Bantustan
Encyclopedia
A bantustan was a territory set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa
and South West Africa
(now Namibia
), as part of the policy of apartheid. Ten bantustans were established in South Africa, and ten in neighbouring South-West Africa (then under South African administration), for the purpose of concentrating the members of designated ethnic groups, thus making each of those territories ethnically homogeneous as the basis for creating "autonomous" nation states for South Africa's different black ethnic groups.
The term was first used in the late 1940s, and was coined from Bantu (meaning "people" in some of the Bantu languages
) and -stan
(a suffix meaning "land" in the Persian language
). It was regarded as a disparaging term by some critics of the apartheid-era government's "homelands" (from Afrikaans
tuisland). The word "bantustan", today, is often used in a pejorative
sense when describing a region that lacks any real legitimacy, consists of several unconnected enclaves, and/or emerges from national or international gerrymandering
.
Some of the bantustans received independence. In South Africa, Transkei
, Bophuthatswana
, Venda
, and Ciskei
(the so-called "TBVC States") were declared independent, while others (like KwaZulu
, Lebowa
, and QwaQwa
), received partial autonomy, but were never granted independence. In South-West Africa, Ovamboland
, Kavangoland
, and East Caprivi
were granted self-determination. The independence was not officially recognised outside of South Africa.
Well before the National Party
came to power in 1948, British colonial administrations in the 19th century, and earlier South African governments had established "reserves" in 1913 and 1936, with the intention of segregating black South Africans from whites. National Party Minister for Native Affairs (and later Prime Minister of South Africa) Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd
built on this, introducing a series of measures that reshaped South African society such that whites would be the demographic majority. The creation of the homelands or Bantustans was a central element of this strategy because blacks were to be made involuntary citizens of these homelands, losing their original South African citizenship and voting rights, which enabled whites to remain in control of South Africa.
"The term 'Bantustan' was used by apartheid's apologists in reference to the partition of India
in 1947. However, it quickly became pejorative in left and anti-apartheid usage, where it remained, while being abandoned by the National Party
in favour of 'homelands'."
Verwoerd argued that the Bantustans were the "original homes" of the black peoples of South Africa. In 1951, the government of Daniel Francois Malan
introduced the Bantu Authorities Act
to establish "homelands" allocated to the country's different black ethnic groups. These amounted to 13% of the country's land, the remainder being reserved for the white population. Local tribal leaders were co-opted to run the homelands, and uncooperative chiefs were forcibly deposed. Over time, a ruling black élite emerged with a personal and financial interest in the preservation of the homelands. While this aided the homelands' political stability to an extent, their position was still entirely dependent on South African support.
The role of the homelands was expanded in 1959 with the passage of the Bantu Self-Government Act, which set out a plan called "Separate Development". This enabled the homelands to establish themselves as self-governing, quasi-independent states. This plan was stepped up under Verwoerd's successor as prime minister, John Vorster, as part of his "enlightened" approach to apartheid. However, the true intention of this policy was to make South Africa's blacks nationals of the homelands rather than of South Africa—thus removing the few rights they still had as citizens. The homelands were encouraged to opt for independence, as this would greatly reduce the number of black citizens of South Africa. The process was completed by the Black Homelands Citizenship Act of 1970, which made black South Africans into citizens of the homelands, even if they lived in "white South Africa", and cancelled their South African citizenship.
In parallel with the creation of the homelands, South Africa's population was subjected to a massive programme of forced relocation. It has been estimated that 3.5 million people were forced from their homes from the 1960s through the 1980s, many being resettled in the Bantustans.
The government made clear that its ultimate aim was the total removal of the black population from South Africa. Connie Mulder
, the Minister of Plural Relations and Development, told the House of Assembly
on 7 February 1978:
But this goal was not achieved. Only about 55% of South Africa's population lived in the Bantustans; the remainder lived in South Africa proper, many in township
s, shanty-towns and slums on the outskirts of South African cities. This was, among other reasons, because the economy of white South Africa depended on access to a black labour force.
