South African Baptists and the land discourse, 1806-1913

Abstract

The possession and dispossession of land, access and denial of access to it, has been a critical factor in South African Baptist history. This critical aspect was expressed as follows: the whites had access to the land while the blacks did not. This situation was created and nurtured by the government of the day which favoured the whites. With their access to the land ensured by the government of the day, the European Baptists enjoyed unparalleled benefits as opposed to their black counterparts. With more access to land, they could build on it, cultivate it and live on it. As a result, the Baptist Union, a European-led structure, acquired wealth through the land. As for the natives who belonged to the Baptist Church, they tried to safeguard their land through the Baptist Church structure, by means such as allowing church buildings to be built on their land. More intriguing are instances where the natives are reported to have given their hard-earned land to the European-led Baptist Church of South Africa.