Professor Colin de Berri Webb (193022 March 1992) was a South African historian, activist, and university administrator, who promoted the teaching of African history. He focused especially on Zulu history and the region of Natal.

Early life

Born in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

in 1930, Colin Webb attended Pretoria Boys High School. In 1948, on a Barclay's Bank Scholarship, he went to the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The universit ...

, from which he subsequently graduated BA (Hons). In 1955 he went up to

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the Unive ...

, as an Elsie Ballott scholar. His teachers at Cambridge included

Geoffrey Elton Sir Geoffrey Rudolph Elton (born Gottfried Rudolf Otto Ehrenberg; 17 August 1921 – 4 December 1994) was a German-born British political and constitutional historian, specialising in the Tudor period. He taught at Clare College, Cambridge, and ...

. By 1957 he had completed his Cambridge degree, a 2:1 in the modern history tripos. (His degree was upgraded to MA status in 1963.) Webb also gained a teaching diploma from the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and ''de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johan ...

Career

Webb began his teaching career at the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu- ...

in Durban in 1957. In 1960, he was appointed lecturer there, in History and Political Science. In 1961 or 1962, Webb was promoted to senior lecturer at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg. He was subsequently elevated to an associate professorship there, and became deputy dean of faculty. During his tenure at Pietermaritzburg, Webb promoted the research and teaching of African history, requesting that Honours students be permitted to take Zulu instead of French or German as their compulsory language course, and that they be allowed to focus their research projects on African topics instead of European or American ones. Webb also created a junior research assistantship in African History. In 1963–1964 Webb won a

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

bursary for research in Britain. In 1971, Webb introduced a new Honours level course on the history of African societies in Southern Africa. In 1973, Webb persuaded his colleague and former student John Wright to create an undergraduate course on the pre-history of Southern Africa. In 1970, Webb, began to translate and edit the James Stuart Papers in collaboration with John Wright, one of Webb's former MA students who had recently been appointed lecturer. Webb and Wright's editions of these testimonies about indigenous societies in the Natal-Zululand region were published from 1976 onwards by the University of Natal Press. In 1976, Webb took up the King George V Chair of History at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

(UCT), the most prominent South African chair in history. At UCT, he was also Dean of the Arts from 1981-1984. In 1979, Webb was elected Fellow of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...

. In 1984, Webb became Vice-Principal of the Durban branch of the University of Natal. In January 1987 Webb was a signatory to the University of Natal's formal objection to arbitrary detention without charge, legal counsel or trial. This was occasioned by the detention of Jo Beall, lecturer in African Studies and secretary of the Joint Academic Staff Association, who had been arbitrarily detained since December 1986. In 1988, Webb, together with Peter de V. Booysen and R. Hugh Philpott, visited

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

and

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

to forge contacts with universities there. From 1988 until February or March 1992, Webb was Vice-Principal of the Pietermaritzburg branch of the University of Natal. His return to Pietermaritzburg had been influenced by a petition from his former colleagues there, asking him to rejoin them by taking up that post. Webb was instrumental in founding, at Pietermaritzburg, the

Alan Paton Alan Stewart Paton (11 January 1903 – 12 April 1988) was a South African writer and anti-apartheid activist. His works include the novels '' Cry, the Beloved Country'' (1948), '' Too Late the Phalarope'' (1953), and the short story ''The Wa ...

Centre for the Study of the Literature and Politics of Inter-group Conciliation, which he opened on 24 April 1989. While Vice-Principal at Pietermaritzburg, Webb oversaw the renovation of the Old Main Hall. The Vice-Principalship at Pietermaritzburg was demanding. Webb sometimes had to make three trips a day to Durban. In 1991, Webb met with student unionists from the Right to Learn campaign who demanded that the University "transform itself into an institution accessible to all". Webb agreed that, rather than be immediately excluded, students would henceforth be allowed to appeal poor examination results and be allowed to continue studying while awaiting conclusion of the appeal. Also in 1991, Principal James Leatt controversially overruled Webb and reinstated a pupil who had been excluded from the campus's William O’Brien Hall of residence. The stress of the job affected Webb's health, and he lost his sight in one eye - as had two of his colleagues, Deneys Schreiner and Peter de V. Booysen. In addition to his primary academic posts, Webb also held a number of other positions. From 1977-1979 and 1981-1983 he was vice-president of the South African Historical Society, becoming president in 1983. Webb also participated in the Education Specialist Group of the Buthelezi Commission, chaired the Natal Education Board, and sat on the Academic Planning Committee of the Committee of University Principals.

