The 1913 Natives Land Act: How South Africa's Racial Geography Was Drawn
The Story of South Africa: Empire, Apartheid, and Transformation — Fexingo HistoryPlay episode
Show notes
In 1913, the Union of South Africa passed one of the most consequential laws in its history: the Natives Land Act. It reserved about seven percent of the country's land for the African majority, creating the reserves that would later become the Bantustans. This episode follows the act's passage, its immediate impact on families like Sol Plaatje's, and the protests it sparked—including a delegation to Britain led by Plaatje and other SANNC leaders. We explore the act's legal and human dimensions, the role of figures like General Louis Botha and J.B.M. Hertzog, and how the act set the stage for generations of dispossession. We also touch on the memory of the act today, from the 1913 Land Act Centenary to ongoing debates about land reform. This is a story about the drawing of boundaries—both on maps and in people's lives—and the long resistance to those lines. #NativesLandAct #SolPlaatje #SANNC #SouthAfrica #ApartheidOrigins #LandDispossession #LouisBotha #JBMHertzog #Segregation #Reserves #Bantustans #1913 #LandAct #SouthAfricanHistory #Colonialism #Resistance #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
