'The Pestilence That Walketh in Darkness'.

Imperial Health, Gender and Images of South

Africa c. 1880-1910
Author(s): Morag Bell
Source: Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, New Series, Vol. 18, No. 3 (1993),
pp. 327-341
Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of
British Geographers)
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 327

'The pestilence that walketh in darkness'.

Imperial health, gender and images of South
Africa c. 1880-1910

MORAG BELL
Reader,Departmentof Geography,Loughborough Leics.LE1 3TU
University,Loughborough,

RevisedMS received16 February1993

ABSTRACT
In exploringthe relationshipbetweenthe physicalenvironment,humansurvivalandculturaltransformation, this paper
brings together three themes in the history of developmentthought.It discussesthe linksbetween geographyand
imperialemigrationfromBritainduringthe yearssurrounding1900. Referenceis madeto the ways in whichtheoriesof
wereusedto supporta selectiveprocessof Britishoverseassettlementin the interestsof 'progress'.Inthe
acclimatization
case of SouthAfrica,attentionfocuseson climate'stherapeuticrole in the prospectof improvedhealth.It is arguedthat
withinthisregionanessentialpartof humanacclimatization wasthecreationof a landscapeof socialcontrol.Thisinvolved
harnessingmodernscienceandtechnologytogetherwith the supposedlyuniqueskillsof women.
KEYWORDS:Environment, Race,Gender,SouthAfrica
Science,Imperialism,

INTRODUCTION evolutionary theory. Within the Darwinian frame,

biological differences between the sexes led to
The great wave of imperialemigration from Britainat intellectual and moral differences (Mosedale, 1978;
the end of the nineteenth century coincided with the Richards, 1983; Russett, 1989). The well-developed
establishment of geography as a discipline in univer- emotional and aesthetic skills of women (which had
sities. Debates over the relationship between world evolved at the expense of their intellectual growth)
climates, British overseas settlement, human health derived from the maternalinstinct. These skills could
and acclimatizationhelped structurethe content and be put to good use in the service of the Empire,
characterof geographic science in Britainand Empire notably in the biological and social reproduction of
at this time. Geographical societies provided an British civilization overseas. South Africa was an
importantforum for these debates. A recurringtheme appropriateregion for this task.
in both scientific and popular discussion was the This paper demonstrates how the apparent
emphasis placed upon gender difference and the objectivity of science, including geography and
'feminine progressive mission'. For various sections medicine, legitimated official goals through the con-
of British society the coming of age of British struction of images of South Africa's environments
feminism coincided with fears of surplus population and Britishgender roles. It considers the physiologi-
in Britain and concerns over race nationalism. The cal model of human adaptation which focused on
promotion of female emigration and imperialmother- the ability of Europeans, both women and men, to
hood built upon the assumption that it was the acclimatize overseas. Theories of acclimatization
natural,biological role of Britishwomen overseas to argued that, in the main, Europeans were unable to
use the advantages of, or to counteract the limitations adapt to tropicalenvironments (Ripley, 1899). Whilst
imposed by, the physical environment to the benefit temporary sojourns might prove to be harmless,
of men, children, the family and the race in the long-term residence would cause both mental and
interests of progress. These beliefs had their roots in moral degeneration. Women and children, whose

