The Foundations of the South African Cheap Labour System

Originally published in 1982, this was the first in-depth study of the labour system of the South African gold mining industry during the crucial years 1886 to 1906. It provided an insight into the early period but was relevant for much longer, as many of the policies decided upon in the formative years of the industry persisted. The book traces the growth of deep-level mining and covers the conflicts between miners and mine-owners . It discusses the effects on the gold mining industry of the Anglo-Boer War, and the role of the mine-owners in that conflict. It also examines the role of Chinese labour as a strategy in the defence of the labour structure and finally discusses the origins of the racially discriminatory legislation which characterized the Apartheid system.

Norman Levy was Head of History at the former Middlesex Polytechnic, UK.