature understanding what the politics of statue removal tell us about not only the American and South African commemorative landscapes, but the nations’ interpretations of the past and societies themselves. Therefore, this thesis uses descriptive comparative analysis to compare two case studies where the debate over statue removal has surfaced most vehemently: Rhodes’ statue at the University of Cape Town and Lee’s statue in Charlottesville. Ultimately, this dissertation finds that the calls for the removal of statues are part of a wider change in tenor towards understanding and disrupting prevailing hegemonic narratives of white supremacy, in both society and its symbolic landscape. The phenomena demonstrates that heterogeneous societies with pasts marred by segregation and racism are moving to reject and re-negotiate these histories and their symbols, a move that has elicited deeply divided, emotional responses. Despite waning attention to monument removals, the issue remains unresolved, contentious, and capable of re-igniting.

This dissertation is a historical biography of F.V. Engelenburg (1863-1938) and covers the period from 1889 to 1938, when Engelenburg lived and worked in South Africa. The study situates Engelenburg in the historical landscape of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The focus is mainly on Engelenburg’s journalistic career at De Volksstem, but attention is also given to his many other interests, including the development and promotion of Afrikaans and the Afrikaans academic culture, especially in the northern parts of South Africa. His work pertaining to the development of architecture, literature, aviation, the visual and performing arts, history, libraries, museums and educational institutions comes under the spotlight. His private life is considered as well in order to portray his versatility as a person. The chapters have been subdivided to highlight the variety of matters he was involved in, and a chronological approach has been followed as is customary in a biography. The study is based on archival research. In particular, Engelenburg’s private collections were used, as well as the private collections of some of his contemporaries. Engelenburg assumes a central place in the biography, with special focus on how he perceived and experienced conditions and everyday life in South Africa from the point of view of his transnational European background. His role as influential opinion-maker and political commentator on local and international politics is highlighted. His ties with political leaders and his involvement in government affairs are emphasised. The study also refers to his continued contact with his motherland, the Netherlands, and with the Dutch language. After the Anglo- Boer War, he realised that the languages of the future in South Africa would be Afrikaans (not Dutch), alongside English. His continuing support for Afrikaans as a language of instruction in schools and universities and the development of the Afrikaans literature, as well as his support for the standardization of Afrikaans helped to establish Afrikaans as an official language alongside English and Dutch in South Africa. Engelenburg’s active contribution to the work of the Zuid-Afrikaanse Akademie voor Taal, Lettere en Kuns (now the Suid- Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns), helped to put the organization on a sound footing for future development. The Akademie can be seen as a living monument to his work in South Africa. / PhD (History)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015.

This dissertation is a historical biography of F.V. Engelenburg (1863-1938) and covers the period from 1889 to 1938, when Engelenburg lived and worked in South Africa. The study situates Engelenburg in the historical landscape of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The focus is mainly on Engelenburg’s journalistic career at De Volksstem, but attention is also given to his many other interests, including the development and promotion of Afrikaans and the Afrikaans academic culture, especially in the northern parts of South Africa. His work pertaining to the development of architecture, literature, aviation, the visual and performing arts, history, libraries, museums and educational institutions comes under the spotlight. His private life is considered as well in order to portray his versatility as a person. The chapters have been subdivided to highlight the variety of matters he was involved in, and a chronological approach has been followed as is customary in a biography. The study is based on archival research. In particular, Engelenburg’s private collections were used, as well as the private collections of some of his contemporaries. Engelenburg assumes a central place in the biography, with special focus on how he perceived and experienced conditions and everyday life in South Africa from the point of view of his transnational European background. His role as influential opinion-maker and political commentator on local and international politics is highlighted. His ties with political leaders and his involvement in government affairs are emphasised. The study also refers to his continued contact with his motherland, the Netherlands, and with the Dutch language. After the Anglo- Boer War, he realised that the languages of the future in South Africa would be Afrikaans (not Dutch), alongside English. His continuing support for Afrikaans as a language of instruction in schools and universities and the development of the Afrikaans literature, as well as his support for the standardization of Afrikaans helped to establish Afrikaans as an official language alongside English and Dutch in South Africa. Engelenburg’s active contribution to the work of the Zuid-Afrikaanse Akademie voor Taal, Lettere en Kuns (now the Suid- Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns), helped to put the organization on a sound footing for future development. The Akademie can be seen as a living monument to his work in South Africa. / PhD (History)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015.