An Economic History of South Africa: Conquest, Discrimination, and Development

by Charles H. Feinstein

• ISBN13: 9780521616416
• ISBN10: 0521616417
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-07-11
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This book is the first economic history of South Africa in over sixty years. Professor Charles H. Feinstein offers an authoritative survey of five hundred years of South African economic history from the years preceding European settlements in 1652 through to the post-Apartheid era. He charts the early phase of slow growth, and then the transformation of the economy as a result of the discovery of diamonds and gold in the 1870s, followed by the rapid rise of industry in the wartime years. The final chapters cover the introduction of apartheid after 1948, and its consequences for economic performance. Special attention is given to the processes by which the black population were deprived of their land, and to the methods by which they were induced to supply labour for white farms, mines and factories. This book will be essential reading for students in economics, African history, imperial history and politics.

Table of Contents

List of tables	xii
List of figures	xv
List of maps	xvi
Preface	xvii
A note on terminology, country names, and currency	xix
1 Setting the context: South Africa in international perspective	1	(21)
A unique historical endowment	1	(2)
The economy in an international perspective	3	(10)
The people and economy before 1652	13	(9)
2 Seizing the land: conquest and dispossession	22	(25)
European expansion into the interior	22	(10)
Abundant land and scarce labour	32	(2)
The roots of conflict	34	(3)
Defeat and dispossession of the Pedi by British and Boers	37	(6)
The final outcome – land allocation in South Africa from 1913	43	(4)
3 Making the labour force: coercion and discrimination	47	(27)
Black labour for white masters	47	(4)
The use of compulsion to obtain labour	51	(4)
Taxes, restrictions on movement, and other forms of pressure	55	(5)
African labour on white-owned farms	60	(2)
Migrant labour for the mines	62	(5)
The paradox of scarce labour and low wages	67	(3)
The deterioration of the reserves	70	(4)
4 Creating the colour bar: formal barriers, poor whites, and 'civilized' labour	74	(16)
Motivation and methods for creating a colour bar	74	(3)
The conflict with white mine-workers	77	(6)
The 'poor white' problem and the closing of the pastoral frontier	83	(2)
Labour policies of the Pact government, 1924-33	85	(5)
5 Exporting the gold: the vital role of the mineral revolution	90	(23)
Models of export-led growth	90	(3)
The special features of gold in South Africa	93	(6)
The character and expansion of the mining industry	99	(7)
Gold mining as the engine of growth	106	(3)
Exploitation of African mine-workers	109	(4)
6 Transforming the economy: the rise of manufacturing and commercial agriculture	113	(30)
Factories are few and unimportant	113	(3)
The state, tariff policy, and the rise of manufacturing industry	116	(5)
Expansion of industrial output and employment	121	(6)
Faults in the foundation	127	(5)
Inefficiency, low wages, and skill differentials	132	(3)
The destruction of African farming and slow progress of commercial agriculture	135	(8)
7 Separating the races: the imposition of apartheid	143	(22)
From triumph to disaster – an overview of the post-war period	143	(6)
The political economy of developments after 1948	149	(2)
Apartheid versus urbanization	151	(6)
Trade unions, job reservation, and education	157	(4)
Domination or development?	161	(4)
8 Forcing the pace: rapid progress despite constraints	165	(35)
Three more windfalls for the gold mines	165	(7)
Manufacturing: the unprecedented boom	172	(4)
The expansion of the financial sector and the rise of Afrikaner capitalism	176	(4)
State-directed industrialization	180	(4)
Trends in employment, output, and productivity	184	(4)
Weaknesses and constraints – the limits to growth	188	(5)
A revolution finally comes to commercial agriculture	193	(7)
9 Hitting the barriers: from triumph to disaster	200	(24)
From growth and stability to stagnation and inflation	200	(3)
The decline of gold mining despite yet another windfall	203	(7)
The expansion of coal and platinum	210	(1)
Manufacturing's failure to achieve export-led growth	211	(10)
The decline in fixed investment	221	(3)
10 Confronting the contradictions: the final crisis and the retreat from apartheid	224	(28)
Sanctions, capital flows, and the balance-of-payments crises	224	(6)
Changes in the labour market	230	(10)
The retreat from apartheid	240	(4)
The fallacy of 'cheap' labour	244	(8)
Annexe 1: the people of South Africa	252	(8)
The black population before 1900	252	(4)
The white population before 1900	256	(1)
The population in the twentieth century	256	(4)
Annexe 2: the land and the geographical environment	260	(9)
The land area and the geological legacy	260	(2)
Rainfall, soil, and vegetation	262	(2)
Diseases and pests	264	(2)
Agricultural regions	266	(3)
Annexe 3: the labour force and unemployment	269	(8)
The census benchmarks	271	(2)
Labour market ratios	273	(3)
Interpolation and classification by economic sector	276	(1)
Guide to further reading	277	(10)
References	287	(7)
Index	294