Professor Edgar Harry Brookes (4 February 1897 – 22 April 1979) was a British-born South African

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

senator and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n representative to the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

. He initially supported

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

but his views changed early in his political and academic career.

Biography

Brookes was born in

Smethwick Smethwick () is an industrial town in the Sandwell district, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies west of Birmingham city centre. Historically it was in Staffordshire and then Worcestershire before bei ...

, England in 1897. He attended

Maritzburg College Maritzburg College is a State school, semi-private English language, English-medium high school for boys situated in the city of Pietermaritzburg in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest boys' high school i ...

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

, South Africa where he matriculated in 1911. He attended the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA) is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, UNISA has over 400,000 student ...

and the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. Some of his early works are noted for stressing the advantages of separate development of the races in South Africa, but it is noted that his views changed early in his career. Brookes was involved with the

South African Institute of Race Relations The South African Institute of Race Relations (IRR) is a research and policy organisation in South Africa. The IRR was founded in 1929 to improve and report upon race relations in South Africa between the politically dominant White South Africa ...

in the 1920s. He became a senator in 1937 and retired as the senator for Zululand in 1953. Between 1933 and 1945 he was the principal of

Adams College Adams College is a historic Christian mission school in South Africa, associated with the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA). It was founded in 1853 at Amanzimtoti a settlement just over south of Durban by an American miss ...

. He worked closely with

John Dube John Langalibalele Dube OLG (22 February 1871 – 11 February 1946) was a South African essayist, philosopher, educator, politician, publisher, editor, novelist and poet. He was the founding president of the South African Native National Cong ...

to achieve common objectives. The school became one of the most important schools for black education. He was a professor of History and Political Science 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- ...

.Who's Who of Southern Africa
accessed 8 August 2008 When the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

was formed in 1953 he did not at first join it, but changed his mind when Peter Brown and other Liberals were detained in the 1960

State of Emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...

, which was imposed after the Sharpeville massacre. After he retired from teaching at the

he was ordained as an Anglican priest.

Works

* ''History of Native Policy in South Africa'' (1924) * ''The Colour Problems of South Africa'' (1933) * ''The Native Reserves of Natal'' (with N. Hurwitz) (1957) * ''The City of God'' (1960) * ''A History of Natal'' (1965). Co-authored with

Colin Webb Colin Webb may refer to: * Colin Webb (cricketer) (1926–2015), Australian cricketer * Colin Webb (historian) Professor Colin de Berri Webb (193022 March 1992) was a South African historian, activist, and university administrator, who promoted ...

. A second edition with a new preface was published in 1987. * ''A History of the University of Natal'' (1967) * ''A South African Pilgrimage'' (1977)

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * *

External links

Biography at SA History OnlineCorrespondence and papers
at the

Killie Campbell Dr Margaret Roach 'Killie' Campbell (1881- 1965) was a South African collector of Africana (artifacts), Africana. Her collection was bequeathed to the University of Natal and is now the Killie Campbell Africana Library. Campbell was the second da ...

Africana Museum in Durban. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brookes, Edgar Harry 1897 births 1979 deaths Alumni of Maritzburg College 20th-century South African Anglican priests Liberal Party of South Africa politicians Members of the Senate of South Africa University of South Africa alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics Academic staff of the University of Natal British emigrants to the Colony of Natal