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Introduction By the end of the 19th century investments from Britain, continental Europe and North America had made Southern Africa a significant contributor to the world economy due to the mineral discoveries. Population concentrated mining spots as Johannesburg (Gold) or Kimberly (Diamonds). The governments of the region neglected other industries in order to focus on mining. The white immigrants incorporated the native population into capitalist, white-dominated economy. Africans were expropriated, exploited and forced to labor under inhumane conditions in the white men¡¯s mines. Additionally they had to face segregation and discrimination in economical, political and legal senses.
No black person ever became a member of the parliament or cabinet. The population was divided corresponding to their racial category and lived in subcultures. The people Whites grouped together as "Coloured" differed greatly among themselves. There was a large variety of descents, religions and ethnic groups. Diamonds, Gold, and the Mining Cities - in 1867 alluvial diamonds were found nearby Bloemfountain - by 1872 twenty thousand Whites and thirty thousand Blacks had converged on the area; Kimberly (the Diamond City) was born - soon small properties and individual diggers were superseded by highly capitalised holdings who made mining more efficient concentrating and mechanizing it - there was a destructive cutthroat competition between the companies - a few individuals as Barney Barnato, Alfred Beit or Cecil Rhodes amassed great wealth and therefore influence - the state of a capitalist world economy stabilized the industry, producing and marketing monopolies emerged - Whites organized the labour and eliminated black diggers setting racial and racist rules - Whites: privileged, well paid, free; Blacks: unprivileged, poorly paid, unfree - male black labourers were separated from their families, family life was disrupted - in 1886 gold was discovered in the south of Pretoria, the region turned into an economic centre and similar processes as in the diamond mining area took place The Conquest Completed In the last three decades of the nineteenth century British regiments, colonial militia and Afrikaner commandos completed the conquest of the African inhabitants and on the other hand in a major war, the British conquered the Afrikaner republics. The Whites in the region thought of themselves as belonging to a superior, Christian, civilized race.
Therefore they believed that it was their right to appropriate land, control native labour and subordinate native authorities. On the contrary the Africans were unable to unite in self-defense because they had frequent power struggles between segments led by members of their ruling families. The Whites also had the advantage of having access to superior technology in transportation and arms. At the end of the 18th century many not fixed tribes of the Zulu's became part of a community. The Zulu warrior Shaka achieved brutally the power of all Zulu tribes by subduing them. As a result many Africans escaped.
The Sotho called the movement Difaqane and the Nguni Mfcane. Like the Sotho many tribes were forced to leave their area because of the Mfcane. But a disposer named Moshoeshoe united them. British Imperialism and the South African War - Before 1896 the British cabinet had to cope with so many other problems ( e.g. Ireland) that they did not really care about South Africa.
- In 1897 Britain placed South Africa in the same category as Canada which meant that all the British colonies and the Afrikaner republics united in a self- governing, white- controlled state under the crown. - For the next 20 years the Cape Colony had to face quite a lot of problems that came with their new gained autonomy, furthermore was the president Thomas Francois Burgers very unpopular with the South African people. - October 1899 - May 1902: The South African War ( also known as the second Boer War) was fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republic. In the end the two Boer Republics lost and were absorbed into the British Empire War, Peace, and the Transfer of Power The South African War (Boer War), was the second war of freedom to the Afrikaners. It lasted two and a half years and at the end the British colonists won. During the war the British burned the crops of Afrikaners and destroyed 30 thousand farmsteads.
Furthermore they removed the civilian population to camps, where they suffered great hardships under inefficient administrators. Nearly 28.000 Afrikaner civilians died in these camps. Also native Africans were involved in this war. They were forced to fight for both sides and almost 116.000 were removed to concentration camps.
- in May 31, 1902 Peace of Vereeiniging was signed in Pretoria - high commissioner Milner got into power. His goal was a durable British supremacy throughout South Africa. The lives of the blacks got worse under Milner (worse living conditions, tightened pass laws, wages were cut) - by 1907, 63.000 Chinese were imported by the British, to work in the mines - 1905 Milner leaves South Africa - 1906 the Campell-Bannerman´s government(also a british colonist) begins - 1908 John X. Merriman, an anti- imperialist, wins the election in the Cape colony. In Natal there is now the only South African government left which is sympathatic to British imperialism.
- The idea of South African unification came up. - May 1908 an intercolonial conference recommended that the four parliaments appoint delegates to a national convention to prepare a constitution for a united South Africa - in 1909 the delegates sign a draft constitution: a unitary state with parliamentary sovereignty was created. As in Great Britain , the executive power was responsible to a majority in the lower house of parliament, named the House of Assembly; the Senate, the upper house, was indirectly elected and weaker in several respects; and there was no bill of rights. Membership in parliament was confined to white men. English and Dutch were made the official languages of the country.
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