Trans.Inst. Br. Geogr.N.S. 18: 327-341 (1993) ISSN: 0020-2754 Printedin GreatBritain
328 MORAGBELL
constitutions were thought to be weaker than those drought, warfare and famine support and promote
of men, would suffer in particular. By contrast, the aid business and justify renewed western
mid-latitude territories including Australia, Canada humanitarianintervention.
and South Africa, were ideal for permanent white But deep-rooted in western thought are complex
settlement. In these regions, women could thrive and and contradictory images of Africa which challenge
reproduce the imperial race. In the case of South these uniformly negative conceptions of its environ-
Africa, this paper concentrates on climate's thera- ments and peoples. Numerous studies demonstrate
peutic role in the prospect of improved health. This how colourful, diverse and ambiguous geographical
territory offered not only opportunities for a greater images of the non-European realm have been used
Britain overseas, it also provided an escape from by Europeans over time to represent and interpret
Britain'sunhealthy cities. It is argued here that even 'exotic', 'remote'regions. As Henri Baudet (1965) has
in this equable climate, human adaptation to the pointed out, these often imaginative excesses have a
'unfamiliar'remained important. An essential part of deeper significance for European civilization. They
the acclimatization process was the creation of a representedthe carefulinvention of an external world
humanizedlandscapeof social control. Achieving this for a specific purpose. During various periods in the
landscape transformation depended on harnessing nineteenth and twentieth centuries, official attempts
modern science and technology together with the to promote Europeanoverseas settlement built upon
supposedly unique skills of women. a very different language and imagery from that
of a universally dark continent (Williams, 1990).
Overseas settlement was strongly influenced by the
science of human survival and, in this, local physical
CONTRADICTORY IMAGES OF OTHER conditions mattered. Following a long tradition of
ENVIRONMENTS European environmental thought and overseas ex-
perience, the tropical regions were widely regarded
In the history of ideas about development and pro- as unacceptable for sustained white occupation.
gress, links between the physical environment and Discussion at the geographical societies tended to
humanhealth are well established.As recent attempts support this view. A note in TheScottishGeographical
to reinterpret imperialism and post-imperialism Magazine for 1885 drew attention to the unhealthy
demonstrate,they have been used in differentways at climate for colonization in regions beyond Britain's
various times to justify European intervention in imperialcontrol,includingthe Germanand Portuguese
other cultures and territories (MacKenzie, 1990). territories of tropical Africa (Geographical notes,
Historiographical accounts of nineteenth century 1885a). A year later, similar comments were made
Africa illustrate this point. Images of particular by Dr Robert W. Felkin, lecturer in diseases of the
social, biological and environmental phenomena, the tropics and climatology at the School of Medicine,
racially-susceptible African in a hostile, disease- Edinburgh and member of Council of the Royal
ridden environment - the very antithesis of our Scottish Geographical Society. At the British
vision of ourselves - promoted a moral obligation to Association meeting in Birmingham,he noted that
intervene and a political mandate to control in the the coastal regions of tropicalAfricawere particularly
name of development. Authority derived from the hostile except when combined with 'frequentchanges
apparently superior power of European technology to some sanatoriumon the higher land of the interior,
and medicine underpinned concepts of enlighten- or a voyage home or to the Cape' (Felkin, 1886,
ment and progress (Arnold, 1988; Macleod and p. 654). He noted that even within the equatorialbelt
Lewis, 1988; Vaughan, 1991). Studies of epidemics suitable sites for a sanatorium existed. These equiv-
and famines within colonial societies reflect a similar alents to the hill stations in India could be identified
emphasis upon difference between colonizer and by a careful examination of the local 'medical topo-
colonized. They demonstrate how these crises of graphy'. Settlements should, for example, avoid
social reproduction were used by the colonial state marshes because of their association with malaria.
and private capitalto reorganize and disciplinelabour Initialcultivation of the soil should not be carriedout
and to justify racialsegregation and exclusion. Similar by Europeans since 'turning up the virgin soil and
negative stereotyping exists today. Africa is once planting the first crops invariablyencourage disease'.
again a dark continent 'full of sick and starving Plantations of Eucalyptus did appear to diminish
people' (Prins, 1989, p. 159). Media images of malaria and improve 'the healthiness of a district'
 Imperialhealth,genderandimagesof SouthAfrica 329
(Felkin, 1886, p. 655). So, tropical residence was 'marked disposition to relaxation' and 'idleness'
possible with the correct medical topography. (1890, p. 4). He recommended
During the second half of the nineteenth century,
a range of opinions about acclimatization were males should not proceed to the tropics before the
expressed (Ripley, 1899). The establishment of the growth of the body is matured ... it is doubly important
of disease and in sanitary that femalesshouldnot so proceeduntil not only the
germ theory improvements
science led many scientists to the conviction that growth of the body is matured,but also not until the
function of menstruationis regularlyand healthily
germs rather than sun, heat and moisture were the
performed. (1890, p. 57)
primaryconstraints upon tropical colonization. In his
address to the Royal Geographical Society in 1898,
Thus beliefs about acclimatization fed into the
Dr Louis Westenra Sambon, a physician from Naples
of degeneration which, although used pri-
and lecturer at the London School of Tropical ideology
marily in a racial sense, also applied to the other at
Medicine, dismissed beliefs in the impossibility of
home, those who appeared to lack the staminaof the
tropical acclimatization as mere 'superstitions'.
archetypalBritishmale.
Equally, Dr Felkin, in his BritishAssociation address These debates over the physical and moral effects
in 1886, noted that many tropical diseases could be
of differentclimates on women and childrennot only
avoided by prophylactic treatment,either medical or
influenced, but were influenced by, the beliefs and
sanitary. Notwithstanding this scientific 'progress', behaviour of
the history of western attitudes to other climates European women who travelled over-
seas. The writer and traveller, Mary Hall, reporting
cannot be characterizedas a simple progression from
her trek from the Cape to Cairo in 1907, stated
superstition to reason. Many myths persisted in intel-
lectual and political circles and in popular debate over
I was not at allsureI shouldhavenerveenoughto carry
the physiological, mental/psychological and moral me through;and nerve is not the only thing required;
consequences of residence in an unfamiliar climate healthis all-important, especiallywhentravellingalone.
(Curtin,1989; Kennedy, 1990). As David Livingstone The health which may be excellentin Europeis not
(1987; 1991; forthcoming) has demonstrated, moral alwaysof the kindto withstandthe ravagesof a tropical
