Reconstruction, union and segregation in South Africa (Notes)
Reconstruction, in this this context, refers to series of economic and political measures taken by British colonialists after the Anglo Boer war.
It was rehabilitation measures to Boer territories from the effects of war, creating good relations between Boers and British territories.
All programmes was conducted under the supervision of British High Commissioner to South Africa, Alfred Milner.
He assembled young graduates from Oxford University (Kindergarten) to help him to put together the program
Immediate task
i. To rebuild the mining industries physical destruction from war
How?
Signing treaties with Portuguese in Mozambique to supply labour (Modus Vivendi)
Enactment of labour importation ordinance of 1903 allowing importation of labourers from China and indentured labourers
Lowering the cost of dynamite which its price was very expensive following concession and monopolistic systems introduced during the Kruger regime- Transvaal government had a monopoly over supply of dynamite
ii. To revive or rehabilitate agriculture ravaged by war and drought. Creation of schemes and land Boards. Encouraging mining capitalists to finance agricultural programmes
The administration worked to remodel the Transvaal as a stable base for agricultural, industrial, and finance capital, spending some £16 million to return Afrikaners to their farms and equip them.
It established a land bank, promoted scientific farming methods, and developed more efficient tax collection methods, which increased pressures on black peasants to work for white farmers.
iii. To resettle the refugees especially Afrikaners who settled in the concentration camps. 16 million pound allocated for resettlement, repatriation and relief for Afrikaner refugees
iv. To confront the problem of poverty poor whites devastated by the war
Between 1906-1908, the Transvaal Indigence commission gave a comprehensive reform to uplift poor whites and improve their economic well being;
Protecting them from competition with Blacks in labour market
Provision of education, training and promote employment for whites
v. To bring about economic integration of the region i.e. Transvaal, Orange Free State, Natal and Cape colony
For economic integration, it would be achieved through:
Integration of railway system, strengthening the railway communication between the colonies to ensure the easy flow of goods
To create custom union; common market involving free movement of goods and services and no restrictive tariffs; and common external tariff (10% value), imperial preference for goods from empire
vi. Political reconstruction, to create new constitutional order and consensus which will ensure peace and British interest in the region
Note: Miller had a vision to create civilized community stretching from the Cape to Zambezi
He wanted a modeling society of Canada in which black labour will serve the whites
Thus, his idea was to:
a) Union of South Africa colonies under British
b) Political arrangements ensuring white settlers citizenship and disenfranchisement of non whites
c) Dominion status of South Africa as British empire
Milner transferred his headquarters from Cape Town to Pretoria in 1902.
The move symbolized the centrality of the Transvaal to his mission of constructing a new order in South Africa.
vii. Native policy
Before Anglo Boer war each colony had its own policy regarding Africans.
In 1903, Lord Milner government appointed a commission to create a native policy for future of South Africa called Native Affair Commission to provide comprehensive answers to the native question.
Under the Lord Lagden it tabled its report (1905) proposed:
Territorial separation of black and white landownership
Systematic urban segregation by the creation of black “locations,”
The removal of black “squatters” from white farms and their replacement by wage labourers and the segregation of blacks from whites in the political sphere.
How to strengthen British position or interest in South Africa
Promotion of massive immigration of British speaking people from British Empire to outnumber Afrikaners. Milner aimed the ratio of 3:1
Denationalize the Afrikaans-speaking people in order to erode their identity. This was done through modernization measures like education, economic development and use of English as a medium of instruction
In 1905 Liberal government came into power and Milner was recalled home and the new High commissioner was appointed Lord Selbourne to heal the wounds (reconcile with Afrikaners)
In 1906 Afrikaners were given a share in the government with self governing status.
These measures did not solve the problem because diverging opinion among Afrikaners increased, those demanded Anglicization and those who refused.
