British diaspora in Africa

Flag of the British African Front
White settlers in Southern Rhodesia, 1922
Total population
2–2.5 million
Regions with significant populations
South Africa	1,603,575[1]
Zambia	40,000[2]
Zimbabwe	40,000[3]
Kenya	32,000[4]
Mauritius	1,198[5]
Languages
First language English Scots Scottish Gaelic Welsh Second or third language Afrikaans · Bantu languages · European languages
Religion
Anglicanism · Protestantism · Roman Catholicism · Judaism · Irreligion
Related ethnic groups
British · English · Scottish · Irish · Welsh · Ulster-Scots · Coloureds · Afrikaners

TheBritish diaspora in Africa is a population group broadly defined as English-speaking people of mainly (but not only)British descent who live in or were born inSub-Saharan Africa. The majority live inSouth Africa and otherSouthern African countries in which English is a primary language, includingZimbabwe,Namibia,Kenya,Botswana andZambia. Theirfirst language is usuallyEnglish.

Although there were earlier British settlements at ports along theWest African coast to facilitate the BritishAtlantic slave trade, more permanent British settlement inAfrica did not begin in earnest until the end of the eighteenth century, at theCape of Good Hope. British settlement in the Cape gained momentum following the second British occupation of theDutch Cape Colony in 1806. The government encouragedBritish settlers inAlbany ("Settler Country") in 1820 in order to consolidate theBritish Cape Colony's eastern frontier during theCape Frontier Wars against theXhosa.^[6] The Crown proclaimedNatal in southeastern Africa as aBritish colony in 1843. Following the defeat of theBoers in theSecond Boer War in 1902, Britain annexed theBoer Republics of theTransvaal Republic and theOrange Free State.^{[citation needed]}

Scottish medicalmissionaryDavid Livingstone became known for his exploration of the African continent. He is believed to have been the firstEuropean to set eyes onVictoria Falls in 1855. He is a key character in African history, being one of the first well-known Britons to believe his heart was in Africa.^{[citation needed]}

In the late nineteenth century, the discovery ofgold in theWitwatersrand anddiamonds inKimberley encouraged further settlement by the British, Australians, Americans and Canadians. The search formineralresources also drove expansion north. Mining magnateCecil Rhodes dreamed of a British Africa linked fromCape Town toCairo. TheBritish South Africa Company, which he founded in 1889,controlled the territory namedRhodesia after him; this later became known as(Southern) Rhodesia andNorthern Rhodesia (nowZimbabwe andZambia, respectively). Simultaneously, British settlers began expansion into the fertile uplands (the "White Highlands") ofBritish East Africa (nowKenya).^{[citation needed]}

As a result of the rise of nationalist and anti-colonial movements throughout theBritish Empire, in the aftermath ofWorld War IIdecolonisation of Africa took place. Ethnic Africans were overwhelmingly the majority of population in the British colonies andprotectorates and had long been denied equivalent political and economic power. These former colonies eventually becameself-governing. The Cold War powers entered into the conflicts in this period. Often aided bySoviet expertise and weapons,black nationalistguerrilla forces such as theMau Mau in Kenya,ZANU inRhodesia andMK inSouth Africa fought for majority rule, which normally meant "one man, one vote".

The ruling white minority in Southern Rhodesiaunilaterally declared independence as Rhodesia in 1965 but no provisions were made to incorporate the black African majority as political equals.Civil war lasted until 1979, as black nationalists fought against the white-dominated government.In 1980, thefirst democratic general election was held in what was nowindependentZimbabwe and the country joined theCommonwealth. Subsequently, the country's white population declined sharply – thousands were intimidated, attacked, and driven off their property. Because of patterns of discrimination, whites had held the majority of property previously occupied by indigenous groups.^[7] Charged with abusinghuman rights and underminingdemocracy, PresidentRobert Mugabe and other Zimbabwean individuals and entities were subjected to a wide range of economic and political sanctions by the United States and other western nations.^[8][9]

In 2002 Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth due tohuman rights abuses andelectoral fraud.^[10] In 2003, Zimbabwe voluntarily terminated its Commonwealth membership.^[11]

Northern Rhodesia became a separate nation, Zambia.