evaluations of the world's climatic zones and of climate, the insidious bite of the mosquito, or the
Africa's place within these, entered the scientific pestilencethatwalkethin darkness.(1907,p. 20)
discourse on acclimatization.
A growing body of literature, including medical Mary Curzon, wife of the Viceroy of India, wrote in
treatises and technicalguides to travellerson the care 1903, 'India ... slowly but surely murders women'
of their health, reflectedthis concern with acclimatiza- (Trollope, 1983, p. 103). They languished and pined
tion. In these, instructions to women and children in the enervating heat. By contrast, the equable
were particularly important since their health was climates of Australia,New Zealand and selected parts
regardedas more fragile than that of men. Dr Andrew of Africa were ideal for Europeanwomen.
Davidson, author of Geographical Pathology,produced This environmental debate provided a commen-
a substantialvolume in 1893 on Hygieneanddiseasesof tary upon the political choices available overseas and
warm climates.Using medical statistics on India, he the limits to imperial control. In particularit became
pointed to the higher mortality of Europeanwomen interrelated with imperial drives to promote over-
and children than that of European men. Biological seas settlement. While there were gaps between the
differences were used to substantiate the belief that rhetoric and realities of effective emigration, debates
women were physiologically the weaker sex and surrounding colonization were highly influential in
could be more easily upset by tropical heat. In the structuring a range of apparently contradictory
opinion of Sir William Moore, a former Surgeon images both of conditions at home and of Britain's
General with the Government of Bombay and imperial territories. Central to these debates
Honorary Physician to the Queen, women were more were technology, demography and gender. At the
prone to abdominal diseases (1890, p. 55). Equallyin inaugural meeting of the London branch of the
the case of children it was claimed that they would Scottish Geographical Society in 1892, Professor
deteriorate both physically and morally if they James Bryce, historian, politician and subsequently
remainedin the tropics beyond five years. According BritishAmbassador to the United States, noted that
to Moore, 'they grow up weak and weedy, deficient historically 'the most important physical factor in
in energy and lacking in strength' (1890, p. 19) with a determining lines of [population] movement has
330 MORAG BELL
... been climate' (Bryce, 1892, p. 411). During the in certain overseas territories apparently lacking
nineteenth century in particular, emigration had in Britain, in particular, their suitability for the
been assisted by and become necessary because of restorationand expansion of the race, challenged any
technology: notion of a universally hostile geographic other. In
doing so, a range of interests were satisfied. By the
an immense outflow (of people) from Europe to end of the century, liberal-mindedpoliticians had a
America,Australiaand South Africahad been made convenient strategy for dealing with social unrest at
possibleby the progressin physicalscience,firstlyin home arising from urbansqualorand unemployment.
introducingthe use of steam for ocean voyages, and For social imperialistsconcerned with the Britishself-
secondlyin so acceleratingthe growthof populationin image of an imperialrace,new prospects were offered
Europethat the impulsetowardsless crowdedlands of a greater Britainoverseas. As part of this strategy,
becamestrongerthaneverbefore.(1892,p. 416)
single women could be liberated from their position
as the other at home while a moral Britishlandscape
Since 'ocean transit'had, in Bryce'swords, become 'so was assuredoverseas. In effect, environmentalquality
swift, safe and cheap' (1892, p. 416), new territories sanctioned a carefully targeted and directed female
were now available which offered a viable escape emigration.
from the 'overpopulated countries of Europe'(Felkin,
1886, p. 648). They also provided an attractive
alternative to the 'pestilential darkness'which could WHITE SETTLEMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA
be found not only in the tropics of Africa but also,
paradoxically,at home in Britain'sunhealthy cities. In the case of South Africa, three strands of imperial
These demographic concerns underpinnedfemale ideology were particularly important. First, the
emigration in particular. The robust statement by region offered a convenient location for Britain's
Punchin 1850 that 'the daughters of England are too 'surplus' population, men, women and children.
numerous' helped promote female emigration as a Secondly and more particularly,it could assist in the
sound and practical solution for the metropole regeneration of the race;it could rehabilitateBritain's
(Trollope, 1983, p. 59). But emigrationwas also useful sick. The aftermathof the South AfricanWar (1899-
to those colonies deemed environmentally appropri- 1902) confirmed this. Thirdly, unlike the colonies of
ate for women. The female 'surplus'was assumed to exploitation or administration,it was an ideal location
comprise single women and, since the arena of for a greater Britain overseas; as a new frontier for
womanhood was the home, it was argued that care- Britishcivilization and settlement, it could satisfy the
fully directed emigration would meet their own aims of race nationalism. A pen drawing of South
personal needs for a husband and family while, in Africa produced by John Guille Millais in 1894
addition, serving the imperial cause of colonial capturesthe region's intriguing and liberatingquality
expansion. Since the work in the 1830s of Edward (Fig. 1). One of a series of illustrations from a book,
Gibbon Wakefield,colonial reformerand promoter of A Breathfrom the Veldt,it depicts a perfect climate of
middle class emigration, 'respectable'and 'cultivated' sunshine and warmth. The exciting, challenging and
women had been regarded as essential to the survival threateningphysical landscape of wild beasts permits
of British cultural values overseas. At the Social apparently masculine pursuits like exploration and
Science Congress in 1861, a similar theme was hunting to be indulged. The faithful African servant
adopted by the founder of the Female Middle Class provides the necessary support. The 'beautiful
Emigration Society, Maria Rye. She warmly sup- savage maiden' imprisoned by circling crocodiles,
ported female emigration, not only as an alternative symbolizes fertility, health and wealth, a region rich
source of scarce employment for women but also in resources.
because of the 'elevation of morals' which would Whilst this drawing presents mere fanciful carica-
'inevitably' result from 'the mere presence in the tures, it also offers a commentary on the links
colony of a number of high class women'. From mid- between environment, race and gender which were
century, the growth of Victorian and Edwardian centralconcerns of imperialscience. Lying within the
female emigration societies reflected similarviews. sub-tropicalzone, South Africa was environmentally
This selective reversal of the popular image of apart from the Dark Continent. Viscount Milner, in
Britain'simperial domain was of profound symbolic his inaugural address to the Scottish Geographical
importance.The discovery of environmentalqualities Society on 13 November 1907, noted
 health,genderandimagesof SouthAfrica
Imperial 331

