Merchants, commissioners and wardmasters : municipal politics in Cape Town, 1840-1854
Merchants,Commissioners and Wardmasters: Municipal Politics in Cape Town, 1840-854 explores the social, political and economic changes and conflicts that helped to determine Cape Town's evolution in the mid nineteenth century. The focus lies on the dominant classes who were involved in municipal and colonial affairs. This study critically examines the thesis, first propounded by Tony Kirk, of class rivalry between Cape Town's 'aristocracy', the mercantile elite, and the rising commercial middle class which dominated the municipal executive. It also investigates the intra-institutional relations between the municipal commissioners (the executive) and wardmasters (members of the junior board of the municipality), and the role played by the municipality in Cape politics. In filling a gap that exists in the growing body of academic research on the history of Cape Town, this dissertation aims to make an original contribution to the field of South African urban history.
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