British South Africans
Anglo-South Africans

The South African "Red Ensign", the national flag of theUnion of South Africa prior to 1928
Total population
1,603,575[1]
Languages
South African English (ethnic language)
Religion
Christianity
Related ethnic groups
White Zimbabweans

In 1910, the two separateBritish colonies and twoBoer republics in Southern Africa united to form theUnion of South Africa, which was governed as aconstitutional monarchy within theBritish Empire underwhite minority rule. In 1926, theBalfour Declaration ended the oversight of theDominions from Britain, leading South Africa to become a founding member of theCommonwealth of Nations, as arealm. Five years later, the Act of theStatute of Westminster formalized this full sovereignty.^[12] The majority of the British diaspora supported theUnited Party, led byJ. B. M. Hertzog andJan Smuts, while it was the ruling party between 1934 and 1948, and its various successors up to theDemocratic Party, the predecessor of theDemocratic Alliance.^[13] The United Party favoured close relations with theUnited Kingdom and the Commonwealth, unlike theNationalists.

The ethnicAfrikaners, who ruled the country from 1948 until 1994, entrenched a system of racial segregation known asapartheid, established arepublic, and withdrew from the Commonwealth.^[12] In 1955, 33,000 Dutch (34.8%),Germans (33.7%),French (13.2%),people of colour (7%),British (5.2%),unknown origin (3.5%),other Europeans (2.6%)inNatal, which had anEnglish-speaking majority of white voters, signed theNatal Covenant against the establishment of a republic.^[14] Many of the British diaspora voted "No" in the1960 referendum of white voters, but it was approved by a narrow margin and resulted in the establishment of a republic. The Natal majority voted against the republic and some residents called for secession from the Union after the referendum.^[15]

In 1994, South Africa held itsfirst universal democratic general election, marking the end of apartheid and white minority rule, and rejoined theCommonwealth.^[12] The majority of the British diaspora support theDemocratic Alliance, which is the official opposition to the rulingAfrican National Congress and an increasinglymultiracial party.^{[16][17][18][19]}

The British diaspora population declined starting in the early 1990s as a result of a lowbirth rate relative to that of other population groups and emigration. Reasons for emigration includedcrime,corruption, poor service delivery andaffirmative action.^[20][21] A crude estimate of the British diaspora population is the number ofwhite South Africans who speak English as a first language, representing 1.6 million people, 36% of the white population group and 3% of the total population in theSouth African National Census of 2011. This number is an overstatement as it includes people of other ancestral origins who haveassimilated into the white English-speaking population. The English-speaking population is largest in theKwaZulu-Natal province and in cities such asJohannesburg andCape Town.^[1]

Despite the high emigration rate, many people of British descent continue to settle in South Africa, including many South African-born people who have returned home since the late-1990s, especially after the2008 global economic crisis.^[20][21] South Africa has been a top destination for British retirees,^[22] and manyWhite Zimbabweans of British descent settled in South Africa after Zimbabwean independence; some as a result of forced removal from their property. Over 200,000British citizens live in South Africa, including more than 38,000 people who are being paid aUK State Pension.^[23][24]

A significant number of the British diaspora in Africa have emigrated to otherCommonwealth countries such as theUnited Kingdom,Australia,New Zealand andCanada. Others have settled in countries such as theUnited States, theRepublic of Ireland, andFrance.

White Africans generally enjoy the outdoors lifestyle and sports. Thebraai is a popular way to get together with friends and family. Other popular pastimes include: visiting game reserves, hiking, camping and recreational fishing. There is a particular appreciation of country life and farming. Farmers themselves generally prefer holiday houses at the coast. In other ways, the culture of the British diaspora derives from their British ancestry. Afternoon tea – in fact, tea at any time of day – is still widespread as are hobbies such as gardening and reading. Families who live in rural areas are usually familiar with horseriding and shooting. White South African culture was encapsulated in the 1970sChevrolet radiojingle "Braaivleis, rugby, sunny skies and Chevrolet" based on the United States slogan "Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet".^[25][26] Although nationwidetelevision in South Africa was only introduced as lately as 1976, many older South Africans of British descent had little exposure to British television and humour as a result of anEquity union ban on British television programme sales to South Africa during apartheid.^[27]