FIGURE1. SouthAfrica- TheIdeal(J.G. Millais,1895)

The dominantphysical fact about South and South- evidence of degeneration in physique, diplomacy
CentralAfrica is the great irregulartablelandwhich and commerce (1898, p. 136). Indeed the region was
constitutesso largea portionof it, andwhichcarriesthe
entirely suited to white labour. This was in marked
climate of the temperatezone into the heart of the contrast to the tropics where it was argued that, under
tropics. the tutelage of superior white races, only the native
populations could be 'producersby physical labourof
He went on materialwealth' (Bryce, 1892, p. 14).
A decade earlier, Dr Felkin's cartography had
InSouthAfricamenof European racethriveandmultiply given medical support to Britain'simperialaims; the
exceedingly in latitudeswhich are generallyfatal or region south of the Tropic of Capricor was shown to
debilitatingto the whiteman.Theirsplendidphysiqueis be relatively free of the most debilitating diseases
due to the bracingair of these large expansesof lofty (Felkin, 1889). Further evidence of
cartography as
open country.(1907,p. 621) imperial propaganda could be found in the work of
Silva White, author, Fellow of the Royal Society of
Except in the sub-tropicallower ground flanking the Edinburghand active member of the Royal Scottish
plateau where 'the Bantu tribes flourish', there were Geographical Society. In an attempt to classify
no climatic constraints upon permanent, fecund and regions of Africa on the basis of their suitability for
racially pure white colonization. The medical com- Europeansettlement, he came to similarconclusions.
munity had already given its own scientific authority In his paper delivered to the Royal Society of
to this view. TheJournalof TropicalMedicinefor 1898 Edinburghon 16 March 1891 and published in The
confirmed that, despite their residence in South Scottish GeographicalMagazine, White defined six
Africa for two and a half centuries in a climate within major criteria influencing colonization. These were
35 degrees of the Equator, the Boers displayed no environmental phenomena such as temperature,
332 MORAGBELL
absence of malaria,natural communications as they the materialand culturalenvironment could be trans-
affected accessibility to the world economy and formed. Familiarurban and rural landscapes would
naturalresources.Also importantwere exterior trade be recreated overseas as tangible expressions of
and commerce, indigenous (religion, native culture, imported progress (Harris,1977; Hartz, 1964).
relations with Europe) and foreign (character and
extent of European domination or settlement,
INVALIDS AND THE ENVIRONMENT:
capacity for development of European institutions) EMIGRATION AS A REGENERATIVE
political conditions. Collectively, he argued, these PROCESS
criteriaexpressed 'the relative, progressive value of a
given region' (1891, p. 195). He noted, 'the outstand- Among the attractions of South Africa which fuelled
ing value attached to South Africa' (Fig. 2) due to a this drive to 'develop' the region were its therapeutic,
combination of favourable environmental, political regenerative qualities. During the second half of the
and economic conditions, namely, 'its relatively nineteenth century 'natural cures', including sea
healthy climate, its organized political institutions, voyages and spas, health resorts and open-air
its strong base on the coast, and its rich natural sanatoria, became fashionable prescriptions within
resources'(1891, p. 194). Europe for a range of illnesses including gout,
Ellen Churchill Semple viewed the region some- bronchitis, dyspepsia 'nervous afflictions' and
what differently. South Africa, like Canadaand New phthisis (pulmonary tuberculosis or consumption).
England, had represented the frontier of European Towards the end of the century, favoured locations
overseas settlement in the seventeenth century. with similar environments included South Africa,
Despite the location of South Africa on the temperate Californiaand the Mediterranean.South Africa had
side of the Tropic of Capricornraisinghopes of 'a rich already been attractive to Europeans suffering the
economic, social and cultural development', Semple ravages of a tropicalclimate. Until the opening of the
argued (1911, p. 623) Suez Canalin 1869 it had been a favourite sanatorium
for officers and members of the Indian Civil Service
these are dashedby an examinationof the isotherms. (Nixon, 1880). Its suitability for invalids from Europe
Climatemonotony,operatingalone would have con- was confirmedby travellersand medical science. The
demnedSouthAfricato poverty of development,and Cecil Rhodes, was sent in 1870 by his
will unquestionablyalways avail to impoverishits sickly youth,
fatherfrom their Bishop'sStortfordhome to the more
nationallife.
salubriousclimate of Natal (Huttenback,1966, p. 99).
Here was a region which offered unlimited space,
Ethnicdiversity offered some compensation, notably
the English, Dutch, French Huguenots and 'a large high altitudes, fresh dry air, pure water, warmth and
sunshine.Even the voyage itself was regardedas 'one
Jewish contingent in the urban centers of the Rand'.
of the pleasantest and most healthful in the world'
Nevertheless, she argued,
(Little, 1903, p. 153), particularly appropriate for
climaticcontrol is here peculiarlydespotic. We see those suffering afflictions of the nervous system,
how it has convertedthe urbanmerchantsof Holland including cases of nervous break-down,'so common a
andthe skillfulHuguenotartisanof Franceinto thecrude featureof our over-strainedcivilization' (Little, 1903,
pastoralBoerof the Transvaal. p. 159). But, in addition to the therapy offered by
the voyage, South Africa was deemed to be ideal for
Semple was aware of Turner's frontier thesis and the what at that time was the modern treatment of
fears expressed at the end of the nineteenth century tuberculosis.
that the closure of the American frontier would Susan Sontag (1978) in her book, Illness as
adversely affect society. Her analysis of South Africa metaphor,has shown how, in the nineteenth century
expressed these concerns in climatic terms. public mind, tuberculosis carriedthe awe, symbolism
This view notwithstanding, for the majority of the and threatwhich became associated with cancerin the
Britishgeographical community at least, South Africa mid-twentieth century and which, over the last
was a region where Europeans could 'stand the decade, has become linked with AIDS. Among medi-
climate well - in fact, find it extremely healthy' cal experts on chest diseases, there was also much
(Geographical notes, 1885b, p. 383). Favourable debate over the 'exact relations'between phthisis and
environmental conditions would underpinfuture de- climate. These included 'climate as a direct cause of
velopment; with Britishcapital,skills and technology, the disease; as affording immunity from the disease
 health,genderandimagesof SouthAfrica
Imperial 333