International recognition for these new countries was extremely limited. Each TBVC state extended recognition to the other independent Bantustans while South Africa showed its commitment to the notion of TBVC sovereignty by building embassies in the various TBVC capitals. Israel was the only internationally recognized country and UN member to afford some sort of diplomatic recognition to any of the Bantustans, though formal acknowledgment of the Bantustans as fully-fledged countries never occurred. In late 1982, the Ciskei Trade Mission opened in Tel Aviv, flying its own flag and staffed by two Israelis, Yosef Schneider and Nat Rosenwasser, who were employed by the Ciskei Foreign Ministry. Bophuthatswana also had a representative in Israel, Shabtai Kalmanovich. In 1983 Israel was visited by the presidents of both Bophuthatswana and Ciskei, as well as by Venda’s entire chamber of commerce. During this visit Lennox Sebe
, the Ciskeian President, secured a contract with the Israeli government to supply and train his armed forces. Initially, six aircraft – at least one a military helicopter – were sold to Ciskei, and 18 Ciskei residents arrived in Israel for pilot training. In 1985 Israel received Buthelezi as Chief Minister of KwaZulu during an unofficial visit in 1985. Further, Taiwan encouraged business deals between Taiwanese investors and homeland industries.
Their single most important home-grown source of revenue was the provision of casino
s and topless
revue shows, which the National Party government had prohibited in South Africa proper as being "immoral". This provided a lucrative source of income for the South African elite, who constructed megaresort
s such as Sun City
in the homeland of Bophuthatswana
. In this, and other respects, the South African Bantustans somewhat resembled the Native American reservations
in the United States and Canada, although the parallel is not exact. Bophuthatswana also possessed deposits of platinum, and other natural resources, which made it the wealthiest of the Bantustans.
However, the homelands were only kept afloat by massive subsidies from the South African government; for instance, by 1985 in Transkei
, 85% of the homeland's income came from direct transfer payments from Pretoria
. The Bantustans' governments were invariably corrupt and little wealth trickled down to the local populations, who were forced to seek employment as "guest workers" in South Africa proper. Millions of people had to work in often appalling conditions, away from their homes for months at a time. For example, 65% of Bophuthatswana's population worked outside the 'homeland'.
Not surprisingly, the homelands were extremely unpopular among the urban black population, many of whom lived in squalor in slum housing. Their working conditions were often equally poor, as they were denied any significant rights or protections in South Africa proper. The allocation of individuals to specific homelands was often quite arbitrary. Many individuals assigned to homelands did not live in or originate from the homelands to which they were assigned, and the division into designated ethnic groups often took place on an arbitrary basis, particularly in the case of people of mixed ethnic ancestry.
F. W. de Klerk announced that his government would no longer grant independence to any more bantustans. With the demise of the apartheid regime in South Africa in 1994, the Bantustans were dismantled and their territory reincorporated into the Republic of South Africa. The drive to achieve this was spearheaded by the ANC
as a central element of its programme of reform. Reincorporation was mostly achieved peacefully, although there was some resistance from the local elites, who stood to lose out on the opportunities for wealth and political power provided by the homelands. The dismantling of the homelands of Bophuthatswana and Ciskei was particularly difficult. In Ciskei, South African security forces had to intervene in March 1994 to defuse a political crisis.
From 1994, most parts of the country were constitutionally redivided into new provinces
.
Nevertheless many leaders of former Bantustans or Homelands have had a role in South African politics since their abolition. Mangosuthu Buthelezi
was chief minister of his KwaZulu
homeland from 1976 until 1994, and in post-Apartheid South Africa he has served as President of the Inkatha Freedom Party
and Minister of Home Affairs. Bantubonke Holomisa, who was a general in the homeland of Transkei from 1987, has served as the president of the United Democratic Movement since 1997. General Constand Viljoen
, an Afrikaner who served as chief of the South African Defence Force
s, sent 1,500 of his militiamen to protect Lucas Mangope
and to contest the termination of Bophuthatswana
as a homeland in 1994. He founded the Freedom Front in 1994. Lucas Mangope, former chief of the Motsweda Ba hurutshe-Boo-Manyane tribe of the Tswana and head of Bophuthatswana is President of the United Christian Democratic Party.
