Historical Publications Southern Africa

Historical Publications Southern Africa, commonly known historically as the Van Riebeeck Society, is a South African text-publication society dedicated to making primary historical sources about Southern Africa available in edited and accessible form. The organization was founded in 1918 as the Van Riebeeck Society for the Publication of Southern African Historical Documents. In 2017 it adopted the name Historical Publications Southern Africa, abbreviated HiPSA, while retaining the Van Riebeeck Society name as an important historical identifier. The first volume issued under the new name appeared in 2019. The society emerged from the publishing activities of the South African Public Library, now associated with the National Library of South Africa, in Cape Town. Its origins can be traced to the discovery by librarian A. C. G. Lloyd in November 1911 of a substantial fragment of the 1704 diary of Adam Tas. Tas had opposed the colonial administration of Willem Adriaan van der Stel, and his diary became an important document in the history of early Cape society and resistance to colonial authority. The library trustees raised funds to publish the diary in 1914. A surplus from that project supported the publication in 1917 of Baron van Pallandt's General Remarks on the Cape of Good Hope, an originally French-language pamphlet dating from 1803. The work had been printed clandestinely and suppressed by Uitenhage De Mist, making it a rare historical text. Its description of the treatment of Khoikhoi by settlers provoked criticism from General J. B. M. Hertzog, then prime minister, and the resulting controversy substantially increased sales. The success of these projects encouraged the trustees to publish reports concerning the Cape by Governor Maurits Pasques de Chavonnes and Commissioner Baron Gustaaf Willem van Imhoff. Because the library's formal mandate did not cover the publication of archival documents, the trustees created an independent private society to manage the work. The society held its first meeting on 29 August 1918, with an initial membership of 54 people, including a number of members of parliament. The first volume associated with the new society consisted of the de Chavonnes reports. Since its establishment, the society has generally issued a volume each year, with only occasional exceptions. Its publishing program has focused on diaries, official reports, correspondence, memoirs, travel accounts, and other documentary material that can illuminate the political, social, economic, and cultural history of Southern Africa. The editorial model combines accessibility for general readers with scholarly standards, including historical introduction, annotation, source criticism, and textual preparation where appropriate. The resulting volumes have contributed to the preservation and circulation of Africana and remain useful to researchers studying colonial Cape history and the wider region. The society has maintained close institutional links with the National Library of South Africa and its Cape Town predecessor institutions. Rather than operating as a conventional commercial publisher, it has historically relied on subscriptions and membership fees to finance its publications. This model supports a continuing specialist publishing program while creating a readership of members, historians, libraries, and other institutions interested in primary sources. The 2017 renaming signaled an effort to describe the society's broader historical-publication mission more directly, while its continuing series preserves the legacy of the Van Riebeeck Society.

Historical Publications Southern Africa is the present-day name of a South African historical publication society founded in 1918 as the Van Riebeeck Society for the Publication of Southern African Historical Documents. Its institutional roots lie in the South African Public Library in Cape Town, an institution closely connected with the National Library of South Africa. The society was created to undertake a publishing function that fell outside the library's formal mandate: the preparation and dissemination of archival documents and other primary sources relating to the history of the Cape and Southern Africa. The immediate background was the discovery in November 1911 by A. C. G. Lloyd, librarian of the South African Public Library, of a substantial fragment of Adam Tas's 1704 diary. Tas was associated with free burghers who opposed the Dutch East India Company's administration and the Cape governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel. The diary therefore had significance not only as a personal record but also as evidence of conflict within early colonial society. Library trustees raised funds to publish it in 1914. The diary project left a surplus that was used to publish Baron van Pallandt's General Remarks on the Cape of Good Hope in 1917. This rare pamphlet had originally been written in French, printed clandestinely, and suppressed by Uitenhage De Mist. Its discussion of the harsh treatment of Khoikhoi by settlers drew the criticism of General J. B. M. Hertzog, then prime minister. The controversy helped drive unusually strong sales and demonstrated the public interest that could surround documentary historical publications. Following these publications, the library trustees planned editions of reports by Cape Governor Maurits Pasques de Chavonnes and by Baron Gustaaf Willem van Imhoff, the commissioner at the Cape. Since publishing archival documents was not part of the library's official remit, an independent private society was established. Its first meeting took place on 29 August 1918. The initial membership numbered 54 and included several members of parliament. The de Chavonnes reports became the first publication associated with the new organization. For most of its existence, the society operated as a continuing documentary publishing program rather than as a conventional commercial imprint. With rare exceptions, it produced a new volume each year. The volumes have drawn on diaries, official reports, correspondence, memoirs, travel narratives, and related records. Their value lies in bringing otherwise difficult-to-access sources into circulation, often with editorial preparation intended to satisfy both non-specialist readers and academic researchers. The series has consequently become an important source of Africana and Southern African historical material. The society's financial base has historically included fees from subscribing members. This subscription-supported structure helped sustain a specialist list whose audience included individual readers, historians, libraries, and cultural institutions. Its close relationship with the National Library of South Africa and the earlier South African Library also provided continuity with Cape Town's archival and bibliographic traditions. In 2017, the organization changed its name to Historical Publications Southern Africa, or HiPSA. The new title more explicitly described the scope and purpose of its work, while the Van Riebeeck Society designation remained a key historical name and identifier. The first volume published under the new name appeared in 2019. The organization therefore combines a long-established editorial tradition with a contemporary identity focused on preserving and publishing documentary sources for the study of Southern Africa.