valueof AfricanLands(1891)
FIGURE2. Comparative

and as ameliorating and curing it' (Woolcock, 1988, women. Throughout the century, ill health and
p. 183). Although phthisis death rates had been creativity were frequently linked. To be sickly
declining in England since the 1820s, it remained a was indeed a fashionable and modem component of
major killer, especially among young men and artisticsensibility (Bade, 1985). John Keats and Percy
334 MORAG BELL

Shelley symbolize the romantic and consumptive is the case with the fashionable recruiting places of
youths fleeing Britain's melancholy skies and cold, Europe'including Switzerlandand the Mediterranean
damp gloom for the southern sun-'the shrine of (Little, 1903, p. 166). These attempts to promote
health, joy and illusion' (Dobos, 1952). Jane Austen, South Africaas 'healthy',representnot only an essen-
Robert Browning and Fryderyk Chopin, all suffered tial part of imperialhistory but of a broader cultural
to some degree from TB. After the discovery of the history: the urban middle class search for the ideal
bacterium(tuberclebacillus)by Robert Koch in 1882, environment. Within North America, from the mid-
the causes of the disease and its contagious nature nineteenth century, pursuit of 'the good life' was
became better understood. However, in the absence given renewed impetus when therapeutic travel to
of a specific cure, living in a healthy climate con- the west coast received wide publicity (Vance, 1972).
tinued to be an importantremedy (Woolcock, 1988). But while health-seekersmight revive the fortunes
Medical science confirmed that emigration to South of Californiaafterthe gold rush,the export of invalids
Africa was an effective way of restoring the race to South Africa had economic advantages for both
overseas. Indeed, well into the inter-waryears some the 'mother-hiveof England'and this new 'memberof
TB specialists continued to advocate emigration to Greater Britain'(Nixon, 1880, p. 310). Not only did
South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, as an they export funds but, in the case of non-wealthy
appropriate post-sanatorium treatment (Bryder, consumptives, Little (1903, p. 160) pointed out
1988).
These medical judgements were, however, neither SouthAfricais a new andprogressivecountry,in which
neutral nor objective. They were intertwined with therearegood prospectsthatthechangeof environment
imperial political and economic interests. South willlead,not only to restoredhealth,butto themeansof
Africa offered more than the possibility of improved earninga livelihoodas well.
health. Addressing the Royal Colonial Institute in
1880, Dr Edmund Symes-Thompson, consulting Dr Little's article 'Health resorts of South Africa'
physician and writer on pulmonary phthisis, appeared in an edited volume (Creswicke, 1903)
confirmedthis point. He stressed published on the occasion of the visit of Joseph
Chamberlain,the BritishColonial Secretary to South
the desirabilityof divertingto our beautifulColoniesa Africafollowing Britain'snarrow victory in the South
portion ... of that wealth which health and pleasure African War (1899-1902). This protracted conflict
seekersshower upon the [European] Continentand a starkly demonstrated the ill preparedness, lack of
numberof foreigncountries... Dependupon it, South
training and stamina of British troops for pro-
Africa,likeallBritishColonies,is allthebetterforhaving warfare.It shattered the complacency of both
asmuchmoneybroughtintoit as possible.Invalidsbring longed
the army and the nation (Hichberger, 1988) and
moneywith them,andfor thatreason,if for no other,I ushered in an era in which 'the
thinkit wouldbe a very good thingif doctorsdiscover development of the
that our own BritishColoniesare good healthresorts. New Dominions' assumed particular importance
(1880,p. 33). (Creswicke, 1903, Preface). Civilian emigration was
centralto this 'development'. Through its association
Some twenty years later, in a report on South Africa, with the eugenics movement and the survival of the
Dr Ernest Little, physician and former Porter Scholar Britishrace overseas, emigration of men, women and
of the Cape University, emphasized children to South Africa was 'a question of national
importance'(Cecil, 1902, p. 683).
It shouldbe an additionalpleasureto everyenlightened This was a country in which Europeansettlement
to think that within the borders of our own could be demographically balanced; the immediate
Imperialist
unit could remainintact. 'Owing to the height
empire,in landspeopledby those who speakour own family
we
kindlymother-tongue, may find physicalconditions above sea-level of the great central plateau', South
in everyway superiorto those of foreignhealth-resorts Africa was one of the few 'healthy and salubrious
whichhave hithertowaxed fat andbecomeinsolentin countries' in sub-tropical latitudes 'in which the
theirfanciedmonopoly.(Little,1903,p. 157) children of Europeans can thrive and grow up'
(Markham, 1900, p. 240). Writing in 1901, Francis
He noted that the South African resorts afforded Stevenson, Member of Parliament and former
