Quantitative History and Uncharted People
Case Studies from the South African Past
- 384 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
One of the biggest challenges in the study of history is the unreliable nature of traditional archival sources which omit histories of marginalised groups. This book makes the case that quantitative history offers a way to fill these gaps in the archive. Showcasing 13 case studies from the South African past, it applies quantitative sources, tools and methods to social histories from below to uncover the experiences of unchartered peoples. Examining the occupations of slaves, victims of the Spanish flu, health of schoolchildren and more, it shows how quantitative tools can be particularly powerful in regions where historical records are preserved, but questions of bias and prejudice pervade. Applying methods such as GIS mapping, network analysis and algorithmic matching techniques it explores histories of indigenous peoples, women, enslaved peoples and other groups marginalised in South African history. Connecting quantitative sources and new forms of data interpretation with a narrative social history, this book offers a fresh approach to quantitative methods and shows how they can be used to achieve a more complete picture of the past.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Halftitle Page
- Title Page
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Foreword
- Preface
- Terminology
- 1 Quantitative history and uncharted people
- 2 Bridal pregnancy in the Mother City, 1900–60
- 3 Sex ratios and girl preference in the Cape, 1894–2011
- 4 Khoe households in Swellendam, 1825
- 5 Race reclassification in Cape Town, 1950–84
- 6 Advertising the enslaved for sale: A quantitative approach to the Zuid-Afrikaan, 1830–4
- 7 Domestic service in Cape Town before the Second World War
- 8 Female investors at the Cape, 1892–1902
- 9 Black Africans in Cape Town, 1890–1939
- 10 Political innovation in African Nationalist Organisations, 1880–90
- 11 Petitions to the Cape Parliament, 1854–1909
- 12 Death during the influenza of 1918
- 13 Quantitative history in practice
- Index
- Imprint