THE LAND ACT OF 1913 AND HOW BLACKS RESPONDED TO IT
The Act restricted black people from buying or occupying land except as employees
of a white master. It opened the door for white ownership of 87 percent of land,
leaving black people to scramble for what was left
In 1913, the new all White parliament passed the Native Land Act
Main purpose of the Act was to divide South Africa legally into White and
Black territories. Mass relocation to poor homelands (poorly planned and
serviced townships)
To give White people more land to farm on and make Blacks available
labourers to White run mines and industries
Stipulations of the Act
Black people who were 70% of the population at the time confined 7–8% of
the land
White people who comprised 20% of the population possessed 92–93% of the
land
Black people remained in the “White South Africa” if they were legally
employed by Whites as labour tenants
Black people could only be rent tenants, labour tenants, share-croppers
Economic effect of the Act
Thousands of Black people could not obtain employment
Those who did not want to work, were thrown off the farms with their livestock
Blacks were forced to become low paid farm labourers and labour tenants
Most of the land allocated to Blacks was not suitable for farming
This meant Africans had to seek work to support their families
Africans could never become successful commercial farmers in competition
with the Whites because of the land Act
Africans were at the mercy of being employed by mining companies and
landowners and paid very little wages
Social effect of the Act
Blacks were evicted with their livestock
They wondered around in all weather conditions
The law stated that giving landless Black people a place to stay could result in
a penalty of 100 pounds or imprisonment
Reserves for Blacks were often far away and also overcrowded
Conditions there were very poor with soil erosion, malnutrition and increase of
diseases (Blacks could no longer be able to provide for themselves and their
families, people forced to look for work far away from their homes) and this
led to family erosion
They often killed their livestock or had to sell their weakening livestock
The Act restricted black people from buying or occupying land except as employees
of a white master. It opened the door for white ownership of 87 percent of land,
leaving black people to scramble for what was left
In 1913, the new all White parliament passed the Native Land Act
Main purpose of the Act was to divide South Africa legally into White and
Black territories. Mass relocation to poor homelands (poorly planned and
serviced townships)
To give White people more land to farm on and make Blacks available
labourers to White run mines and industries
Stipulations of the Act
Black people who were 70% of the population at the time confined 7–8% of
the land
White people who comprised 20% of the population possessed 92–93% of the
land
Black people remained in the “White South Africa” if they were legally
employed by Whites as labour tenants
Black people could only be rent tenants, labour tenants, share-croppers
Economic effect of the Act
Thousands of Black people could not obtain employment
Those who did not want to work, were thrown off the farms with their livestock
Blacks were forced to become low paid farm labourers and labour tenants
Most of the land allocated to Blacks was not suitable for farming
This meant Africans had to seek work to support their families
Africans could never become successful commercial farmers in competition
with the Whites because of the land Act
Africans were at the mercy of being employed by mining companies and
landowners and paid very little wages
Social effect of the Act
Blacks were evicted with their livestock
They wondered around in all weather conditions
The law stated that giving landless Black people a place to stay could result in
a penalty of 100 pounds or imprisonment
Reserves for Blacks were often far away and also overcrowded
Conditions there were very poor with soil erosion, malnutrition and increase of
diseases (Blacks could no longer be able to provide for themselves and their
families, people forced to look for work far away from their homes) and this
led to family erosion
They often killed their livestock or had to sell their weakening livestock