'more prolonged sunshine and purerair and are more ParliamentaryCharity Commissioner, defended the
exempt from the infectivity of overcrowding than emigration of destitute, neglected and orphaned
 health,genderandimagesof SouthAfrica
Imperial 335
childrento specially founded homes or settlements in putrefaction was also thought to be advantageous.
South Africa. For the children, the advantages were This regional medical geography enhanced the im-
'obvious';such settlements offered an 'amplerlife' free portance of the interiorand justifiedthe promotion of
from the 'town and country institutes of the United health resorts, particularlythose in Cape Colony on
Kingdom with theircrampedand crowded conditions the series of terraces inland from the coast. These
of employment for the poor' (1901, p. 1024). Proper terraces included the Southern Karoo (1000-1500
education and training 'would promise them a suc- feet), the Great or Central Karoo (2-3000 feet) and
cessful livelihood and ensure a wider, healthierlife all the Northern Karoo stretching to the Orange River
round'. For South Africa, in 'urgent need of settlers', (at 4000 feet and above). Within these various
such a scheme would ensure 'the adequate natural physical zones medical cartography was used to plot
representation of both sexes, a matter of grave the most desirable locations. In a pamphlet of 1886
difficulty in many schemes of adult emigration'. on South Africa as a Health Resort,Dr Arthur Fuller,
Moreover, the girls would grow up an Edinburgh physician and member of the Royal
College of Surgeons, identified a number of key
to maidenhoodcarefullytrainedto colonialusefulness, centres. These were underlined on his map and in-
imbuedwith Englishideas,and destinedas wives and cluded Ceres, BeaufortWest, Graaff-Reinet,Cradock,
mothersto havea far-reaching influenceof the best kind Grahamstown,
Queenstown, Aliwal North and
for the interestof ourrace.(Stevenson,1901,p. 1024) Bloemfontein (Fig. 3).
This medical map suggested that the physiological
Thus while climate's regenerative role was asserted,
model of race regeneration was anti-metropolitan
recuperation in the region formed part of a broader ratherthan crudely anti-urban.But the ruralenviron-
strategy of overseas settlement which was itself ment was not
bound up with Britain'sdomestic economic problems, interpretedas universally primitive and
empty; vacant areas were areas of non-development
imperialrivalriesand the funding of colonial develop- rather than backward. The Times
ment (Bean and Melville, 1990). Also implicated was Special Correspon-
dent, Flora Shaw, in a visit to South Africa in 1892,
a rapidly forming regional medical geography.
reflected this view in her description of the high
Within the country, race regeneration was built on
above Cape Town. She noted that although
a physiological model and a utilitarian view of the plateau
the monotony of the Karoo 'grey-green scrub' was
environment. Acclimatization involved exposure to
broken only 'by a clump of mimosa bushes ... or by
particular physical conditions and avoidance of the sheer barrennessof
others. While in broad terms the region's suitability patches of red shingle', there
was nevertheless an exhilarationin the 'freshair'.She
for recuperation was relatively uncontested, links
continued
between environment and health went beyond mere
macro-climaticconsiderations. The countryside, and
the highlands in particular,with few people and clear Whilethesoil in thispartof thegreatplateauhasnot yet
been put to any practicaluse, the airhas been foundto
air were deemed to be healthier than the towns or
the coast. One formerinvalid noted that, as a general possess suchremarkable curativepower for diseasesof
the chest that people flockto it in increasingnumbers
rule, yearby year.(TheTimes,1893,p. 3)
no place upon the sea in South Africais adaptedfor
lunginvalids.The sea airis loadedwith humidparticles, Throughout the Karoo, 'the stopping places are all
which render the atmospheremoist, and cause cold health stations' where patients come to undergo
breezes.These cold, moist winds,thoughpleasant,are 'the simple process of an air cure' (1893, p. 3).
not beneficial.(Nixon,1880,p. 295) Matjiesfontein, which was established in the 1880s,
acquired widespread popularity and was used as a
By contrast, it was argued that in the higher altitudes base hospital in the South African War. However,
of the interior, the rarefiedair increased the action of not all the 'stopping places' shared its charm.
the heart, so patients would breathe more quickly and Violet Markham,whose first tour of South Africa in
deeply and so stimulate the muscles of the lungs. The 1899 helped launch her career as public servant in
combination of hot dry summersand cold dry winters Britain,confirmedthis view. Commenting on 'Charles
compared favourably with countries like Australia, Somerset's predilection for covering the map of
thought also to have therapeutic qualities. The Africa with the names of his family', she mocked the
dryness of the porous sub-soil which prevented contrast between 'stately Badmington' and the mere
336 MORAGBELL