Many White Africans speak a unique dialect of English, developed by interaction with other local languages.South African English is influenced byAfrikaans and theBantu languages. The considerable Afrikaans influence can be seen from words such asbraai,trek,lekker andja in common usage. SomeZulu andXhosa words, such asshongololo,muti,ubuntu andfundi (meaning an "expert"), are also commonly used. Although South African slang is used by many younger South Africans, it would be unusual to hear it used amongst older people. The common greeting "howzit!" comes from the Afrikaanshoezit! (or "how is it?"); it can be likened to the US "howdy", the Australian "g'day", the Irish "howya?" or the Scottish "awrite?".

Zimbabwean English (ZimEng) shares many similarities with southern hemisphere English dialects (Australian, New Zealand, South African) yet is distinct from its closest relative,South African English. Traditionally Zimbabwean English was predominately influenced byBritish English, with the minor influence of Afrikaans (compared to South Africa) and African languages, generally used to describe flora and fauna, with terms such askopje,dassie andbundu (Shona for bush).^[28] This dialect came to be known asRhodesian English, typified by speakers such as Prime MinisterIan Smith andP.K. van der Byl. After Zimbabwean independence from the UK in 1980, this dialect sharply fell out of favour and came to be regarded as an archaic, non-productive dialect, only spoken by the oldest generation ofWhite Zimbabweans and nostalgicRhodies andwhenwes. Zimbabwean English evolved with the changing social, economic and political conditions in which Blacks and Whites interacted in Zimbabwe; with the old, conservative Rhodesian accent being effectively replaced by the more neutral and prestigious soundingcultivatedprivate school accent, which ironically retains some of its features.^[29][30] Today, the main languages spoken in are English, Shona and Ndebele. Only 3.5%, mainly the White, Indian, coloured (mixed race) and foreign-born minorities, consider English their native language. The vast majority of English speakers are Black Zimbabweans, who arebilingual or even trilingual with Bantu languages such asShona (75%), Ndebele (18%) and the other minority languages, and thus these speakers have an outsize role in influencing the direction of Zimbabwean English, despite traditional native speakers maintaining an important influence.^[31]

Much likeAustralian andSouth African English, spoken English exists on a continuum frombroad,general tocultivated (broad and general accents), based on an individual's background particularly, class and income and historically, ethnicity.^[32] Affluent, middle class andhighly educated Zimbabweans speak in a cultivated accent, influenced by older forms ofsouthern British English, the now archaic Rhodesian English andSouth African English. The cultivated accent is sometimes humorously mocked by other speakers for its nasality and alleged pretentiousness, with speakers derided as the so-callednose brigades.^[33]Robert Mugabe,Brendan Taylor,Pommie Mbangwa,Dave Houghton and journalists Peter Ndoro and Sophie Chamboko are notable speakers of a cultivated accent.^[34] Rural and urban working class speakers, on the other hand are heavily influenced by their native languages (these groups are also mocked asSRBs whose accents betray theirstrong rural background.Lower middle class black Zimbabweans are generally the most prominent in the mainstream media, fall in a spectrum between the two accents.^[35] Speakers of thisgeneral Zimbabwean accent includeMorgan Tsvangirai,Evan Mawarire,Simba Makoni andTatenda Taibu. English is spoken by virtually all in the cities, but less so in rural areas.^[28] Today English, the official language, enjoys status dominance and is the language of instruction in education, commerce, the government and the majority of the media.

Rhodes University inGrahamstown houses the Dictionary Unit for South African English.^[36] The fourth edition ofA Dictionary of South African English was published in 1991,^[37] and the second edition of theOxford South African Concise Dictionary was published in 2010.^[38] The English Academy of Southern Africa, founded in 1961, is dedicated to promoting the effective use of English as a dynamic language in Southern Africa.^[39]

A few South African Englishcoinages are listed below:

The British diaspora in Africa has a long literary tradition, and has produced a number of notablenovelists andpoets, includingDoris Lessing,Olive Schreiner,Guy Butler andRoy Campbell. A traditional South African storybook isPercy FitzPatrick'sJock of the Bushveld, which describes his journey as a wagon driver with his dog Jock. Other significant African writers of British descent are:Nadine Gordimer,Alan Paton,Peter Godwin,Alexandra Fuller andBryce Courtenay.^{[citation needed]}

