Gold Mining and Politics - Johannesburg 1900-1907 the Origins of the Old South Africa? Vol. 2

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Year:
Pages:528
ISBN:0-7734-7523-0
978-0-7734-7523-6
Price:$299.95 + shipping
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The Anglo-Boer War and the subsequent Reconstruction of the Transvaal by the British Crown Colony Government have long been recognized as a major watershed in South African history. This study examines the Reconstruction by focusing on two groups which were at its heart – the Rand British industrial population, and the mining financiers who were so influential amongst them. The former group has never been thoroughly studied, and depictions of the latter have usually been unduly picturesque or narrowly materialistic. This study examines the intimate relationship, both collaborative and combative, between the two groups, and on industrial and other material issues which underpinned the groups’ existence. With illustrations.

Reviews

“By insisting that what happened at the beginning of the twentieth century needs to be investigated in detail rather than being fitted into a preconceived formula, Dr. Mawby has thrown down the gauntlet to his more doctrinaire predecessors while offering an essential introduction to any attempt to understand subsequent developments in South Africa.” – Kenneth Ingham

“A key feature of the book is its analysis of mining interest’s changing political strategy which moved from overt to behind the scenes influence, the normal mode of business influence. . . . illuminates the process of working class formation by focusing on the nature and internal structure of the Rand working class. Particular attention is paid to the importance of the skilled workers drawn from an Anglo-centric political culture which excluded both Afrikaners and the African population. Race, culture, skill, religion are woven together in delineating the development of a working class displaying powerful elements of both cohesion and diffusion. The book’s authoritative investigation of the relationship between economics and politics, ideas and action, the nature of business influence in politics and the making of an industrial working class make this book of significance to historians and political scientists whether or not they are South African specialists.” – Andrew Taylor

Table of Contents

Table of contents:
Volume One:
Preface; Introduction
1. Gold Mining, the gold mines, and the social structure of the Rand
2. The formation of the Rand British identity: the Uitlanders in the 1890s
3. The roots of an involvement: gold mines and politics in the late 1890s
4. The frustrations of war and exile: the first challenge to Rand British coherence
5. Peace and disappointment: coming to terms with the new Government in 1902
6. Black, white and Chinese labour: the mines, the Government and Rand Britons in 190s
Volume Two:
7. From Crown Colony to elective institutions: the pressure for self-government during 1904
8. The destruction of the Rand British “party”: party formation in Johannesburg during 1905
9. Changes of Government and the Constitutional somersault of early 1906
10. Anti-capitalism and the renewal of the Chinese labour debate late in 1906
11. The denouement: the General Election of 1907
Conclusion; Glossary; Bibliography; Index

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