Journal editorships

From 1962-75, Webb was co-editor of the journal ''

Theoria Christian mysticism is the tradition of mysticism, mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation f the personfor, the consciousness of, and the effect of ..a direct and transformative pr ...

'', to which he returned as editorial adviser from 1978. In 1971 Webb convinced the Natal Society to launch the scholarly journal ''Natalia'', for dissemination of research on the Natal region. From the journal's inauguration until 1975, he chaired its editorial board, which initially included Pam Reid, John Clark and Sue Judd, plus June Farrer and Mr. R.A. Brown.

Reception and legacy

Webb was known for his impressive height and humour. For a University of Natal at Durban

rag week Rag, rags, RAG or The Rag may refer to: Common uses * Rag, a piece of old cloth * Rags, tattered clothes * Wash rag, a small cloth used for bathing * Rag (newspaper), a publication engaging in tabloid journalism * Rag paper, or cotton paper Arts ...

, student Michael Lambert wrote a variety script in the style of Gilbert and Sullivan that referenced Webb as a "giggling tall historian". Former student John Laband recalled Webb as being one of the two best lecturers he ever encountered, who gave "finely argued lectures in thrilling, resonant tones that engaged our intellects and emotions." On 27 August 1992, the Old Main Hall - a central building at the Pietermaritzburg campus of the University of Natal - was renamed Colin Webb Hall in Webb's honour. Christopher Merrett indicated that a biography of Webb would be welcome. Webb's critics included

Shula Marks Shula Eta Marks, OBE, FBA (born 14 October 1938, in Cape Town) is emeritus professor of history at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London. She has written at least seven books and a WHO monograph on Health and A ...

, who in 1967 described

Brookes Brookes is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Barbara Brookes, New Zealand historian * Bruno Brookes, English broadcaster * Dennis Brookes, English cricketer * Ed Brookes (1881–1958), Irish international soccer ...

and Webb's ''A History of Natal'' as biased "towards the history of white settlement in Natal" and "cut off from the new thinking in their field". Stephen Gray indicated that ''A History of Natal'' contained internal contradictions, significant omissions, and Anglocentric bias. Webb's colleague Colin Gardner, however, said that "Colin Webb as an historian was distinguished precisely by his capacity to understand and penetrate other viewpoints besides the colonial and European one, the one that had in general dominated the writing of our history until his time. His crucial pioneering work in South African history, particularly the history of Natal and Zululand, involved conjuring up the perspective of the victims of white aggression." Gardner also noted that "As a lecturer and supervisor, a speaker at public meetings, and a person dedicated to the creation of social and political justice, ebbshowed himself to be an intellectual and social leader. But this aspect of him expressed itself in many other ways. He found himself being elected to many committees, both within the universities that he served and in the larger society. Within the Arts Faculties of he University of Nataland of the University of Cape Town he moved to the top with a sort of naturalness or inevitability, for he wasn't in the normal sense of the word a particularly ambitious person. He simply believed that tasks were important and needed to be carried out intelligently and honestly; other people decided that he was the person to perform crucial functions."

Selected works

* 1957. "The Great Illusion". ''Theoria II''. * 1965. ''Guide to the Official Records of the Colony of Natal''. In 1984 an updated version was published, edited by Jennifer Verbeek, Mary Nathanson and Elaine Peel, as ''Webb’s Guide to the Official Records of the Colony of Natal''. * 1965. ''A History of Natal''. Co-authored with

Edgar Brookes Professor Edgar Harry Brookes (4 February 1897 – 22 April 1979) was a British-born South African Liberal Party (South Africa), Liberal senator and South African representative to the League of Nations. He initially supported apartheid but his ...

