South Africa's 1911 Mines and Works Act: The Colour Bar Begins
The Story of South Africa: Empire, Apartheid, and Transformation — Fexingo HistoryPlay episode
Show notes
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the 1911 Mines and Works Act — a piece of legislation that cemented the 'colour bar' in South Africa's mining industry, reserving skilled jobs for white workers and pushing Black miners into cheap, unskilled labour. They trace its origins to the post-Boer War labour shortage, the importation of Chinese indentured workers, and the white miners' strike of 1907. The conversation covers key figures like Jan Smuts, the Chamber of Mines, and the strikers' leader Taffy Long. They also examine how the Act's certification provisions became a model for later apartheid job reservation laws, and how white workers defended their privileged status through unions like the South African Industrial Federation. The episode connects this early 20th-century economic segregation to the broader story of South Africa's racial hierarchy. #History #FexingoHistory #SouthAfrica #MinesandWorksAct #ColourBar #JimCrow #ApartheidOrigins #JanSmuts #Witwatersrand #GoldMining #WhiteLabour #BlackLabour #ChineseIndenturedLabour #1907Strike #TaffyLong #Transvaal #UnionofSouthAfrica #EconomicSegregation Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
