Esther Bell-Robinson, the Irish rebel and the Hendrik van Loon letters

Abstract

Esther Bell-Robinson (1871-1953) was a formidable Irish lady who made a profound contribution to the upliftment and restoration of the Boer women and children for almost fi fty years in the rural Orange Free State town of Koppies. Bell-Robinson was part of the Milner scheme to implement the English school system in the Free State after the Anglo-Boer War. However, she was an ‘Irish Rebel’ who opposed and obstructed any efforts that stood in the way of the social upliftment of the women and children. Bell-Robinson kept a correspondence with one of her former pupils, Hendrik van Loon, who became a historian of note and an international literacy celebrity in the United States during the early twentieth century. The article provides a rare glimpse into the correspondence between Van Loon and Bell-Robinson. The letters, which were not made public before, provide a unique insight into the lives of two important role players on two different continents in the twentieth century.

Key words: Esther Bell-Robinson, Hendrik van Loon, cultural contribution,
Netherlands, social and economic upliftment, South African, teaching, United
States