This was a precursor for the creation of Union of South Africa
Why the British the Union supported the union?
a) They had strategic interest, they wanted a dominion like Canada
b) Lord Carnavon scheme for expansion of British in the region
c) English speaking colony. They wanted to make sure the rich resources of mines of gold. And controlling import and export in ports of Cape, Natal, East London and Port Elizabeth
d) To bring Afrikaan speaking community together in one territory. If they happened to come together they will constitute the potential force against British imperialism. Fear of Afrikaner republics
e) British wanted to promote white unity against the threat of Black rebellion. In 1906, Zulu rebellion in Natal against poll tax of 1 pound and land alienation called the Bambata Rebellion
It aroused fear in the territory. Union will ensure no possibility of Black rebellion
f) Settler with capital-union presented economic opportunities for large market, sources of labour and natural resources
Selbourne Memorandum circulated in 4 colonies call both English settlers and Afrikaners to overcome their historical differences for white common interests
Also economic integration and labour supply were among the contents of the memorandum
There were emergence of Closer Union Societies in 1908 campaign to form a union
In 1909, there were 60 closer union societies the monthly state journal was published in campaign for the union.
Concern in London over the electoral victory by the Afrikaner party Het Volk evaporated as soon as it became clear that both Botha and Smuts understood the economic preeminence of mining capital.
A policy of reconciliation between Afrikaans and English speaking whites was also promoted.
A national convention, which met in Durban in 1908–09, drafted a constitution.
Afrikaner leaders and Cape Premier John X. Merriman opted for a unitary state with Dutch and English as official languages and with parliamentary sovereignty.
Executive authority was vested in a governor general who would be advised by a cabinet from the governing party.
Two “entrenched” clauses, on language and franchise, could be amended only by a two thirds majority vote in Parliament.
While Cape delegates favoured a colour blind franchise, those from the Transvaal and Orange Free State demanded an exclusively white electorate.
A compromise simply confirmed existing electoral arrangements.
The former republics retained white male adult suffrage and did not consider female suffrage (white women finally won the right to vote in 1930).
In 1910, 85 percent of Cape voters were white, 10 percent Coloured, and 5 percent black.
Representation was further limited on racial lines: even in the Cape, only whites could stand for Parliament.
Natal issue was controversial because Natal wanted a federal rather than a union fearing dominated by Afrikaners.
The British government and parliament approved the union in 1909, so called South Africa Act
Union and Disunity
It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of four previously separate British colonies: Cape Colony, Natal Colony, Transvaal Colony and Orange River Colony.
Supported by the majority party in each province and by the British government, Louis Botha formed the first union government
The constitution was not federation, but union. In the constitution, British had a hand.
The crown was still the Head of the state (Dominion). Not only the Queen the head of the state but also, Britain continued to be in charge of foreign affairs.
The Union Jack was the national flag in South Africa and Sterling or pound was the legal tender or currency
Union constitution contained four major principles
i. It followed British model, creating unitary state with parliamentary sovereignty
ii. Franchise Board. The constitution convention agreed to retain the pre existing franchise laws in the colonies in Natal and no right to vote for Africans or non whites. In Cape colony voting depended on property and education qualification, not colour. In Transvaal and OFS, only whites allowed to vote
iii. Regular intervals judicial commission to divide the country into electoral divisions for the lower house of parliament in respect to population. This arrangement rural constituencies were not supposed to be the same as urban population. Many Afrikaners were rural
iv. It made both English and Afrikaner or Dutch the official languages of the country. This was very crucial for the survival of Afrikaner identity and culture against the forces of Anglicization
The constitution also included provisions under which the British government might at some unspecified date incorporate Southern Rhodesia, Basutoland, Bechuanaland and Swaziland into the new union.
Issues revolving around the post union South Africa
The Botha administration entered a period of continuous change and violent conflict as tensions arose from issues left unresolved by the constitution, from rapid but uneven economic growth, and from the legacy of conquest and dispossession of the indigenous peoples.
There were three major issues
a) Relations with Britain. What Britain remained controlling?