. A second edition with a new preface was published in 1987. * 1976-2014. '' James Stuart Archive of Recorded Oral Evidence Relating to the History of the Zulu and Neighbouring Peoples''. Co-edited with John Wright. * 1978. ''A Zulu King Speaks''. Co-edited with John Wright. A second edition was published in 1987. * 1990. Historical introduction and index to volume 1 of a new English translation of Adulphe Delegorgue's ''Travels in Southern Africa''.

Personal life

In 1954, Fleur Gower took up a temporary, part-time post at the

in Durban teaching introductory French. There, despite a warning from

Elizabeth Sneddon Elizabeth Sneddon (1907–2005) was a South African speech and drama teacher, theatrical director and academic. Education Sneddon attended Durban Girls' College, before earning an MA Honours degree in English from the University of Glasgow, f ...

against "lefties", she befriended Violaine Junod, Anthony de Crespigny, and Graham Neame - and later, in 1957, Webb. Webb and Gower married in 1960. Colin and Fleur Webb kept a property in Isipingo that served as a

safe house A safe house (also spelled safehouse) is a dwelling place or building whose unassuming appearance makes it an inconspicuous location where one can hide out, take shelter, or conduct clandestine activities. Historical usage It may also refer to ...

for political activists. Those sheltered included the Webbs' friends Alan and Dorrie Paton, and in 1960 during a wave of mass arrests of anti-apartheid figures, Violaine Junod sought refuge there. On one occasion, the Webbs transported a dissident to the safe haven of

Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...

. The Webbs were placed under surveillance by the police: their phone was tapped, and special branch detectives would regularly visit their home. In 1962, Fleur Webb joined the anti-apartheid group

Black Sash The Black Sash is a South African human rights organisation. It was founded in Johannesburg in 1955 as a non-violent resistance organisation for liberal white women. Origins The Black Sash was founded on 19 May 1955 by six middle-class white ...