FIGURE
3. CapeColonywith the majorhealthresortsunderlined(A. Fuller,1886)

'village' of Beaufort West which masqueraded as a with trekking by ox wagon'. There was indeed no
health resort (Markham,1900, p. 341). But while the appeal to the virtues of 'primitive'pastoralismcharac-
Karoo lacked aesthetic charm,its utilitarianvalue was teristic of the Americanromanticmovement earlierin
unquestioned. the century (Vance, 1972). Rather, British enterprise
Participating in agricultural pursuits was also must first be employed to bring a civilized order to
thought to be of benefit to the invalid. By accompa- the landscape. Rural locations and health resorts
nying the farmer to the cattle kraal or on his daily should be easily accessible utilizing the benefits of
rides, the necessary open-air therapy was ensured modern technology, including the railway. One is
(Nixon, 1880, p. 300). This respect for the wholesome remindedhere of the GardenCity concept, debated in
rural lifestyle contrasted sharply with what was to Britainat this time, in which the railway allowed the
become the more typical pursuitof the healthy British flight to the suburbs (Buder, 1990). It was these
emigrant. In the opinion of FloraShaw modern lines of communication which, in South
Africa, must first extend the frontier of civilization
the destinationof the Englishman in his typicalcharacter beyond the major towns. Indeed, Dr Fuller'spamph-
is one of the miningcentres.He is going to Kimberleyor let of 1886 was intended to correct the backward
Johannesburg...He wantsprofitbuthe wantsit quickly. image of South Africa which, he argued, was dis-
(TheTimes,1893,p. 5) played by many writers of high medical authority,
notably that 'bullock wagon was still the speediest
For the invalid, however, the advantages of the means of travelling' (Preface).The title of his pam-
ruralenvironment were not intended as a crudereturn phlet makes these intentions clear (Fig. 4). Dr Fuller
to nature.The frontierspiritof the nineteenth century sought to ensure that South Africa'simage in Britain
explorers was not invoked. Nor was the use of time was of a progressive, technologically sophisticated
and space characteristicof the Dutch farmers'content country to which the invalid could quickly adapt.
 Imperialhealth,genderand imagesof SouthAfrica 337
humanize the landscape. 'Intelligent ladies' were
required in sanatoria to ensure 'for the invalid the
comforts of home' and the required 'tender nursing'
SOUTH AFRICA (Ross, 1876, p. 33). But overall the institutionalization
AS A of ill health was to be avoided. 'It is unadvisable'
noted the physician Dr J. Ross (1876, p. 67), 'for a
HEALTH RESORT, numberof invalids, low in spirits,brooding over their
WITH ESPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE EFFECTS OF unhappy lots, to be domiciled together'. Rather, a
THE CLIMATE ON congenial and familiarlandscape should be created:
ideally, 'a comfortablehome in a private family'based
Consumptive Invalids, upon feminine domestic qualities; those essential
components of women's 'progressive' overseas
AND FULL PARTICULARS OF THE VARIOUS LOCALITIES mission (Editor of Rhodesia, 1902). Dr Ross (1876)
MOST SUITABLE FOR THEIR TREATMENT,
AND ALSO OF
reported that, on the basis of his experience, the evils
of smoking and drinking were best avoided when a
THE BEST MEANS OF REACHING 'cheerful' and 'airy' home environment, including
THE PLACES INDICATED
good food and sound domestic hygiene, was pro-
vided in the health resorts. His findings echoed earlier
BY recommendations made by Edwin Chadwick on the
reformof intemperanceamong the working people of
ARTHUR FULLER,
M.B.C.M. EDIN.,M.R.C.S. LoNDoN(of Boshof, Orange Free State).
Britain(Richardson,1887).
Thus at a time when the menacing spectre of
female emancipation, easier divorce and birth
control were gathering pace in Britain, race re-
LONDON:
W. B. WHITTINGHAM &
generation built upon profoundly conservative
CO.,
notions of womanhood. Commenting on women's
91, GRACECHURCHSTREET.
domestic duty, Dr Ross recalled 'the secret of the
ISS6.
power of the public-house in old England'
All rights resered.
few workmen'swives know how to cook or to make
FIGURE4. Arthur Fuller, 1886. Title page home comfortablyattractiveandcheerful!Is not herea
wide and little-occupiedfield for doing good -a way
open to improvethe social conditionof the people?
The health stations to which he referred were con- (1876, p. 25)
veniently located on, or close to, the railway network
of Cape Colony (Fig. 3). Such domestic skills were urgently needed in South
But a favourable climate and outdoor pursuits in Africa. Significantly, they could not be supplied
accessible locations were not enough. Sound physical by Boer women with their 'ignorance of the laws of
health could be secured only when combined with hygiene which produces habits of slovenliness both
mental adaptability and correct moral behaviour. For injurious to health and distasteful to British ideas'
the invalid contemplating emigration, it was essential (Cecil, 1902, p. 683). Ross strongly supported the
that s/he should be 'able to endure the exile from opening of 'schools for training young girls in
home, the deprivation, to a greater or less extent, of cookery and household management'. His proposals
home comforts, and the absence of the familiarfaces coincided with the introduction of similar training
which have cheered the depression and melancholy centres in Britainas part of a broader programme of
engendered by illness' (Nixon, 1880, p. 304). Avoid- female preparation for colonial service and imperial
ing stuffy billiard rooms, smoking and alcohol were motherhood (Davin, 1978). In 1890, the British
also essential (Nixon, 1880, p. 301). This mental and Women's Emigration Association established a
moral component of acclimatization required a con- Colonial Training Home at Leaton in Shropshire
genial social environment including adequate food where prospective emigrants were instructed in
and accommodation (Little,1903, p. 166). These were housewifery, cooking, baking and washing. Also
the responsibility of women. It was their role to emphasized were activities associated with the
338 MORAG BELL
rural landscape beyond the domestic environment,
notably milking, dairy work, poultry-care and bee-
keeping (Hammerton, 1979). Emigrants to South
Africawere encouraged to acquiresuch skills (Argyll,
1903; Hutchinson, 1902). Thus women's partici-
pation in the revival of the race overseas formed part
of a broader female emigration programme. Both
were based upon a conception of femininity which
