In certain respects the land act aimed to constrain further dispossession. In this process, the 19 natives land act is given pride of place as the single most. Restitution of land rights amendment act custom contested. The natives land act of 19 engineered the poverty of black. University of south africa, pretoria, south africa abstract the legacy of socioeconomic injustice which was inherited from the natives land act of 19 continues to haunt the majority of black south africans. The historical context of land reform in south africa and. During this time there were huge labor shortages so the british passed laws to force. The latter act is particularly important in the saga of access to water in the country as, until 1998, access to water was tied to access to land, which was predominantly in the. As peter delius and william beinart 20 point out, dispossession far preceded the act. Apartheid south africa provides a good setting in which to examine these issues. As marleen fleemer notes, the 19 natives land act was merely the climax to these earlier moves. For those uninformed about this act, this is the summary.
This law reserved 93 percent revised to 87 percent in 1936 of the land in south africa for whites. Aug 29, 2017 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. The roots of this inequality are commonly traced back to the promulgation of the natives land act in june 19, which provided the. The natives land act of 19 south african history online. The act restricted black people from buying or occupying land except as employees of a white master. He makes a case for panafrican federation as a resolution to the violence and. Nowhere are south africa s current difficulties more visible than in debates over land expropriation. The acts most important provision was to prohibit africans from buying land in 93 per cent of south africa.
The act formed an important part of the system of apartheid and is of importance for both legal and historical reasons. The natives land act of 19 defined less than onetenth of south africa as black reserves and prohibited any purchase or lease of land by blacks. The national party np came to power in 1948 and introduced apartheid and the concept of separate. Parliament passed the natives land act in june, 19, three years after the formation of. Land restitution, as part of south africas post1994 land reform. South africa is situated in the highpressure belt of the middle latitudes of the southern hemisphere. The natives land act of 19 defined less than onetenth of south africa as black reserves and prohibited any purchase or lease of land by blacks outside the reserves. The notorious natives land act was passed on 19 june 19. Motsoko pheko the writer is a historian, political scientist, lawyer, theologian and author of several books among which is. The real intention was to deprive black people of their south african citizenship and enable the creation of a white republic of south africa. Why the south african parliament passed the natives land act in 19 is a matter of substantial debate.
The nature of restitution is determined by three broad categories of the effects of land dispossession namely, dispossession leading to landlessness. The 19 natives land act denied africans the right to purchase land outside defined. In the south african context, dispossession of land has played and, dare we say, still plays an important role in impoverishing black south africans. Pdf the natives land act of 19 engineered the poverty of. South africa and the 19 land act and its impact on the flight from the black self. The need for the current land reform programme arose from the racially discriminatory laws and practices which were in place for the largest part of the twentieth century, especially those related to land ownership. 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.
Pdf the legacies of the natives land act of 19 ruth. 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. South africas native land act of 19 global black history. Feinberg h the natives land act of 19 in south africa. If the king were to lodge a claim for land lost in 1838 that claim would not be valid. Introduction in todays lesson we are going to look at the main terms of the natives land act look at the effects of the act natives land act as a forerunner of apartheid legislation 4. On 19 june, 100 years later, the government will call on south africans to make a determined national effort to put that act and its implications behind the nation, says rural development and land reform minister gugile nkwinti. Feinber g department of history southern connecticut state university to the reader. The reversing the legacy of the 19 natives land act documentary depicts the dark and painful history of south africa after the apartheid government enacte. The natives land act, 19 was an act of the parliament of south africa that was aimed at regulating the acquisition of land. The land dispossession of the indigenous people of south africa under this act caused poverty which is still prevalent in our country today. Black land ownership after the natives land act, 19 1936 h. These are the historical political and economic roots of the 19 land act.
Pdf the natives land act of 19 engineered the poverty. The natives land act, 19 subsequently renamed bantu land act, 19 and black land act, 19. This was followed by the 19 land act, which dispossessed black south africans of their right to land. Dec 02, 20 the interrogation of the unsettling discourse on land in south africa as well as the continuous poverty cycle is fundamental for offering empowering possibilities for the poor. The land act was a cornerstone of the consolidation in the making south africa as a colony of a special type. After the unification of south africa in 1910, by virtue of the south africa act, which was the first constitution of south africa, the government of general louis botha, enacted the notorious and controversial native land act in 19, the centenary of which occurs this year. 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. This act had a profound effect on the african population across the country. The land act and the immigration act, both passed in 19. A national environmental policy and a national environment act have been.
