Page 84 - SARB: 100-Year Journey

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In gold mining, black South Africans’ real wages declined. White workers’ wages were up to 12 times more than those of their black colleagues.
Education was no different. Black South Africans depended heavily on Christian missions for education facilities, but only a few enrolled to high school level. The South African Native College (called KwaNokholeji in isiXhosa, one of South Africa’s 11 official languages) at Fort Hare University offered some bachelor’s degree courses. Over time, these missionary schools and colleges produced teachers who, in turn, enabled the further growth of schools in the ‘reserves’.
The reserves were reservoirs of cheap, unskilled labour. By 1936, about 10% of the population in these reserves comprised migrant labourers, temporarily absent from their families and communities. These workers transferred remittances back home, establishing a pattern of money flow that survives in present-day South Africa, although the structure and skill levels of that labour force have since changed.
When World War II broke out in 1939, South Africa’s economy prospered, buoyed by manufacturing and service industries. This incentivised further urbanisation by black South Africans. Despite the influx of control laws, the number of black South Africans living in the cities grew.
That meant black South Africans could organise and agitate for better employment and working conditions. Following a financially ruinous strike in gold mining, the government buckled and made wage and employment concessions. These compromises had considerable political implications. In 1948, the United Party lost the elections to the National Party. That started an era of draconian politics that lasted until 1994.
In elections held after 1948, the National Party consolidated political power and pursued further segregationist policies, including the removal of Coloured voters from the roll in 1956.
Fort Hare University in the early 20th century. /University of Fort Hare