, becoming a protest-stand organiser for the Natal Midlands branch through the 1960s and 1970s. The Webbs's first son, Jonathan, was born in 1962. Another son, Nicholas, was born in 1964. Colin Webb was an early member of the Progressive Party, which rejected racial discrimination and advocated equal opportunities for all with a qualified franchise with a common voter's roll. He served in the executive committee of the Natal branch. In the 1970s, when Webb was a lecturer at the University of Natal's campus in Pietermaritzburg, Fleur Webb served as a patron on a bursary fund for the needy students of that campus.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite journal , journal=Natalia , title=Index to Natalia Vols 1-30 , volume=31 , year=2001 , publisher=Natal Society Foundation , pages=90–155 , url=https://natalia.org.za/Files/31/Natalia%20v31%20index%20to%20Natalia%201-30%20C.pdf , access-date=2024-04-20 {{cite journal , last=Irvine , first=Douglas , title=Colin de Berri Webb: In Memoriam , journal=Theoria: A Journal of Social and Political Theory , publisher=Berghahn Books , issue=79 , year=1992 , issn=0040-5817 , eissn=1558-5816 , jstor=41801948 , pages=vii–x , url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/DC/thn7992/thn7992.pdf , access-date=2024-04-20 {{cite web , author=Moitsoadi , title=A valuable recording of the history of KwaZulu-Natal , website=The Witness , date=2009-09-10 , url=https://witness.co.za/archive/2009/09/11/a-valuable-recording-of-the-history-of-kwazulu-natal-20150430/ , publisher=Caxton & CTP Printers and Publishers Ltd , access-date=2024-04-20 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240420122822/https://witness.co.za/archive/2009/09/11/a-valuable-recording-of-the-history-of-kwazulu-natal-20150430/ , archive-date=2024-04-20 {{cite journal , journal=Natalia , volume=31 , year=2001 , first=Jewel , last=Koopman , title=Dedicated Lives: The roles played by Miss Sue Judd and Miss Pamela Reid in the growth and development of the Natal Society Library , pages=11–24 , url=https://www.natalia.org.za/Files/31/Natalia%20v31%20article%20p11-24%20C.pdf , access-date=2024-04-20 {{cite web , last=Wilson , first=Stanley , title=Colin Webb Hall, University of Natal in 1957, now known as The University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa Stock Photo , website=Alamy , date=2023-05-26 , url=https://www.alamy.com/colin-webb-hall-university-of-natal-in-1957-now-know-as-the-university-of-kwazulu-natal-pietermaritzburg-south-africa-image553288932.html , access-date=2024-04-20 {{cite journal , url=https://natalia.org.za/Files/9/Natalia%20v9%20obituaries%20%20Brookes.pdf , journal=Natalia , title=Edgar Harry Brookes: 1897-1979 , volume=9 , year=1979 , page=39-42 , publisher=Natal Society Foundation , first=Colin de Berri , last=Webb , access-date=2024-04-23 {{cite thesis , title=The Making of Natal: Defensive Institutions and State Formation in Nineteenth Century Southern Africa , first=Jacob Mckinnon , last=Ivey , publisher=West Virginia University , year=2015 , url=https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/5863/ , access-date=2024-04-20 {{cite web , title=A History of Natal by E.H. Brookes & C. de B. Webb , website=Fact and Fiction , date=2024-04-18 , url=https://www.factandfiction.co.za/products/a-history-of-natal-by-e-h-brookes-and-c-de-b-webb , access-date=2024-04-20 {{cite web , title=Tribute Wall , website=Black Sash , date=2023-09-29 , url=https://www.blacksash.org.za/tribute-wall/ , access-date=2024-04-20 {{cite journal , last=Wright , first=John , title=Making the James Stuart Archive , journal=History in Africa , publisher=Cambridge University Press , volume=23 , year=1996 , issn=0361-5413 , eissn=1558-2744 , jstor=3171947 , pages=333–350 , doi=10.2307/3171947 , url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3171947 , access-date=2024-04-20, url-access=subscription {{cite journal , journal=Natalia , first=Gordon Lindsay , last=Maclean , pages=85–87 , year=1991 , volume=21 , publisher=Natal Society Foundation , title=Travels in Southern Africa, Volume 1 by Adulphe Delegorgue, translated by Fleur Webb, introduced and indexed by Stephanie J. Alexander and Colin De B. Webb , url=https://natalia.org.za/Files/21/Natalia%20v21%20book%20reviews-%20notices%20C.pdf , access-date=2024-04-20 {{cite magazine , magazine=Concord: The Newsletter of the Alan Paton Centre for the study of the literature and politics of conflict and conciliation , title=The Alan Paton Centre: building an on campus community archive , volume=1 , issue=1 , url=https://paton.ukzn.ac.za/?mdocs-file=1659 , date=March 1997 , publisher=