Natives land act at the same time, like his fellow dominion party supporter. 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. But according to the restitution act only people who were dispossessed of land after 19 qualify for restitution. The sources on which this paper is based include collections from the national archives of south africa. International journal of african historical studies, 261, pp. This is referred to as the bantu land act by dugard 1978. Black people predominated on the great majority of whiteowned farms in south africa. The history of theologised politics of south africa, the. The history of theologised politics of south africa, the 19.
A day after the natives land act of 19 wa s enacted in south africa, solomon p laatje 1995. Thus, by the time the land act of 19 was enacted, south africa was already moving in the direction of spatial segregation through land dispossession. It opened the door for white ownership of 87 percent of land, leaving black people. Though weakly enforced until the 1930s, the 19 natives land act played a role in dispossessing black south africans. Feinberg, the natives land act of 19 in south africa. The act, repealed only in 1991, was so important because it was the first major piece of legislation that would later comprise the legal structure of apartheid.
University of cape town,faculty of humanities,department of historical studies. As such, the role played by the south african churches to support andor oppose the natives land act of 19 cannot be ignored. Possibly the most emotive injustices of the past relate to the native land act, which became law on 19th june 19. Jun 14, 20 it is also important to recall that, both before and after 19, whiteowned land was not occupied only by whites. It is the contention of the author of this article that the theologised politics of south africa resulted in the promulgation of the 19 land act which officially as this had began long before the passing of the 19 land act smith 1979 begun the dehumanisation and land dispossession project.
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. The origins of apartheid ideology african affairs oxford. This is done specifically to locate the question of land and land dispossession of black south africans that, according to the author of this article, resulted from the theologised politics of south africa. The failure of rural segregation land policies in south africa. It did not, as is often suggested, set aside % of the agricultural land for black south africans, but rather 7%, with the promise of more to come a promise that took 23 years to be realised.
One of the key legislations that laid down the foundation for a spatially divided south africa was the glen grey act passed in 1894. 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. 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 native land act 19 in south africa is the colonial sister of the balfour declaration of 2nd november 1917 through which the british colonial government dispossessed 92% of the palestinian people of their land.
Evidence from apartheid south africa harvard university. Paper presented at the land divided conference, university of cape town, 2427 march 20. Landuse management, for instance, is seen as an instrument for achieving iwrm. 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. Background t ransvaal africans controlled their land following their own systems of land tenure until the early nineteenth century.
This legislation was one of the cornerstones of apa. The natives land act of 19 engineered the poverty of. The most important law passed was the natives land act of 19. During this time there were huge labor shortages so the british passed laws to force african farmers off the land to become migrant laborers so they could pay taxes imposed on them. It opened the door for white ownership of 87 percent of land, leaving black people to scramble for what was left.
Land tenure land act south africa show full item record files in this item. Saldru farm lasour conference university of cape town. The 1911 census recorded a native population of 4 019 006 in the union of south africa, 67. The infiltrated 1955 anc endorsed this political fraud at codesa negotiations hence section 257 of the new south africa constitution is the same thing as the native land act 19. The natives land act of 19 engineered the poverty of black south. Politics, race, and segregation in the early 20th century. Once the period of colonial wars ended, europeans consolidated their control over arable land in south africa. The same applies to any other traditional leaders who try to claim land lost before 19. Awakening on friday morning, june 2 0, 19, the south african native foun d himself, not. Since 19, the land question in south africa has revolved around the major inequalities in access to and rights over land between the black majority and the white minority of the population, and how these disparities should best be understood and overcome. It is as bad to be a black mans animal as it is to be a black man the politics of animals in the 19 land act.
After the angloboer war of 18991902, britain controlled south africa. According to pieter mulder there are two big problems when it comes to the debate about the native land act of 19. Numerous discussions of the act in the historical literature. Natives land act, the most closely studied law in south africas history.
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