Intra-Regional Migration

The example of apartheid in South Africa

In 1948 the election to power of the nationalist party saw, for the first time in South Africa, the formal introduction of a system called apartheid or separate development. It was voted in by the whites who made up perhaps 15% of the country's population. Amongst its most savage and far-reaching actions was to pass, in 1950, the Group Areas Act. This defined where people of each "race" could live. Those Africans with rights to live in urban areas were mostly male, as they were needed to work in the urban centres. To move into or within a city required a pass book, to be carried with them at all times.

Those without passes were sent to the "homelands", areas comprising 13% of the land area but to accommodate 75% of the population. Not only was the land area insufficient but also it was of the poorest quality, with unproductive soil and no infrastructure. People were displaced by force and their land taken. Houses were razed to the ground and possessions seized. The populations of the homelands grew rapidly, and although these areas were officially rural it is claimed that their population densities were closer to those of urban areas. Over 450,000 Africans from the white areas were resettled in the homelands up to the end of 1968.

The notorious District Six in Cape Town, from which residents were forcibly evicted in the 1970s. Despite lying on the edge of the CBD, the land has not been redeveloped - Click image for larger version.

There were ten homelands, four of which became independent states (recognized only by South Africa), for example Transkei in 1976, and Ciskei in 1981.The African population of Ciskei grew from 357,801 to 630,353 between 1970 and 1980, with the net immigration as a result of removals amounting to 142,350. Even when the homelands had been established, the white government interfered with their functioning, by amalgamating smallholdings and culling cattle to prevent overgrazing. This open intervention in the lives of the displaced blacks met with opposition and resistance - which was subdued brutally by force. Since most work was to be found in the cities, informal settlements (shanty towns) became rapidly established on the margins of the cities. Periodically these were bulldozed and the residents returned to the homelands.

The township of Langa in Cape Town, showing the dormitory blocks built for male workers - Click image for larger version.

The full story of the displacement of huge numbers of people under apartheid cannot be summarised in a short unit such as this, nor can the extremes of inhumanity of the system be other than passed over. You are invited to read a fuller version from the references provided in the bibliography.

For in-depth information on South Africa and apartheid go to the Encyclopedia Britannica website.

The Stanford University website has this article on the history of apartheid.

The scale and nature of displacement - enforced migration - under apartheid can be seen from the following table: