Lives and Wives: Understanding African Nationalism in South Africa through a Biographical Approach1

The essay poses the question, ‘What can a biographical approach tell us about the nature of early African nationalism in South Africa?’ After briefly tracing the conditions under which African nationalist organisations emerged in South Africa, it focuses on two elements of the social makeup of the nationalist movement, class and gender. It argues that the term ‘elite’ to define the class which assumed leadership of the African National Congress can be misleading in its connotations. On the latter, it argues strongly that our understanding has been stunted by stereotypes, and that a biographical approach can assist in appreciating the complexities of African middle class life, the gendered nature of nationalist politics and the intellectual role that women played in the early years of the nationalist movement in South Africa.