Foreign affairs, head of state, flag, currency and capital dominance
b) Relation between Afrikaner and English-speaking settlers. Whether two communities should forge some common advance and interest. To put aside their differences and have a common identity (white men). The key contentious issue was Afrikaners to preserve their culture or being anglicized; who controlled managerial and technical skills especially in mining and banking
Afrikaners had disproportionate share-most of them were poor and doing unskilled jobs in mining industry.
c) Relations between whites and Non whites
European settlers vs non whites
Politics: Whether non whites should be given the same right as whites? Only the in the Cape non whites had a franchise rights but still education and property qualification was a stumbling block
Should this Cape decision extended to other provinces?
Economics, competition in the labour market and residential areas. Should all races treated equally or not?
Post union Race relations
In the first two decades of the union, segregation became a distinctive feature of South African political, social, and economic life as whites addressed the “native question.
What is segregation? It meant merely differential treatment or recognition of racial differences or even the restriction of opportunities for natives
Blacks were “retribalized” and their ethnic differences highlighted.
New statutes provided for racial separation in industrial, territorial, administrative, and residential spheres.
Thus, two species of separation identified:
Complete separation (special confinement of the natives)
Possessory segregation (setting aside ownership)
This barrage of legislation was partly the product of reactionary attitudes inherited from the past and partly an effort to regulate class and race relations during a period of rapid industrialization when the black population was growing steadily.
All questions of segregation was based on the notion of “white supremacy” which underlay two principles;
Subordinate of black people to the whites in South Africa
Principle of separation of whites and blacks in the spheres of work, employment, housing and governance
Two races should be treated separately and unequally.
Roots of segregation rely on the racial policies of the 4 territories where segregation was pursued in different degrees
After Anglo Boer war, Alfred Milner appointed a Lagden commission (1903-05) which became a blueprint for later racial segregation policy. It this report, the following were recommendations
There should be racial segregation of land ownership
Establishment of Native locations in urban areas (Black ghettos)
Influx of blacks into urban areas should be restricted through pass laws, allowing only employed ones
Differential wage rates for whites and non whites
Education, different kind of education for races
Africans should have their separate local administration known as Native councils. This exclude Africans from central government
The non racial franchise of the Cape should not be extended to other provinces
It should be illegal to people of different races to have sexual intercourse
What happened?
Between 1911 and 1924 the first phase of racial segregation legislations under the government of South African National Party led by Louis Botha was passed.
The industrial colour bar in employment was enacted. The 1911 Mines and Works Act and its 1926 successor reserved certain jobs in mining and the railways for white workers.
In this Act, to require a job. Worker should have a certificate of competence mostly issued to whites (Transvaal and OFS)
Listed some preserved jobs for whites and open jobs for all.
It also prohibited contract labourer to go strike
The Natives’ Land Act of 1913 defined less than one tenth of South Africa as black “reserves” and prohibited any purchase or lease of land by blacks outside the reserves.
The law also restricted the terms of tenure under which blacks could live on white owned farms.
The law was against three things
Africans squatting on land owned by whites
The renting of land ton Africans by white land owners, share cropping
Extension of African landowners through purchasing
Key provisions of the Act
Africans were prohibited from acquiring land outside native reserves through hire or purchase
Europeans were prohibited from acquiring land in the reserves (territorial separation)
Africans could only remain in whites’ land if they are bona fide labourers
Implementation of this legislation went with eviction of blacks and eventually available land remained for blacks was (7%)
Immediate impact is native reserves were overcrowded. Option was to subject to wage employment.
The Native (Urban Areas) Act of 1923 segregated urban residential space and created “influx controls” to reduce access to cities by blacks.
Provisions, gave urban authority to set African locations and Africans have not permanent right in towns and should have temporary residential permit in towns. It gave power to expel jobless Africans
Industrial conciliation Act (1924)
The Chamber of Mine and miners’ trade unions on the Witwatersrand engaged in combat for a decade and a half. Whenever violent confrontations flared up
This intense conflict between white unions and employers ended with the passage of the Industrial Conciliation Act in 1924, which set up new state structures for regulating industrial conflicts.
