Abstract:
Before the outbreak of World War I (1914–1918), broad South Africanism
appeared to have had a tentative but solid beginning at the Transvaal University
College (TUC). This international conflict, however, re-ignited tensions among
white South Africans, and students at the TUC were no exception. The proximity of
these events to the establishment of the College seemed to push the ideal of
broad South Africanism at the College beyond reach. This article considers the
striking effect of World War I and the 1914 Rebellion on the consciousness of the
TUC students as seen in student contributions to The T.U.C. Students’ Magazine
and other events at the College. It examines in particular changing and conflicting
notions of white identity at the College at this time.