, access-date=2024-04-20 {{cite journal , last=Benyon , first=John , title=Colin Webb 1930–1992: An Appreciation , journal=South African Historical Journal , volume=27 , issue=1 , date=1992 , issn=0258-2473 , doi=10.1080/02582479208671754 , pages=268–271 , url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02582479208671754 , access-date=2024-04-20, url-access=subscription {{cite journal , title=Colin de Berri Webb (1930-1992): An historian's tribute , first=John , last=Laband , pages=7–10 , journal=Natalia , year=1992 , volume=22 , publisher=Natal Society Foundation , url=https://natalia.org.za/Files/22/Natalia%20v22%20article%20p7-14%20C.pdf , access-date=2024-04-20 {{cite journal , title=Colin de Berri Webb (1930-1992): Speech at the naming of the Colin Webb Hall 27 August 1992 , first=Colin , last=Gardner , pages=10–14 , journal=Natalia , year=1992 , volume=22 , publisher=Natal Society Foundation , url=https://natalia.org.za/Files/22/Natalia%20v22%20article%20p7-14%20C.pdf , access-date=2024-04-20 {{cite speech , event=2017 Alan Paton Memorial Lecture , journal=The Journal of the Helen Suzman Foundation , issue=81 , date=December 2017 , pages=38-49 , first=Graham , last=Dominy , title=Limitations On Liberalism: A Tale Of Three Schreiners , url=https://hsf.org.za/publications/focus/focus-81-state-nation/gdominy-schreiners.pdf , access-date=2024-04-20 {{cite journal , first=Jane , last=Carruthers , journal=Historia , date=November 2009 , pages=98–112 , volume=54 , issue=2 , title=Environmental History: Complex Connections around the Constancy of Change , url=https://scielo.org.za/pdf/hist/v54n2/08.pdf , access-date=2024-04-20 {{cite journal , title=Notes and Queries , journal=Natalia , volume=28 , url=https://natalia.org.za/Files/28/Natalia%20v28%20notes-%20queries%20C.pdf , access-date=2024-04-20 {{cite journal , title=The Man Behind the Beard: Deneys Schreiner, A South African Liberal Life by Graham Dominy , first=Christopher , last=Merrett , journal=Natalia , volume=50 , year=2020 , publisher=Natal Society Foundation , pages=81–83 , url=https://www.natalia.org.za/Files/50/11%20Book%20Reviews%20Dominy.pdf , access-date=2024-04-20 {{cite journal , author-link=Stephen Gray (writer) , first=Stephen , last=Gray , title=John Ross and Slavery , journal=English in Africa , volume=17 , number=1 , date=May 1990 , pages=83–94 , url=https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/AJA03768902_283 , access-date=2024-04-20 {{cite book , first=Bill , last=Guest , year=2017 , title=Stella Aurorae: The History of a South African University , publisher=Natal Society Foundation , location=Pietermaritzburg , volume=2: The University of Natal (1949–1976) , url=https://www.natalia.org.za/Files/Publications/Stella%20Aurorae%202.pdf , access-date=2024-04-20 {{cite thesis , date=20 February 2023 , first=Sandile , last=Kheswa , title=Broadening the Black Sash's Reach: A Biographical Study of Women Activists in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands , publisher=University of KwaZulu-Natal , url=https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/b8cebda7-fde8-4c44-953d-8fe945668c1d/content , access-date=2024-04-20 {{Cite journal , url=https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1947&context=sahs_review , title=The African Education of Violaine Idelette Junod , last=Snedegar , first=Keith , volume=59 , number=3 , periodical=Swiss American Historical Society Review , article-number=3 , year=2023 , access-date=2024-04-20 {{Cite sign , url=http://hsf.org.za/about-us/helen-suzman/suz01.pdf , title=Helen Suzman: Fighter for Human Rights , first1=Millie , last1=Pimstone , first2=Milton , last2=Shain , first3=Linda , last3=Bester , publisher=University of Cape Town , date=March 2005 , access-date=26 January 2018 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303201816/http://hsf.org.za/about-us/helen-suzman/suz01.pdf , archive-date=3 March 2016 , url-status=dead {{cite news , first=Stephen , last=Coan , date=14 June 2001 , newspaper= The Natal Witness , via=University of KwaZulu-Natal Press , url=https://www.ukznpress.co.za/?class=bb_ukzn_reviews&method=view_reviews&global%5Bfields%5D%5B_id%5D=44 , title=Opening up the past , access-date=2024-04-21 {{cite journal , url=https://www.natalia.org.za/Files/49/20%20Obituaries%20Webb.pdf , first=Mary , last=Kleinenberg , volume=49 , year=2019 , title=Obituaries: Fleur Webb (1930–2019) , journal=Natalia , publisher=Natal Society Foundation , access-date=2024-04-23 {{cite web , url=https://www.unhcr.org/uk/news/feature-lesotho-marks-end-era-apartheids-refugees, first=Delphine , last=Marie , date=26 August 2002 , title=Feature: Lesotho marks the end of an era for apartheid's refugees , publisher=

UNHCR The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and Humanitarian protection, protect refugees, Internally displaced person, forcibly displaced communities, and Statelessness, s ...

, access-date=2024-04-23 {{cite book , first=Bill , last=Guest , year=2018 , title=Stella Aurorae: The History of a South African University , publisher=Natal Society Foundation , location=Pietermaritzburg , volume=3: The University of Natal (1976-2003) , url=https://natalia.org.za/Files/Publications/Stella%20Aurorae%203.pdf¡ , access-date=2024-04-22 20th-century South African educators 20th-century South African historians Academic staff of the University of Natal Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Alumni of Pretoria Boys High School Alumni of the University of Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Historical Society University of the Witwatersrand alumni White South African anti-apartheid activists South African anti-apartheid activists