It legalized collective bargaining by Trade unions but African migrant workers did not meet criteria for being included in the laws governing Trade Unions
Hertzog Phase
J. B. M. Hertzog founded the National Party in 1914, with support mainly from “poor whites” and militant intellectuals.
The general election of 1915 gave the National Party 30 percent of the vote, with Afrikaners deserting the South African Party led by Botha and Smuts.
Hertzog’s party won a majority of both seats and votes in 1920 on a platform of republicanism and separate school systems for Afrikaans and English-speaking whites.
The June 1924 election propelled Hertzog to the position of prime minister through a coalition between the National and Labour parties known as the Pact government.
This was a new militant government to pursue segregation to protect Afrikaner interests and white workers
Hertzog proposed increasing the reserve areas and removing black voters in the Cape from the common roll in 1926, aims that were finally realized through the Representation of Natives Act (1936)
Blacks now voted on a separate roll to elect three white representatives to the House of Assembly.
In 1927, Mines and Works Amendment Act was enacted to strengthen the job discrimination and industrial color bar
Civilized Labor Policy sought to promote employers for whites. Unskilled white workers to replace unskilled blacks.
Immorality Act (1927). Prohibited extra-marital sexual intercourse between whites and blacks. It was made illegal and criminal offence.
Between 1924 and 1933 the Herzog government passed more legislation in favour of the white population, especially the Afrikaners, and acquired greater economic and political autonomy for South Africa
Afrikaner Nationalism
Who is Afrikaners?
Afrikaners (including the Boer subgroup) are an ethnic group descended from Dutch settlers and other ethnic groups living in South Africa whose native tongue is Afrikaans; a Germanic language developed in Africa which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch.
Afrikaner nationalism (Afrikaner Volkseenheid) is a political ideology that was born in the late nineteenth century among Afrikaners in South Africa
It was strongly influenced by anti-British sentiments since the British occupation of the Cape; that grew strong among the Afrikaners, especially because of the Boer Wars.
The Trekboers certainly had important feelings of group common identity a belief that they were not only different but also superior to the indigenous peoples, a sense of difference from the British, and an abhorrence of the so called ‘liberal’ policies in the Cape Colony.
Afrikaner nationalism constitute people sharing a common heritage revolving around common history, tradition, religion, philosophy, language and culture
Their distinct and separate ideology was to protect them from potential enemies e.g. British (Anglicization), Africans or blacks and colored in South Africa
Historically, Afrikaner nationalist had been haunted by three spheres
Political domination
Resentment of economic domination and exploitation
Erosion and liquidation of their distinct or separate attributes race, culture, tradition and language
Major strands of Afrikaner Nationalism
Afrikaner nationalism was not a monolithic phenomena, but has several strands, as
a) Separatist strand, expression of pure and militant Afrikaner consciousness. To unify Afrikaner from the total exclusion from other groups
b) Parallelist strand, struggle for linguistic and cultural equality between Afrikaners and English language and culture
c) Racial strand, based on broad base unity of white South Africans. To seek a partnership between Afrikaners and English speaking communities against Blacks menace. Oneness against common enemy (Blacks).
d) Republican strand, expression of resentment of British domination in South Africa
These strands are intertwined.
Ideological Dimension of Afrikaner Nationalism
Afrikaner nationalism which was racial ideology is ascribed to an adamant strain of Calvinism.
According to this view, Afrikaners founding fathers brought to the Cape the basic tenets of Seventieth century Calvinist thought of chosen elected race against the rest!, thus South Africa was their final promised land and destination.
Religion, especially the Dutch Reformed Churches of South Africa were involved throughout the 18th century in a constant battle against modernism and modernity.
They aligned with the conservative views of Abraham Kuyper, who emphasised God's authority over separate spheres of creation.
These spheres, for example historical nations, had to be preserved and protected from liberalism and revolutionary ideologies.