acquiredthe authority of science through their appeal
to the entirely natural,nurturing and caring role of
women within the environment of the home.
Good health depended, finally,upon a landscapeof
social control. While the benefits of technological
innovation were welcomed, the geographic centres
of these innovations, namely the major towns, were
deemed to be inappropriatefor the invalid. Although
they represented economic symbols of materialpro-
gress, the physical conditions were often inimical to
good health. To quote a former invalid, 'Durbanhas
not only the disadvantage of being a seaport, but is
too hot in the summer,and it is liable to the "dengue",
a fever of a typhoid type' (Nixon, 1880, p. 295).
Margery Perham observed the results some fifty
years later.In her 1929 tour of South Africa she noted
'scores of rather weedy men, pale, with weak blue
eyes and darkhair;it almost seemed as though a type
had been evolved, at least in the city' (1974, p. 31).
Both Cape Town and Port Elizabethwere unhealthy
because of their exposure to the south east winds and
occasional mists. Commenting on De Aar in the inter-
ior, a visitor to the country noted 'when I passed it
once' the atmosphere 'was not air but dust - gritty,
nasty dust, which is as sure to give pneumonia as the
rock-drilleddust of the mines' (BalfourBrowne, 1905,
p. 28). These physical disadvantages were made
worse by the presence of the African population. In
the case of Kimberley, despite its interior location
away from the sea winds, 'the benefits of it are en-
tirely neutralised by the dust, the bustle, the natives
and the unsanitary condition of the place, and the
thousand and one circumstancesincident to a great
mining centre'(Nixon, 1880, p. 290). Malay Location,
the African slum in Johannesburg with its flimsy
shacks and inadequate services, had an 'inhospitable
character'(Parnell,1991, p. 273). In effect, the distinc-
tive pathology of urban centres derived, at least in
part, from their association with overcrowded and
insanitaryAfricanareas.
Researchinto epidemics has shown how, with the
advent of industrializationand urbanizationfrom the
1870s, together with the development of public
health consciousness in the metropole, public auth-
orities in South Africa became obsessed with
the imagery of infectious disease as a societal
metaphor (Lemon, 1991; Marks and Andersson,
1988; Swanson, 1977; van Onselen, 1982a). This
metaphor interacted with racialattitudes to promote
urban segregation. Advice to the emigrant invalid
reflected and reinforced this view. Since all threats
to the emigrant's health and, by implication, to the
European social order, should be minimized, it was
entirely naturalthat encounters with the other should
be strictly controlled. Seclusion in aesthetically
attractiveresidentialsuburbs,based on the designs at
home, was essential to escape from a physical and
social environment which threatened disease. But the
particular urban form which developed in South
Africa involved not only separationof rich and poor;
also important was segregation by race. In Cape
Town, Dr Ross (1876, p. 13) recommended residence
in the Gardens,a suburbon the lower slopes of Table
Mountain. 'A charming place', he reported, where
'vines grow in front and around the houses, passion-
flowers and other climbersadd beauty to the immedi-
ate scene, while the dark green foliage of the groves
in the backgroundgives the whole an airof grandeur'.
In the new mining centres by the 1890s, substantial
buildings were replacing the initial temporary
structures.Park Town, surveyed in Johannesburgin
1891, was the firstof a series of wealthy and exclusive
residential districts planned on the contemporary
Europeangarden-suburbmodel (Christopher,1976).
Extensions to the original grid plan also included
Indian locations and Poor White areas laid out in
small plots. The aesthetic attractions of these new
suburbswere noted by many visitors to the country.
FloraShaw (The Times,1893, p. 6) commented that at
Kimberley in mid-winter 'the hardier sorts of roses,
geraniums, violets and autumn foliage linger still in
the villa gardens which are springing up in the English
fashion round the town'.
It is ironic that while Europeanssought to escape
from disease by emigrating to South Africa, for the
Africanpopulation the incidence of TB was increased
by the urban environment into which they were
drawn (Packard,1989). During a visit to Somerset
Hospital in Cape Town, Dr Ross (1876, p. 14) learned
that 'phthisis is prevalent among the natives ...
and this prevalence is attributed to their insanitary
habitation, the deprivation of their customary food -
milk,and to intemperance'.Unlike many medical con-
temporaries in South Africa, he thought it was an
improbable explanation, lacking 'sufficient scientific
data'. Within the British home, the practice of
 Imperialhealth,genderand imagesof SouthAfrica
employing 'native' male domestic servants made it
more difficult to maintain a geographic and social
distance between ruler and ruled. Rather than aban-
don the practice, one doctor peremptorily defended
it, stating that it was often 'necessary to entrust
young childrento their care'(Little,1903, p. 165). But
he went on, 'since venereal diseases are common
among the coloured population, they must be
selected with the utmost circumspection' (Little,
1903, p. 165). As regards 'honesty', the 'native'
servant appearedto hold 'peculiarviews' (Ross, 1876,
p. 37). 'Money and jewellery may be left lying about
with impunity'; he can be 'fully trusted' with such
items. But if he 'finds spirits or tobacco within reach,
he cannot resist the temptation' (Ross, 1876, p. 37).
Accusations were frequently made by white women,
mostly without justification,of sexual assaultby their
black male servants (van Onselen, 1982b). The em-
ployment of Africans in the home could nevertheless
be defended since they did not constitute a sizeable
community. Carefulinitial screening would minimize
the health risks to white families while, through
regular monitoring, their 'moral weaknesses' could
be controlled. From 1906 white fears of physical and
moral contagion in the form of disease and intemper-
ance were assuaged in Johannesburg by the pro-
motion of African female domestic employment.
Although primarily a response to the demands for
male mine labour,it was also rationalizedby the belief
that women were, in any case, 'naturally'more suited
to domestic service than men (van Onselen, 1982b,
p. 16).
CONCLUSION
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