Julia Wells

Thomas Stubbs, 1820 Settler

Introduction

Thomas stubbs, 1820 settler. Explore Thomas Stubbs, an 1820 Settler with a unique bond to the Xhosa people, despite fighting them. Discover Xhosa oral traditions, his language fluency, and a map of Xhosa trails.

Abstract

A Xhosa oral tradition claims that the great warrior, Chief Maqoma, once asked why Thomas Stubbs fought against them, when he had been raised as one of their own? Even Stubbs’ biographer, Robert McGeoch, believed that he spoke the Xhosa language fluently. Yet, on such things, Stubbs remained silent when he wrote up his Reminiscences. He only told the story of the hunting trips in private to close friends. In Stubbs’s published memoirs, the most solid evidence of his special relationship to the Xhosa people is a map that he drew in 1847, showing all the Xhosa trails through the thick Fish River bush. Where else could this knowledge have come from, but those who showed him? Stubbs also mentioned that one time, just as a battle was about to start, his Xhosa adversaries shouted out and called to him by name.

Review

This article promises a fascinating and nuanced exploration of Thomas Stubbs, an 1820 Settler, through the lens of his complex and unacknowledged relationship with the Xhosa people. The abstract effectively introduces a compelling historical mystery, centered on the Xhosa oral tradition claiming Stubbs was raised among them, a belief corroborated by his biographer, Robert McGeoch. The author skillfully highlights Stubbs's own silence on this matter in his *Reminiscences*, using this omission as a key point of inquiry. The presented evidence – Stubbs's privately shared hunting stories, his detailed 1847 map of Xhosa trails, and the striking anecdote of Xhosa adversaries calling him by name in battle – collectively builds a strong case for a profound, if unspoken, connection that warrants deeper investigation. The strength of this article lies in its engagement with a tantalizing historical paradox and its utilization of diverse forms of evidence, including oral tradition, biographical interpretation, and primary historical documents. By focusing on the 'silences' within Stubbs's published memoirs, the author opens up a critical avenue for re-evaluating colonial narratives and identities. The meticulous detail of the Xhosa trail map, in particular, serves as potent, tangible proof of an intimate knowledge that could only have been acquired through deep immersion and trust. This approach promises to shed valuable light on the often-overlooked fluidity and ambiguity of settler-indigenous relations during a turbulent period in South African history, moving beyond simplistic narratives of conflict. To further enhance the contribution, the article could benefit from a more explicit discussion of the historiographical implications of Stubbs's ambiguous identity. While the abstract presents compelling evidence for his unique connection to the Xhosa, the analysis could delve deeper into *why* Stubbs chose to remain silent. Was it a matter of identity crisis, political expediency, social pressure within the settler community, or perhaps a desire to maintain a particular public persona? Exploring these motivations, even speculatively, would enrich the understanding of colonial subjectivities. Additionally, a broader contextualization of similar cases of cross-cultural upbringing or assimilation during the period, if available, could provide valuable comparative insights and solidify the argument concerning the unique nature of Stubbs's situation.

Full Text

Comments

You need to be logged in to post a comment.