Sir Matthew Nathan

Sir Matthew Nathan had been Governor of Hong Kong where he had run into some difficulties over the issues of Chinese labour. This was a very hot topic in Southern Africa too but less so in Natal.
Southern Africa was still recovering from the Boer Wars and the implications unleashed by that conflict. Sir Matthew Nathan himself found himself caught between liberal expectations coming from the Colonial Office and calls from settlers to take harsh measures especially against Zulu rebels after the 1906 Bambatha rebellion. Increasingly he sided with the latter and took up their views on racial segregation and Indian representation. However he did take a key role in defending the relatively small Colony of Natal's rights in the forthcoming South African Act of Union negotiations. He wanted to ensure that the larger Southern African colonies did not swamp the rights and expectations of those from the smaller colonies.
Image Courtesy of National Portrait Gallery

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