• 2019

  First volume under the new name

  [1]Historical Publications Southern Africaen.wikipedia.org

  The first volume issued under the Historical Publications Southern Africa name was published.

• 2017

  Renamed Historical Publications Southern Africa

  [1]Historical Publications Southern Africaen.wikipedia.org

  The organization adopted its current name, Historical Publications Southern Africa, while retaining its historical association with the Van Riebeeck Society.

• 1918

  Van Riebeeck Society founded

  [1]Historical Publications Southern Africaen.wikipedia.org

  The society held its first meeting on 29 August 1918, with 54 initial members, to publish Southern African historical documents independently of the library.

• 1917

  Publication of General Remarks on the Cape of Good Hope

  [1]Historical Publications Southern Africaen.wikipedia.org

  The trustees published Baron van Pallandt's rare 1803 pamphlet, whose controversial discussion of Khoikhoi treatment increased public attention and sales.

• 1914

  Publication of Adam Tas's diary

  [1]Historical Publications Southern Africaen.wikipedia.org

  Library trustees used raised funds to publish the discovered diary fragment.

• 1911

  Discovery of the Adam Tas diary fragment

  [1]Historical Publications Southern Africaen.wikipedia.org

  A. C. G. Lloyd discovered a substantial fragment of Adam Tas's 1704 diary at the South African Public Library, helping inspire the later creation of the society.

A specialist, membership-supported historical publisher positioned between academic scholarship and public access. Its purpose is to make important primary sources on Southern Africa readable and available while preserving rigorous editorial and scholarly standards.

• Historical primary-source publishing · 1918

  Van Riebeeck Society documentary volumes

  The society's principal product is a continuing series of edited and republished primary-source volumes concerning Southern African history. The series includes diaries, administrative reports, correspondence, memoirs, travel accounts, and other documentary records. Editorial work is intended to preserve the evidentiary value of the sources while making them usable for general readers and researchers. The volumes have appeared annually or nearly annually, with occasional exceptions, since the society's foundation.

• Historical primary-source publishing · 2019

  Historical Publications Southern Africa volumes

  These are the volumes published under the society's current HiPSA identity. The name change in 2017 broadened the public description of the organization without abandoning its established documentary mission. The first volume under the new name appeared in 2019 and continued the society's emphasis on carefully prepared sources relating to Southern Africa.

• 2017

  Adopt the Historical Publications Southern Africa nameStrategy

  Background

  After decades operating under the Van Riebeeck Society name, the organization revised its name to describe its broader historical-documentary publishing mission.

  Action taken

  The society changed its name to Historical Publications Southern Africa, abbreviated HiPSA.

  Aftermath

  The first volume under the new name appeared in 2019, while the Van Riebeeck Society name remained an important historical alias.

  Source

• 1918

  Create an independent historical publication societyStrategy

  Background

  The South African Public Library trustees wanted to publish reports and other archival documents, but the library's formal mandate did not include that activity.

  Action taken

  They established a private society to manage the documentary publishing program, holding its first meeting on 29 August 1918.

  Aftermath

  The new organization became a continuing publisher of Southern African historical sources and began a series that generally produced a volume each year.

  Source

1. 1Historical Publications Southern Africaen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Van Riebeeck Society official websitevanriebeecksociety.co.za