The Crime and Violence in South Africa, Essay Example

The history of South Africa has always captured our attention. Africans have gone through the hard transition of being colonized to the status when the population has been earning their survival by being under the “white” supervision. In the time before 1900 Africans seem to have failed to provide a decent living for their population by means of their own labor, agriculture and economic development.

1. Why was South Africa occupied?
2. What was the influence of the British colonial era?
3. How were Africans treated during the era of diamonds and gold ?
4. How did South Africans resist invaders of their territory?

These are the questions that have been analyzed the researches and historians in order to get a better perspective of the culture and fate of South Africa. Violence and crime in the area is often reflected by the political developments that took place at that time.

Why Was South Africa Occupied?

Researches have different opinions and explanations about why have South Africans experienced strong failure about their economy. Some say it was the influence of white rule, dislocation of social order and traditional economy. Others argue that Africans failed to adapt their economy to novel conditions of land scarcity and inability to learn from the white farmers the new and modern methods of agriculture. “It is suggested that the crucial post-mineral period was one in which non-market forces predominated; in which discriminatory and coercive means were utilized by the wielders of economic and political power to disadvantage African peasantry; and that an economy was created whose structure was such as to render ‘market forces’ highly favorable to the white, capitalist sector”^[1]. According to Colin Bundy African agriculture had been strongly dependent and brought strong outcome because of capitalist developers in the area.

South Africa was the site of earliest settlement of Europeans when Dutch East India Company opened its supply base in Table Bay. Their settlements grew and encountered Khoisan and Bantu Africans. Dutch occupants were called Boers and managed to create big farms and import necessary labor. This meant that while Africa was exporting slaves, Cape Colony was importing.

Slaves were mostly brought from Madagascar, India or other parts of Africa. They were used to do physical jobs and be servants of whites. Dutch East India Company had a huge slave hostel in Cape Town. Many blacks were owned by free citizens. To become a free citizen one had to obtain his or her freedom to make living separate from the Company. Slaves of the free citizens often helped to cultivate wine, vegetables, wheat, etc. Many were employed as the home servants.

South Africans were very limited. They had to obey curfews, were not allowed to walk through streets of Cape Town. Slaves were restricted from gathering in groups on holidays, did not have access to church or public houses. The slaves that stood up against their owners or gave false claims were put to death.

What Was the Influence of the British Colonial Era?

When Great Britain gained control over Cape, it basically wanted to use the town as their port for traders’ voyages. Colonizers were looking for new lands and sources of prosperity. The British established a Cape Colony and in the next years had several wars against Xhosa in order to extend the land area and subdue the population. Britain was viewed as the power that had the abilities to set the order in the South African. Many British traders and missionaries favored the idea of extending their administration throughout the territory.

An ordinary African peasant at the beginning of nineteenth century has been living on mission stations or in a vicinity of markets. It was believed that this brought a positive influence over civilizing the natives and getting them adapted to peaceful neighbors. The British improved opportunities for farmers in terms of exporting sheep and wool. But with the abolition of slavery they did anger Boers. Passing the Hottentot Law, which meant that any black found without a pass could be taken by the white farmer, was quite controversial. It further angered Boers because it gave blacks the right to have a contract between them and white farmers and an ability to even sue them. The most critical moment happened in 1833 when British abolished the slavery throughout South Africa. The law resulted into massive migration of Boer farmers, which made rich Boers frustrated about losing the slaves.

Starting from mid-50s with the adoption of plough and other agricultural innovations, white farmers complained about the shortage of labor and initiated leasing land to Africans for cash and farming. This established a certain quasi-feudal relations between them as a short term response to white labor needs.

According to Leonard Thompson history had created a cleavage between white South Africans^[2]. These people have spent a great amount of time outside of Europe. Therefore, they have acquired a rural mode of life and treated themselves as separate people. Afrikaners differed themselves from British community, thus, causing the latter at times seeking protection from Britain. However, the republics were too weak and economically unstable to command the allegiance of the colonial Afrikaners.

