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The Desirable and Undesirable in the life of the Chief Immigration Officer in Cape Town, Clarence Wilfred Cousins, 1905–1915

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 April 2018

Uma Dhupelia-Mesthrie
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Abstract

This article argues that while immigration exclusions of those considered undesirable were clearly set out by legislation, the subjectivity of the immigration officer was an important aspect of implementation. Drawing on the diaries and personal letters of the officer based at Cape Town, the article focuses on his emotions as he went about his daily life and moved between different intimate city spaces – home, church, docks and office. Bringing together his social world with his world of work, the article argues that what the immigration officer considered desirable in his personal life influenced how he conducted his work at the port.

Keywords

Cape Townimmigration officerexclusionsemotionsubjectivities
Type
Articles
Information
Itinerario , Volume 42 , Special Issue 1: The Private Lives of Empire: Emotion, Intimacy, and Colonial Rule , April 2018 , pp. 50 - 66
Copyright
© 2018 Research Institute for History, Leiden University 

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Footnotes

*

Uma Dhupelia-Mesthrie is a professor of History at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa.

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