Economic History of South Africa - Rand Rebellion

Rand Rebellion

South African gold mines are deep and expensive to run and the mine companies endeavoured to keep costs down. However, in trying to train blacks for skilled jobs, they ran into conflict with white miners. Such was the resistance of the whites that it triggered a rebellion in 1922 in the area around the centre of gold mining: the Witwatersrand.

The Rand Rebellion was crushed with what was an early use of air power and some white miners were dispatched to the gallows. Those sentenced to hang were said to have gone to the gallows quoting Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels's Communist Manifesto, saying, "Workers of the world unite", but instead of adding "You have nothing to lose but your chains", the condemned miners added, "for a white South Africa".

Read more about this topic:  Economic History Of South Africa

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