1820 Settlers Monument | Makhanda | Eastern Cape
The 1820 Settlers Monument
was created to honor the contribution to South African society made
by the British 1820 Settlers. It commemorates the Anglo-African folk,
as well as the English language as much as the Settlers themselves.
While not to undermine the contributions of one community, Makhanda
is a diverse city of predominantly Xhosa, Afrikaners, and English -
to have a monument overlooking the city dedicated to one group of
people is a dividing factor and speaks to the roots of violence and
conquest. The key principles of 'The Foundation', who manage the
Monument, and of the National Arts Festival, rests on principles of
inclusivity, understanding, reflecting, inspiring, growth and
education. Increasingly, being housed in a building that is, for many
South Africans, alienating and seen by many as a monument to conquest
and colonization, is a contradiction.
