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Wednesday, March 23, 2011

"X" Is For The Xhosa People


I have been away from this fun meme too long! I thought of catching up all the letters I missed but today I will do my required "X" post! This is a tough letter to post about. I could cheat and do something "X"citing or "X"traordinary but I found a great X post. Here goes...
At the time of the white settlement of the Cape, the Xhosa people were living fr island, in the area between Bushman's River and the Kei River. Since around 1770, they have been confronted with the Trek Boers who approached from the West. Both the Boersa nd the Xhosas were stock-farmers. The competition for grazing land led first to quarrels between the two groups and eventually led to a number of wars.

The politics of  the colonial government attempted to enforce the separation of black and white settlement  areas of the of the Fish River as the border. The more the colony developed into a modern state with a strong military organization, the more the whites tended towards a policy of land annexing and subjugation of the black population. In the middle of the 19th century , all the land formerly inhabited by the Xhosas was in the hands of the white settlers.
With the founding of the South African Union in 1910, the British colony and the independent Boer Republics were united. A modern democratic state was formed in which only the white population could execute the right to vote.
The black people were subjected  to a policy of  concealed expatriation,  Through the Native-Land Law of 1913 , first 7.5  per cent  and later 13 percent  of the land in South Africa was declared reservations for blacks. No white person was allowed to buy land there and visa versa, no black person was allowed to buy land in the remaining 87 percent  of the territory of  the Union. So the  foundation of the disastrous policy of Apartheid was laid.  In the sixties the black areas were declared autonomous Homelands.  For the Xhosa people  these were the homelands of  Ciskei and  Transkei. Only after the first free elections in South Africa in 1994 was the Homeland policy abolished , after which the areas were integrated into the new provinces.
I am showing you a few google images of an Xhosa hut and the top photo of the Xhosa people in the Eastern Cape.
I hope you enjoyed a little history lesson and you stop by Jenny's and say hello. Make sure to visit at least ten participates. Have a great evening.

13 comments:

Judie said...

This was a wonderful history lesson! Great "X" word!

TexWisGirl said...

I remember some of the anti-apartheid campaigns but didn't know how long it had been going on. I follow a blog from South Africa.

Unfortunately, so much of the "reservation" treatment rings true here in the US. What humans are willing to do to one another...

Gattina said...

Very interesting history lesson ! Good that the apartheid is over now, at least officially !

jfb57 said...

Fascinating post. Thank you so much for telling me about a very wonderful people!

Donnie said...

Great X post. It's always great to learn about new people and things.

Theresa Plas said...

Great history lesson. Very cool hut and culture.

Sue McPeak said...

Thank you for this history lesson, Anne. My knowledge about the apartheid was sketchy. This was an X-traordinary post...there got to use that X word, too! Well done!

Along These Lines ... said...

I cheated with my X post! But you did a nice job of finding the Xhosa. They look a happy bunch in that photo - could be what's in the pipe, of course!

Unknown said...

Thank you for sharing this wonderful people group!

fredamans said...

Wonderful post!

Jackie said...

A lot did cheat *shame on them* but your post is unique and original . I've never heard of the Xhosa people so thanks for thinking of them today .

Cheryl D. said...

Congrats on a great X post!

Jenny said...

Oh Anne, so wonderful to see you, sweet lady! No catching up. Just enjoying when you can join in, Okay?

What an interesting post on a subject I knew nothing of. When I read great links like this, it surprises me sometimes how little I actually know about the world.

Thank you for teaching me today...

And thanks for linking up!

It is always lovely to see you!

A+