The British diaspora has influenced modern African arts, and has often incorporated other African cultures.Athol Fugard is a significant playwright. Born of anIrish Catholic father and an Afrikaner mother, he has always described himself as an Afrikaner but he wrote in English to reach a larger audience.Sharlto Copley is a significant film actor, producer and director. He starred in theOscar-nominatedscience fiction filmDistrict 9, which was an international box office hit and received widespread critical acclaim.District 9 drew heavily on metaphoric references to South Africa's apartheid history as well as including many other more direct references to South African and African culture. Although English-speaking, Copley plays an Afrikaner bureaucrat who experiences a similar oppression to that he once imposed on alien refugees. He also starred in thefilm remake of the 1980s television showThe A-Team.^{[citation needed]}

Notable African musicians of British descent include:Dave Matthews, who emigrated to the United States, andJohnny Clegg.Wrex Tarr performed the distinctlyRhodesian comedy song "Cocky Robin" based onChilapalapa.John Edmond was a popular singer, songwriter, entertainer and storyteller during theRhodesianBush War.Seether is apost-grunge band founded by South Africans, which now includes Americans.^{[citation needed]}

The British diaspora and their forebears have been extensively involved in the founding and development of numerous educational institutions across Africa.^{[citation needed]}

There are four universities in South Africa that were established by the British diaspora, which admitted limited numbers ofBlack students during apartheid. TheSouth African College was founded in 1829 and later split into theUniversity of Cape Town and theSouth African College Schools. TheUniversity of Natal merged with theUniversity of Durban-Westville to form theUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal. TheUniversity of the Witwatersrand was founded inKimberley in 1896 as theSouth African School of Mines and is now based inJohannesburg. Finally,Rhodes University was established in 1904 with an initial grant from theRhodes Trust.

There are two categories of schools founded by the British diaspora or British missionaries, those originally intended for the education of the children of the British diaspora and those founded for the education of the indigenous population.^{[citation needed]}

The first category includes both notableprivate schools such asSt. George's College inHarare,Peterhouse Boys' School inMarondera, theDiocesan College inCape Town, theWykeham Collegiate inPietermaritzburg andSt John's College in Johannesburg and prestigiousgovernment schools such asMaritzburg College in Pietermaritzburg,King Edward VII School in Johannesburg andPrince Edward School inHarare.^{[citation needed]}

The second category of schools includes South African institutions such as theLovedale educational institution in theEastern Cape, which was responsible for the education of many notable Africans includingThabo Mbeki,Chris Hani andSeretse Khama,^[40][41]Tiger Kloof Educational Institute in theNorth West province,^[42] and St Matthew's High School outsideKeiskammahoek in the Eastern Cape. Many of these institutions were adversely impacted by theBantu Education Act of 1953, and the Historic Schools Restoration Project championed by formerAnglicanArchbishop of Cape TownNjongonkulu Ndungane aims to transform under-resourced historically significant schools into sustainable centres of cultural and educational excellence.^[43][44]

Cricket,rugby,tennis,golf, andcycling are generally considered to be the most popular sports among the British diaspora.^{[citation needed]}

Cricket in Africa and particularly Zimbabwe has been dominated by the people of British heritage. Up until recently, the majority of Zimbabwean players were from the British diaspora, including:Andy Flower,Heath Streak,Brendan Taylor andRay Price. Cricket inSouth Africa also traditionally features the British diaspora, including former nationalTest captainGraeme Smith and bowlerShaun Pollock. TheEngland cricket team has often included many players of Southern African heritage in their ranks such as brothersSam Curran andTom Curran,Gary Ballance andAndrew Strauss. The England cricket team of 2010 that retained the2010–11 Ashes series in Australia, for example, received significant contributions from South African captainAndrew Strauss, wicketkeeperMatt Prior, batsmanKevin Pietersen, batsmanJonathan Trott and coachAndy Flower.

