One of history's most dangerous myths - Anneliese Mehnert
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From the 1650s through the late 1800’s, European colonists descended on South Africa. They sought to claim the region, becoming even more aggressive after discovering the area’s abundant natural resources. To support their claims to the land, the colonizers asserted they were settling in empty land devoid of local people. Was this argument true? Anneliese Mehnert debunks the Empty Land Theory.
Additional Resources for you to Explore
Visit South African History Online for a detailed explanation of the Empty Land Myth, including various maps.
South Africa is not the only country where the colonial governments lied to maintain control of the country. In Zimbabwe, which is just north of South Africa and shares a border, the Great Zimbabwe Ruins were not attributed to the people who built it, iron age agriculturalists whose descendants moved southwards to South Africa and built huge settlements. Learn more about Great Zimbabwe from this TED-Ed lesson.
Archaeologists have been studying South Africa and Zimbabwe for many years and since the 1980’s they made great strides in correcting the history of South Africa and debunking the empty land theory into the empty land myth. Look at this opinion piece by Shula Marks, entitled ‘South Africa: The Myth of the Empty Land’ which was published in 1980. South Africa as a democratic country held its first free and fair elections in 1994. All racial groups were able to vote for the political party of their choice however, the legacies of the colonial and apartheid system still plaque this relatively new democracy, 25 years afterwards.
The land issue is specifically fraught and in this article from 2012 a journalist explores how South Africa’s current land struggles can be traced back to the Empty Land Myth. The democratic South African government also put into place policy and legislation to deal with the issues of land dispossession and restitution. Their current work and future plans can be found here.
South Africa is not the only country where the colonial governments lied to maintain control of the country. In Zimbabwe, which is just north of South Africa and shares a border, the Great Zimbabwe Ruins were not attributed to the people who built it, iron age agriculturalists whose descendants moved southwards to South Africa and built huge settlements. Learn more about Great Zimbabwe from this TED-Ed lesson.
Archaeologists have been studying South Africa and Zimbabwe for many years and since the 1980’s they made great strides in correcting the history of South Africa and debunking the empty land theory into the empty land myth. Look at this opinion piece by Shula Marks, entitled ‘South Africa: The Myth of the Empty Land’ which was published in 1980. South Africa as a democratic country held its first free and fair elections in 1994. All racial groups were able to vote for the political party of their choice however, the legacies of the colonial and apartheid system still plaque this relatively new democracy, 25 years afterwards.
The land issue is specifically fraught and in this article from 2012 a journalist explores how South Africa’s current land struggles can be traced back to the Empty Land Myth. The democratic South African government also put into place policy and legislation to deal with the issues of land dispossession and restitution. Their current work and future plans can be found here.
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Meet The Creators
- Educator Anza Mehnert
- Director Héloïse Dorsan Rachet
- Narrator Christina Greer
- Composer Salil Bhayani, cAMP Studio
- Sound Designer Amanda P.H. Bennett, cAMP Studio
- Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
- Produced by Abdallah Ewis, Anna Bechtol
- Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
- Editorial Producer Dan Kwartler
- Script Editor Soraya Field Fiorio
- Fact-Checker Charles Wallace
