Episode 278 - The South African Suez Canal, Stellaland and Goshen and James Honey's Murder Most Foul

About this episode

The episode explores the complexities of South African history in the 1880s, drawing parallels with the mathematical concept of π.

In 1882, the German mathematician Ferdinand von Lindemann proved that π was transcendental: it cannot be reduced to a tidy equation, never captured inside the comfortable boundaries expected by mathematicians. For centuries mathematicians tried to “square the circle” — creating a perfect square with the same area as a circle using only classical tools. In 1882, they finally got their answer: impossible. π’s transcendence meant the problem itself can never be solved. π sits at the centre of order — wheels, planets, architecture, engineering — but does not obey the rules mathematicians thought would contain it. The more closely pi is examined, the more it slips beyond simple description. But pi also has beauty in it’s patterns. π — roughly 3.14 etc etc — is the hidden constant inside every circle: divide the distance around any circle by the distance across it, and written out as a decimal, it goes on forever without ever stopping and without ever falling into a repeating pattern. Southern Africa in the early 1880s had the appearance of something similar. The neat assumptions of empire borders that could be drawn, peoples classified, and territories administered into obedience —…

People in this episode

Host: Desmond Latham

Topics covered

• mathematics
• colonialism
• South African history
• empire
• African polities
• mineral revolution

Keywords

• Ferdinand von Lindemann
• π
• First Anglo-Boer War
• Stellaland
• Goshen
• South Africa
• colonialism
• mineral revolution

Mentioned in this episode

Places: South Africa, Stellaland, Goshen

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