How Were Africans Treated During the Era of Diamonds and Gold?

Between 1870 and 1886 with the discovery of diamonds and gold there appeared new opportunities and markets for African peasants. But this did not involve everybody. There still remained a big number of poor and hungry population. The prosperity and progress of that time was not freely and equally divided among inhabitations. At this time of economic growth the struggles took place between the Boers and British as well as Europeans and indigenous population. Diamond rush turned the city of Kimberley into a big town where both blacks and whites worked independent claims. As the mines went deeper, many businessmen consolidated them into large mines. Among them were natives of Britain, Germany, etc. The mine workers who were blacks often experienced many injustices. Employees, “who composed the majority of diggers, were abused by owners, who often sold claims from beneath their feet or took over proved claims on their own account^[3]”. The land owners in order to secure the labor often tied workers to the spots by means of contracts. The wages promised rarely were real.

In 1886 second major wave took place at Pretoria where the world’s largest deposit of gold has been found. Both diamond and gold mining spots had lack of labor as their major problem. Local governments started passing laws that greatly limited the abilities of Africans to own a mine or its products. Black Africans had to live in special neighborhoods since they were forbidden to live where they wanted.

How Did South Africans Resist Invaders of Their Territory?

Resisting the British, the Transvaal Boers also saw a threat by the Zulu state. Zulu occupied dry region with small rivers and were relatively prosperous. They were the subgroup of Nguni. Series of dry years worsened the relations between the two in the struggle for water and good land and resulted into a number of wars. Zulu became a powerful African state. As long as Zulu were viewed as a threat to Boers, the latter accepted the British rule. However, after British won over Zulu, Transvaal Boers violated the conventions and fought against the British. With time Britain singed agreements with Boers on restoration of Transvaal autonomy. British people tried to annex Transvaal and tried to annex others as well. In 1886 with the discovery of gold in Witwatersrand the power in the region shifted to Boers. Blacks were still being discriminated because of the racial identity and the working class status.

There is no doubt that blacks have suffered tremendously during the colonial times. Slaves were being removed from their families, forced into physical labor and suffered numerous injustices. Even though blacks had some access to courts, their words were not enough to fights against whites. There were also encounters of slaves doing easy household chores. For instance, in Cape Town, they run errands or even acted like traders. But nevertheless, blacks were always condemned to heavy labor with the very cruel punishments from their owners. “Although they (whites) owned the majority of slave in the colony, they freed a tiny proportion^[4].”

Africans had a broad range of life experiences. They were being transformed from autonomous and self-sufficient chiefdoms into dependent peasant communities. One of the most obvious factors was the land shortage for peasantry. At the end of nineteenth century it was not necessary in Cape to have a “buffer” class of small-holders among Africans. Peasants had low access to goods because most was concentrated in the hands of traders that invaded South Africa. African chiefdoms have been subdued under the white control. In many cases these changed involved bloodshed.

Bibliography

Bundy, Colin. “The Emergence and Decline of a South African Peasantry” (St. Antony’s College, Oxford), 369

Elphick, Richard and  Shell, Robert. “Intergroup relations: Khoikhoi, settlers, slaves and free blacks, 1652-1795”, (USA) 213

Thompson, Leonard and  Wilson, Monica. “The Oxford History of South Africa” (Oxford), 247

Turrell, Rob. “Kimberley: Labour and Compounds, 1871-1888”, (USA) 51

^[1] Colin Bundy, “The Emergence and Decline of a South African Peasantry” (St. Antony’s College, Oxford), 369

^[2] Leonard Thompson, Monica Wilson, “The Oxford History of South Africa” (Oxford), 247

^[3] Rob Turrell, “Kimberley: Labour and Compounds, 1871-1888”, (USA) 51

^[4] Richard Elphick and Robert Shell, “Intergroup relations: Khoikhoi, settlers, slaves and free blacks, 1652-1795”, (USA) 213