Kuyper also rejected the Enlightenment with its emphasis on human rationality and individuality and thought that it had led to the ideals of equality, fraternity and freedom of the French Revolution.
Afrikaner theologians worked from this foundation and defined a number of political, economic and cultural spheres that had their separate, independent destinies
The policy of segregation as advocated by the Afrikaner and his church is the holy calling of the Church to see to the thousands of poor whites in the cities who fight a losing battle in the present economic world
The application of segregation will furthermore lead to the creation of separate healthy cities for the non whites where they will be in a position to develop along their own lines, establish their own institutions and later on govern themselves under the guardianship of the whites
For them Great Trek was seen as the Exodus from the British rule in Cape to the Promised Land of the Boer Republics
Trajectory of Afrikaner Nationalism
Pre Union period: When they landed at Table Bay in 1652, Afrikaners have sought to have a distinct from other groups.
There were company servants, company officials so they sought to distinguish themselves from the English settlers in the Cape and British officials, slaves and bastaards ( miscegenation from Khoisan and Afrikaners)
The Great Trek (1830-1840s)
a) The roots of Afrikaner nationalism can arguably be found in the Great Trek, when Boers, armed with a sense of racial superiority and difference from the British, embarked on their grand historical emigration.
b) British Annexation of the South African Republic set by the Boers in 1879 at the victory of Majuba Hill was seen as a national pride
c) Relationship between Boers and Uitlanders which consequently led to Jameson Raid of 1895.
d) South African war, the soured relationship between Boers and Uitlanders leading to Anglo Boers war. During and after the war, British atrocities in the concentration camps heightened the Afrikaner bitterness, hence common identity
e) Union of South Africa, this brought future discord leading to coalition arrangement of convenience
f) World war I, South Africa under Botha supported British but radicals under Hertzog could not accept leading to splitting from the party.
The stage was set for nationalism - but how would it eventually manifest itself?
The two possible paths of Afrikaner nationalism are represented by Jans Smuts, who favored reconciliation with the British at the expense of native blacks, and J. B. M. Hertzog, who advocated that Afrikaners be allowed to carve out their own unique culture and national identity.
As it turns out, the Afrikaners wanted to eat their cake and have it too, as they opted for both nationalism and the exploitation of black South Africans.
After a split within the party, new party called National party created by militant Afrikaners and supported by alienated Afrikaner elites, farmers won election 1924 defeating South Africa Party.
In 1925, the coalition government (Labor party and National party) passed several laws in favor of Afrikaans as official language instead of Dutch
They also put in place some measures to assist farmers in terms of marketing, research, extension services and freight rates
Protection of Afrikaner workers
To press for autonomy from British leading Hertzog to attend a colonial conference in 1926 in London to demand autonomy
In 1931, statute of Westminster gave South Africa autonomy
Afrikaner Nationalist institution
Afrikaner Broderbond (Afrikaner Brotherhood)
This is an extremely exclusive, secret Afrikaner nationalist organization which, in a symbiotic relationship with the National Party, has played a determining role in the political development of South Africa. Its aim is the promotion of the Afrikaner's political, cultural and economic interests.
In 1929, within Afrikaner brotherhood, Federation of Afrikaner cultural organization (FAK) was formed to promote Afrikaner culture. It became active in areas of
a) Education
b) Culture, launching of program of social conservatism. Pornography, gambling, and other such vices were banned because they were thought to be elements contrary to the "Afrikaner way of life. Even adultery and attempted adultery were banned (by the Immorality Amendment Act, Act No 23 of 1957
c) Language
E.g. in 1939, they founded the institute for Christian National Education to counter the domination of English medium in education
They also organized cultural days to promote culture; they had radio programs, cultural exhibitions and separate Afrikaner press and University
Promotion of Afrikaner capital or economic interests. In 1938, FAK launched a fund called Salvation-deed fund to assist Afrikaners enterprises later in 1939, they created economic congress to deal with poor whites
In 1944, they formed Federal Volks Investment to provide credits for Afrikaners under the chamber of commerce and agriculture
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