A few examples of the notable contributions of the British diaspora to South African rugby are those made byKitch Christie, the coach who led theSpringboks to victory in the1995 Rugby World Cup,Bobby Skinstad andPercy Montgomery, the Springboks' all-time leader inappearances and points.

Members of the British diaspora have also had notable success in Africanrallying, while former Rhodesia in particular produced several world championmotorcycle road racers includingJim Redman andKork Ballington.

Four-timeTour de France winnerChris Froome was born inKenya, and grew up inSouth Africa.

The majority of white South Africans and Zimbabweans identify themselves as primarilySouth African andZimbabwean respectively, regardless of their first language or ancestry.^[47] The termEnglish-speaking South African (ESSA) is sometimes used to distinguish anglophone South Africans from the rest of the population, particularlyAfrikaners. Additionally, the inclusive termZimbo orAnglo-Zimbabweans are terms sometimes used by academics to distance themselves, from theRhodesian era, though the latter term overlaps with and can cause confusion with the large community ofBritons of Zimbabwean descent.^[48] Along withAnglo African these terms are somewhat analogous to those used in other English-speaking countries such asWhite Anglo Saxon Protestant,English Canadian andAnglo-Celtic Australian.^[49][50]

Colloquial terms for the British in Africa which might be considered derogatory include theAfrikaans termrooinek (literally "red neck", probably from the stereotype that they sunburn relatively easily although unrelated to theAmerican termredneck),^[51] theAustralian termpommy, 'Beberu' in Kenya which means he-goat.^[52]

The termAnglo-African has been used historically to describe people living in theBritish Empire in Africa,^[53] although it has also been used toself-identify by people of mixed British and indigenous African ancestry.^{[54][55][56][57]}The Anglo-African Who's Who and Biographical Sketch-Book published inLondon in 1905 contains details of prominent British and Afrikaner people in Africa at that time.^[58]

'Cape Brit' is another term sometimes used to refer to South Africans of British descent. It refers to the Cape Colony where the immigrants to whom many South Africans can trace their origins from settled during its time as British colony. The term is considered an equivalent of 'Cape Dutch'.

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• Roy Bennett (1957–2018), Zimbabwean politician
• Verney Lovett Cameron (1844–1894), explorer
• Rob Davies (born 1948), South African Member ofParliament
• Rufane Shaw Donkin (1773–1841), founder ofPort Elizabeth
• Tim Harris (born c. 1979), Shadow Minister of Finance in South Africa
• Emily Hobhouse (1860–1926), welfare campaigner
• Trevor Huddleston (1913–1998), Anglican archbishop, anti-apartheid activist andIsitwalandwe Medallist
• Sir Leander Starr Jameson (also known as "Doctor Jim", 1853–1917), medical doctor and colleague ofCecil Rhodes
• Lucy Lloyd (1834–1914), philologist and explorer
• William Lloyd (1802–1881), Anglican clergyman
• Harry Johnston (1858–1927), explorer and civil servant
• Dick King (1813–1871), transport rider
• John Kirk (1832–1922), leader of Kenya settlers
• David Livingstone (1813–1873), medical missionary and explorer
• David Coltart (born 1957), Zimbabwean lawyer, Christian leader and politician serving as the Mayor of Bulawayo
• Chelsy Davy (born 1985), Zimbabwean businesswoman
• John X. Merriman (1841–1926), last Prime Minister of the Cape Colony
• E. D. Morel (1873–1924), British journalist, author and socialist politician
• Nicholas Mostyn (born 1957), British judge
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• Ian Smith (1919–2007), Prime Minister ofRhodesia, orSouthern Rhodesia, from 1964 to 1979
• Richard Southey (1808–1901), Colonial Secretary and Treasurer, Lieutenant-Governor of Griqualand-West
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• Campbell, Colin Turing (1897).British South Africa: A History of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope from its Conquest 1795 to the Settlement of Albany by the British Emigration of 1819 (1795–1825) with Notices of Some of the British Settlers of 1820.John Haddon & Co. Retrieved25 July 2013.

• British diaspora in Africa
• African people of British descent
• British Empire
• European diaspora in South Africa
• Ethnic groups in Kenya
• Ethnic groups in Namibia
• Ethnic groups in Zambia
• Ethnic groups in Zimbabwe

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