The homelands are listed below with the ethnic group for which each homeland was designated. Four were nominally independent (the so-called TVBC states of the Transkei
, Venda
, Bophuthatswana
and the Ciskei
). The other six had limited self-government:
Transkei
(Xhosa) — declared independent on 26 October 1976 Bophuthatswana
(Tswana) — declared independent on 6 December 1977 Venda
(Venda
) — declared independent 13 September 1979 Ciskei
(also Xhosa) — declared independent on 4 December 1981 Gazankulu
(Tsonga [Shangaan
]) KaNgwane
(Swazi) KwaNdebele
(Ndebele) KwaZulu
(Zulu) Lebowa
(Northern Sotho or Pedi) QwaQwa
(Southern Sotho
)
The first Bantustan was the Transkei, under the leadership of Chief Kaizer Daliwonga Matanzima in the Cape Province
for the Xhosa nation. Perhaps the best known one was KwaZulu for the Zulu nation in Natal Province, headed by a member of the Zulu royal family Chief Mangosuthu ("Gatsha") Buthelezi
in the name of the Zulu king.
Lesotho
and Swaziland
were not Bantustans, but independent countries, and are former British Protectorates. These countries are mostly or entirely surrounded by South African territory, and are almost totally dependent on South Africa, but have never had any formal political dependence on South Africa, and were recognised as sovereign states by the international community from the time they were granted their independence by Britain in the 1960s.
, homelands (or Bantustans) similar to those in South Africa were established in South West Africa
(present-day Namibia
). In July 1980 the system was changed to one of separate governments on the basis of ethnicity only, and not geography. These governments were abolished in May 1989 at the start of the transition to independence
. Of the ten homelands established in South West Africa, only four were granted self-government.
The bantustans were:
In the Near East, in relation to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
, critics of Israel
i government policies have claimed that Israel seeks to implement a "bantustan model" for the Palestinian territories. Some critics provide a map of the Taba offer showing Israeli settlements and Israeli settlement roads in the West Bank. However, mediating parties during the Taba negotiations state that these maps were false, and no such Bantustan plan existed. (See Israel and the apartheid analogy for a fuller discussion of this comparison.)
In South Asia, the Sinhalese
government of Sri Lanka
has been accused of turning Tamil
areas into "bantustans". The term has also been used to refer to the living conditions of Dalits in India
.
In Southeastern Europe, the increasing numbers of small states in the Balkans
, following the breakup of Yugoslavia
, have also been referred to as "bantustans".
In Canada
, one Ottawa Citizen
newspaper editorial criticised the largely Inuit
territory of Nunavut
as being the country's "first Bantustan, an apartheid-style ethnic homeland.".
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and South West Africa
South West Africa
South-West Africa was the name that was used for the modern day Republic of Namibia during the earlier eras when the territory was controlled by the German Empire and later by South Africa....
(now Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
), as part of the policy of apartheid. Ten bantustans were established in South Africa, and ten in neighbouring South-West Africa (then under South African administration), for the purpose of concentrating the members of designated ethnic groups, thus making each of those territories ethnically homogeneous as the basis for creating "autonomous" nation states for South Africa's different black ethnic groups.
The term was first used in the late 1940s, and was coined from Bantu (meaning "people" in some of the Bantu languages
Bantu languages
The Bantu languages constitute a traditional sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages. There are about 250 Bantu languages by the criterion of mutual intelligibility, though the distinction between language and dialect is often unclear, and Ethnologue counts 535 languages...
) and -stan
-stan
The suffix -stan is Persian for "place of", a cognate to Pashto -tun and to Indo-Aryan -sthāna , a Sanskrit suffix with a similar meaning...
(a suffix meaning "land" in the Persian language
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
). It was regarded as a disparaging term by some critics of the apartheid-era government's "homelands" (from Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
tuisland). The word "bantustan", today, is often used in a pejorative
Pejorative
Pejoratives , including name slurs, are words or grammatical forms that connote negativity and express contempt or distaste. A term can be regarded as pejorative in some social groups but not in others, e.g., hacker is a term used for computer criminals as well as quick and clever computer experts...
sense when describing a region that lacks any real legitimacy, consists of several unconnected enclaves, and/or emerges from national or international gerrymandering
Gerrymandering
In the process of setting electoral districts, gerrymandering is a practice that attempts to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating geographic boundaries to create partisan, incumbent-protected districts...
.
Some of the bantustans received independence. In South Africa, Transkei
Transkei
The Transkei , officially the Republic of Transkei , was a Bantustan—an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity—and nominal parliamentary democracy in the southeastern region of South Africa...
, Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana , officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana was a Bantustan – an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity – and nominal parliamentary democracy in the northwestern region of South Africa...
, Venda
Venda
Venda was a bantustan in northern South Africa, now part of Limpopo province. It was founded as a homeland for the Venda people, speakers of the Venda language. It bordered modern Zimbabwe and South Africa, and is now part of Limpopo in South Africa....
