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Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the use of capital punishment in colonial Natal. It highlights the violent nature of the punishment, and questions who was subjected to this violence, and why. It then proceeds to explore the ways in which the gallows served a political, as well as judicial, function.

Paper long abstract:

The governance of colonial Natal posed a number of challenges for colonial authorities. The lifetime of the territory was punctuated with frequent armed conflicts, demographic tensions, and indigenous resistance. Within this context, the maintenance of order was perceived as a central objective of the colonial government. Capital punishment was one of the central tools utilised within the colony to achieve this aim.

Capital legislation was constructed to tackle the largest perceived threats to the colonial state. This paper will examine how the cases most likely to end in an execution were those which met political, as well as judicial, requirements. Capital punishment was intended to serve as the ‘ultimate deterrent’ to anti-colonial sentiment, but its use had to be carefully balanced; leniency could make the colonial state look weak, and allow anti-colonial voices or actions to proliferate, whilst excessive judicial violence could lead to local resistance against colonial authority.

Commencing with an analysis of the construction of capital legislation within the colony, this paper illuminates the inner workings of a complex legal regime (the sort of which emerged across the African continent). The paper then proceeds to analyse the use of capital punishment in both peacetime and during moments of upheaval, highlighting that it served a political function within both contexts. Through the course of this analysis, the paper will offer insights into the nature of colonial power, and its violent manifestations. Finally, it will apply its findings to the current discussions around decolonisation.