"No one will become rich"

Abstract

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This thesis examines the process of 'self-peasantization' among the Herero under South African colonial rule. An initital chapter provides an overview of the the effects of the penetration of merchant capital and German colonial rule on the Herero. By using extensive archival documents, the thesis explores how changes in colonial policy and economic development after 1915 enabled many Herero to re-acquire stock and begin a pastoral existence by squatting on Crown land and settler farms. This process was assisted by a system of labour tenancy practised on many white farms throughout the period under consideration. Throughout, the process of self-peasantization is situated within the wider political economy of Namibia. Because of large gaps in the economic history of the territory, it was necessary to analyse the economic developments, particularly in settler agriculture, in considerable detail. After the proclamation of 'native reserves' in the mid-1920s, the thesis examines the effects of drought and the Great Depression on social differentiation in the Herero reserves. The final chapter expands on this theme by exploring the implications of economic recovery and the diversification of agricultural production in the form of dairying on the accumulation of wealth. The process of 'self-peasantization' was characterised by constant struggles to wrest control over production from the colonial state. Such struggles were shaped by growing differentiation. However, acts of resistance and defiance were not only directed at the colonial state. Reserve headmen also became the targets of such opposition. Finally the thesis attempts to show that 'self-peasantization' not only involved economic strategies, but was accompanied by attempts to create a Herero ethnic identity where it did not already exist. This involved the rejection of missionary values and a process of re-introducing and manipulating pre-colonial customs and symbols. The content of this identity was constantly contested and redefined. In conclusion it is suggested that the issue of incorporating Namibia into South Africa was perceived by wealthy stock-owners as a threat to their future expansion. Consequently Herero leaders played a leading role in opposing South Africa's continued administration of Namibia