South africas first flying school opens in kimberley to train pilots for the south african aviation corps. South african native land act of 19 the act was passed on june 19, 19 entailed the redistribution of land defined the boundaries of reserved lands created a separation between south african natives and whites aided poor white farmers at the cost of black laborers affected. An introduction to the 19 natives land act centenary. Africas history, but the racist dispossession of black south africans that is. The native land act of 19 fn4 apportioned 8% of the land area of south africa as reserves for the africans and excluded them from the rest of the country, which was made available to the white minority population. Evidently, the lagden commission played a pivotal role in a series of processes that laid down the foundation for the 19 native land act and spatial segregation in south africa. The act declared that the majority of south african land was reserved for the white minority. And like any plague, the repercussions remained rampant and longlasting, not only through the. The natives land act of 19 south african history online. The natives land act of 19 was the first major piece of segregation legislation passed by the union parliament.
Maps by michael noble and gemma wright see figure 1 below show multiple. Opinion a hundred years after the 19 land act sabc. The natives land act of 19, implemented in south africa, is a clear example of how regulation can directly affect the economic, social build up of a society and more importantly, how regulation inflicted by an elite minority can go on to unfairly affect the majority of people. According to pieter mulder there are two big problems when it comes to the debate about the native land act of 19. South african native land act of 19 by kim bond on prezi. The history of theologised politics of south africa, the 19 land act and its impact on the flight from the black self tshepo lephakga department of philosophy, practical and systematic theology, university of south africa, pretoria, south africa abstract. The act became law on 19 june 19 limiting african land ownership to 7 percent and later percent through the 1936 native trust and land act of south africa.
The most systematic land dispossession by the state came into effect after 19. The issue of land and segregation continued to gather pace in the period leading up to formation of the union. Its most immediate effect was to undermine black tenants on whiteowned land, but even here the. The act was critical in the consolidation of colonialism of a special type within the territory of the union of south africa. This was to prevent black and white people living together. For those uninformed about this act, this is the summary. This racial discrimination was further entrenched through apartheid legislation. The history of theologised politics of south africa, the. Transcribed from pdf, as such there may be errors in the text. Largescale production of biofuels in south africa could create at least 15 000 jobs. The 19 act 14 in terms of the 19 act, the black tribes could now run their own separate socioeconomic and political systems in these territories and the whites could do so in the rest of south africa. In the south african context, dispossession of land has played and, dare we say, still plays an important role in impoverishing black south africans. The natives land act of 19 engineered the poverty of.
After the unification of south africa in 1910, by virtue of the south africa act. The reversing the legacy of the 19 natives land act documentary depicts the dark and painful history of south africa after the apartheid government enacted this callous legislation which left a. The natives land act of 19 engineered the poverty of black south africans. This ancestor of the land act removed all the communal land rights that the. These are the historical political and economic roots of the 19 land act. The native lands act of 19 and supplementary legislation in 1936 harmonized these conflicting interests, setting aside about oneeighth of south african land for the some 4,000,000 africans, while reserving the rest for about 1,250,000 whites read more. South africas native land act of 19 global black history. To make further provision as to the purchase and leasing of land by natives and other persons in the several parts of the union and for other persons in the several parts of the union and for other purposes in connection with the ownership and occupation of land by natives and other persons. During this time there were huge labor shortages so the british passed laws to force african farmers off the land to. Although the law was applicable to the whole of south africa, in practice it applied only to the transvaal and natal. The natives land act of 19 forced millions of black south africans from productive farms across the country, when their cattle, their homes, their crops and their possessions, were taken from them.
South africas native land act of 19 by 1920, south africa was advancing economically because of the mineral discoveries of the late 19 th century and an industrial revolution was taking place. The natives land act of 19, or plague act marked a paramount moment where, the south african native found himself, not actually a slave, but a pariah in the land of his birth. In 19, louis bothas government introduced the native land act, which decided how the land in south africa was going to be divided between blacks and whites. To be honest, i had no idea that laws as harsh as these were into place as far back as 19, so for my fellow ignorant readers,the 19 natives land act ensured that natives, or what we would refer to as people of colour, were only allowed a 7% ownership of designated land in south africa, and furthermore that they were not allowed to regulate. Schools and health and welfare services for blacks, indians, and coloureds remained segregated and inferior, and most nonwhites, especially blacks, were still desperately poor. Following union in 1910, a land law was to become part of a broader pattern of legislation designed to implement segregation within south african society, encompassing the workplace, cities and even interracial sex outside of marriage. Braklaagte farm bought by bhahurutsebasebogodi tribe in 1907 before the 19 land act, during the time when it was still illegal for black people to buy land in the white community. The natives land act in south africa, later renamed the bantu land act, was one of the early laws in the african nation that aided in the establishment of the divisive apartheid system. The natives land act, 19 was an act of the parliament of south africa that was aimed at regulating the acquisition of land. In 19 lawabiding people were dispossessed of their only means of earning a living. In many ways the 19 land act was a holding operation and. The history of white colonial land dispossession did not begin with the passing of the native land act in 19, it spans back to the expansion of.
A suite of legislative laws was passed to accomplish this, including group areas act no. Pdf the historical context and legacy of the natives land act of. Be it enacted by the kings most excellent majesty, the senate and the house of assembly of the union of south africa. Case study african nationalism 19 land act africa media online the creation of native reserves and migratory labour. We argue in this article that the act did not take land away from african people directly, and that in the short term its impact was limited. In the famous opening lines of his native life in south africa, sol plaatje wrote, awakening on friday morning, june 20, 19, the south african native found himself, not.
Awaking one friday morning june 20, 19 the south african native found himself, not actually a slave, but a pariah in the land of his birth sol plaatje, native life in south africa 1916. The unraveling of apartheid group areas act and the land acts maintained residential segregation. Natives land act, 19 dispossession, segregation xhosa. Africa act, 1909, or thy other law, such land could not he alienated or so. On the 19th of june the following year the natives land act came into force. The natives land act of 19 was a key example of the segregationist and racist legislation that fixed discriminatory foundations in south african law. Law outlawed purchase or hire by natives of land owned by. Under the black land act, which came into force 19 june 19, black south africans were no longer be able to own, or even rent, land outside of designated reserves. The 19 land act was itself a worthy successor to a dastardly notorious piece of legislation passed in 1894 referred to as the glen grey act. After the angloboer war of 18991902, britain controlled south africa. It is important to note that by the time the land act was enacted, south africa was already moving in the direction of spatial segregation. Natives land act passed in south africa on this day in 19.
This act can therefore be regarded as the first unitary measure that applied the. Other legislation targeting black african and indian people were also passed, such as the native trust and land act, natives urban areas act, trading and occupation of land restriction act and the pegging. The natives land act of 19 was a key example of the segregationist and racist legislation that fixed discriminatory foundations in south african. The legacies of the natives land act of 19 ruth hall institute for poverty, land and agrarian studies university of the western cape abstract looking back at the century since the promulgation of the natives land act, it could be argued that it shaped the. Pdf the natives land act of 19 engineered the poverty. The historical context and legacy of the natives land act. Laws commission of 1883 and the south african native. South africas ruling anc aims to change the constitution to allow for land expropriation without compensation to address racial disparities in land ownership that persist more than two decades. The natives land act of 19 engineered the poverty of black south. The natives land act was passed on june 19th, 19, in an effort to regulate the acquisition of land by the natives, meaning the black people, of south africa.