WOMEN, GENDER AND COLONIALISM - RETHINKING THE HISTORY OF THE BRITISHCAPE COLONY AND ITS FRONTIER ZONES, C.1806-70

That many studies in African and imperial history neglect women and ge nder is a commonplace. Using a case-study - the British Cape Colony an d its frontier zones - this article attempts to demonstrate some conse quences of this neglect. It argues, firstly, that it generates empiric al inaccuracies as a result of the insignificance accorded to gender d ifferentiation and to women themselves. Secondly, representations of w omen as unimportant, and men as ungendered, result in flawed analysis of both men and the colonial encounter. This view is argued in detail for two events: an 1825 slave rebellion and an 1856-7 millenarian move ment. The article concludes that if gender and half the adult populace are marginalized in this way, the price is frequently interpretations which have limited purchase on the past.