The Europeans resorted to violence to defend their economic interests, sometimes clashing with those who refused to renounce their freedom or their land. Eventually, as the best land became scarce, groups of settlers clashed with one another, and rival Dutch and British populations fought for control over the land. South Africa was drawn into the international economy through its exports, primarily diamonds and gold, and through its own increasing demand for a variety of agricultural imports. The cycle of economic growth was stimulated by the continual expansion of the mining industry, and with newfound wealth, consumer demand fuelled higher levels of trade. In the first half of the twentieth century, government economic policies were designed to meet local consumer demand and to reduce the nation's reliance on its mining sector by providing incentives for farming and for establishing manufacturing enterprises. But the government also saw its role as helping to defend white farmers and businessmen from African competition. In 1913 the Natives Land Act reserved most of the land for white ownership, forcing many black farmers to work as wage labourers on land they had previously owned. When the act was amended in 1936, black land ownership was restricted to 13 percent of the country, much of it heavily destroyed over time. White farmers received other privileges, such as loans from a government Land Bank (created in 1912), labour law protection, and crop subsidies. Miners eating in their compound Image source All farm activity suffered from the cyclical droughts that swept the subcontinent, but white farmers received greater government protection against economic losses.Ĭontrol over black workers, closed compounds and migrant labour Marketing boards, which were established to stabilize production of many crops, paid more for produce from white farmers than for produce from black farmers. With the discovery of diamonds in South Africa, institutionalised forms of labour control such as the compound/ hostel system now emerged, and in the industrial environment exploitative relations now assumed the same racial form as that which already existed in the rural areas. Migrant labour ensured a supply of cheap wage labour to the mining sector and secondary industry. What is unique about South African migrant labour is the disallowance on internal migrants from settling at their work places.
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