I will have to begin by conceding that I did not go into this book uninitiated in the intricacies of the South Africa land discourse. In fact, I would go as far as saying that I had little knowledge about decolonial and South African history. However, Patric Tariq Mellet’s book, The Lie of 1652, taught me more than a few things about the South African land question, and I am certain that anyone who reads this book will find themselves enriched by his wealth of knowledge on South African history and restorative justice.

The author describes The Lie of 1652 as the idea that Southern Africa was a ‘land without people’ when European settlers arrived at the Cape. And that while there where small groups of indigenous Khoi and San people, these people have mostly gone extinct. Colonial historians account for the presence of black South Africans here, in the bottom of Africa to a sudden wave of Northern Bantu people who arrived in South Africa shortly after the Boers had colonised the Cape and the inland....

https://ewblog.co.za/book-review-the-lie-of-1652-a-decolonised-history-of-land/ ( )