One of history's most dangerous myths - Anneliese Mehnert

翻译人员: Cong Wei 校对人员: sylvia feng

From the 1650s through the late 1800s,

从16世纪50年代到19世纪末，

European colonists descended on South Africa.

欧洲殖民者陆续来到南非。

First, Dutch and later British forces sought to claim the region for themselves,

先是荷兰军队，后来是英国军队 他们试图将该地区据为己有，

with their struggle becoming even more aggressive

他们的斗争变得更加激烈

after discovering the area’s abundant natural resources.

尤其是在发现该地区丰富 的自然资源后，

In their ruthless scramble,

在无情的争夺中，

both colonial powers violently removed numerous Indigenous communities

两个殖民国家用暴力将众多土著社区

from their ancestral lands.

从其祖先的土地上赶走。

Yet despite these conflicts,

然而，除了存在这些冲突，

the colonizers often claimed they were settling in empty land

殖民者却经常声称他们定居 的是一片没有当地人的空地

devoid of local people.

没有当地居民。

These reports were corroborated in letters and travelogues

这些报道在信件和游记中得到了证实

by various administrators, soldiers, and missionaries.

被不同的管理者、士兵和传教士。

Maps were drawn reflecting these claims,

人们绘制了反映这些主张的地图，

and prominent British historians supported this narrative.

英国著名历史学家也支持这种说法。

Publications codifying the so-called Empty Land Theory

编纂所谓 “空地理论 “的出版物

had three central arguments.

有三个核心论点

First, most of the land being settled by Europeans

首先，欧洲人定居的大部分土地

had no established communities or agricultural infrastructure.

都没有固定的社区或农业基础设施。

Second, any African communities that were in those regions

其次，在这些地区的任何非洲社区

had actually entered the area at the same time as Europeans,

实际上都是与欧洲人同时进入该地区的，

so they didn’t have an ancestral claim to the land.

因此他们对这些土地没有祖先的所有权。

And third, since these African communities had probably stolen the land

第三，由于这些非洲社区 可能窃取了土地

from earlier, no-longer-present Indigenous people,

是从早期的、 已不存在的土著人那里，

the Europeans were within their rights to displace these African settlers.

因此欧洲人有权驱逐 这些非洲定居者。

The problem is that all three of these arguments were completely false.

问题是，这三个论点 都是完全错误的。

Almost none of this land was empty and Africans had lived here for millennia.

这片土地几乎没有一块是空的， 非洲人已经在这里生活了几千年。

Indigenous South Africans simply had a different practice

南非原住民在土地所有权方面的做法

of land ownership from the Dutch and British.

与荷兰人和英国人不同。

Land belonged to families or groups, not individuals.

土地属于家庭或团体， 而不是个人。

And even that ownership was more focused

即使是这种所有权也更注重

on the land’s agricultural products than the land itself.

土地的农产品而非土地本身。

Community leaders would distribute seasonal land rights,

社区领袖会分配季节性土地权，

allowing various nomadic groups to graze cattle or forage for vegetation.

允许不同的游牧群体放牧或觅食。

Even the groups that did live in large agricultural settlements

即使是生活在大型农业定居点的群体

didn’t believe they owned the land as private property.

也不认为他们拥有土地的私有财产。

But the colonizing Europeans had no respect for this system of ownership.

但殖民的欧洲人 并不尊重这种所有权制度。

They concluded the land belonged to no one

他们认为土地不属于任何人

and could therefore be divided amongst themselves.

因此可以在他们之间进行分割。

In this context, claims that the land was “empty”

在这种情况下， 土地 “空无一物 “的说法

were an ignorant oversimplification of a much more complex reality.

是对更为复杂的现实 的无知的过度简化。

But the Empty Land Theory allowed British academics to rewrite history

但空地理论使英国学者得以改写历史

and minimize native populations.

并最大限度地减少土著人口。

In 1894, the European parliament in Cape Town

1894年，开普敦的欧洲议会

took this exploitation even further by passing the Glen Grey Act.

通过了《格伦-格雷法案》，

This decree made it functionally impossible

进一步加强了这种剥削。

for native Africans to own land,

这项法令使得非洲本地人 实际上无法拥有土地、

shattering the system of collective tribal ownership

该法令打破了部落集体所有制

and creating a class of landless people.

形成了一个无地阶层。

To justify the theft, Europeans painted the locals as barbarians

为了证明偷窃行为的正当性， 欧洲人把当地人描绘成野蛮人

who lacked the capacity for reason

以他们缺乏理性为理由

and were better off being ruled by the colonizers.

宣称最好由殖民者统治。

This strategy of stripping locals of their right to ancestral lands

这种剥夺当地人对祖先土地的权利

and casting native people as savages has been employed by many colonizers.

将当地人描绘成野蛮人 的策略为许多殖民者所采用。

Now known as the Empty Land Myth,

现在被称为 “空地神话“，

this is a well-established technique in the colonial playbook,

这是殖民者的惯用伎俩，

and its impact can be found in the history of many countries,

许多国家的历史中 都可以发现这一策略的影响，

including Australia, Canada, and the United States.

包括澳大利亚、加拿大和美国

And in South Africa, the influence of this narrative can be traced

而在南非，这种说法 的影响可以直接追溯到

directly to a brutal campaign of institutionalized racism.

残酷的制度化种族主义运动。

Barred from their lands,

由于被禁止进入自己的土地，

the once self-sufficient population struggled as migrant laborers and miners

曾经自给自足的非洲人 只能作为移民劳工和矿工

on European-owned property.

在欧洲人拥有的土地上挣扎，

The law forbade them from working certain skilled jobs,

法律禁止他们从事某些技术工作，

and forced Africans to live in racially segregated areas.

并强迫非洲人生活 在种族隔离的地区。

Over time, these racist policies intensified,

随着时间的推移， 这些种族主义政策愈演愈烈，

mandating separation in urban areas,

规定在城市地区实行隔离，

restricting voting rights, and eventually building to apartheid.

限制选举权， 最终形成了种族隔离制度。

Under this system, African people had no voting rights,

在这一制度下， 非洲人没有选举权，

and the education of native Africans was overhauled

对非洲本地人 的教育也进行了全面改革

to emphasize their legal and social subservience to white settlers.

强调他们在法律和社会上 都要服从白人定居者。

This state of legally enforced racism persisted through the early 1990s,

这种法律强制的种族主义状态 一直持续到20世纪90年代初。

and throughout this period,

在此期间，

colonists frequently invoked the Empty Land Theory

殖民者经常援引 “空地理论 ”

to justify the unequal distribution of land.

为不平等的土地分配辩护。

South African resistance movements fought throughout the 20th century

南非抵抗运动在整个20世纪

to gain political and economic freedom.

都在为获得政治和经济自由而斗争。

And since the 1980s, South African scholars have been using

自20世纪80年代以来， 南非学者一直在利用

archaeological evidence to correct the historical record.

考古证据来纠正历史记录

Today, South African schools are finally teaching the region's true history.

如今，南非的学校终于开始 教授该地区的真实历史。

But the legacy of the Empty Land Myth still persists

但是，“空地神话 “依旧存在

as one of the most harmful stories ever told.

作为有史以来最有害的故事之一。