, and Ciskei
Ciskei
Ciskei was a Bantustan in the south east of South Africa. It covered an area of 2,970 square miles , almost entirely surrounded by what was then the Cape Province, and possessed a small coastline along the shore of the Indian Ocean....
(the so-called "TBVC States") were declared independent, while others (like KwaZulu
KwaZulu
KwaZulu was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government as a semi-independent homeland for the Zulu people. The capital, formerly at Nongoma, was moved in 1980 to Ulundi....
, Lebowa
Lebowa
Lebowa was a bantustan located in the Transvaal in north eastern South Africa. Seshego initially acted as Lebowa's capital while the purpose-built Lebowakgomo was being constructed. Granted internal self-government on 2 October 1972 and ruled for much of its existence by Cedric Phatudi, Lebowa...
, and QwaQwa
QwaQwa
QwaQwa was a Bantustan, or homeland, in the eastern part of South Africa. It encompassed a very small region of in the east of the former South African province of Orange Free State, bordering Lesotho. Its capital was Phuthaditjhaba...
), received partial autonomy, but were never granted independence. In South-West Africa, Ovamboland
Ovamboland
Ovamboland was the name given by English-speaking visitors to the land occupied by the Ovambo people in what is now northern Namibia and southern Angola...
, Kavangoland
Kavangoland
Kavangoland was a bantustan in South West Africa , intended by the apartheid government to be a self-governing homeland for the Kavango people...
, and East Caprivi
East Caprivi
East Caprivi was a bantustan in South West Africa , intended by the apartheid government to be a self-governing homeland for the Lozi people. It was set up in 1972 and self-government was granted in 1976...
were granted self-determination. The independence was not officially recognised outside of South Africa.
Creation
National Party (South Africa)
The National Party is a former political party in South Africa. Founded in 1914, it was the governing party of the country from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994. Members of the National Party were sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats. Its policies included apartheid, the establishment of a...
came to power in 1948, British colonial administrations in the 19th century, and earlier South African governments had established "reserves" in 1913 and 1936, with the intention of segregating black South Africans from whites. National Party Minister for Native Affairs (and later Prime Minister of South Africa) Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd
Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd
Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd , commonly identified as H.F. Verwoerd, was Prime Minister of South Africa from 1958 until his assassination in 1966...
built on this, introducing a series of measures that reshaped South African society such that whites would be the demographic majority. The creation of the homelands or Bantustans was a central element of this strategy because blacks were to be made involuntary citizens of these homelands, losing their original South African citizenship and voting rights, which enabled whites to remain in control of South Africa.
"The term 'Bantustan' was used by apartheid's apologists in reference to the partition of India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
in 1947. However, it quickly became pejorative in left and anti-apartheid usage, where it remained, while being abandoned by the National Party
National Party (South Africa)
The National Party is a former political party in South Africa. Founded in 1914, it was the governing party of the country from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994. Members of the National Party were sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats. Its policies included apartheid, the establishment of a...
in favour of 'homelands'."
Verwoerd argued that the Bantustans were the "original homes" of the black peoples of South Africa. In 1951, the government of Daniel Francois Malan
Daniel François Malan
Daniel François Malan , more commonly known as D.F. Malan, was the Prime Minister of South Africa from 1948 to 1954. He is seen as a champion of Afrikaner nationalism. His National Party government came to power on the program of apartheid and began its comprehensive implementation.- Biography...
introduced the Bantu Authorities Act
Bantu Authorities Act
The Bantu Authorities Act, 1951 was one of the pillars of apartheid in South Africa during the apartheid era. This legislation, succeeding the Native Affairs Act The Bantu Authorities Act, 1951 (Act No. 68 of 1951; subsequently renamed the Black Authorities Act, 1951) was one of the pillars of...
to establish "homelands" allocated to the country's different black ethnic groups. These amounted to 13% of the country's land, the remainder being reserved for the white population. Local tribal leaders were co-opted to run the homelands, and uncooperative chiefs were forcibly deposed. Over time, a ruling black élite emerged with a personal and financial interest in the preservation of the homelands. While this aided the homelands' political stability to an extent, their position was still entirely dependent on South African support.
The role of the homelands was expanded in 1959 with the passage of the Bantu Self-Government Act, which set out a plan called "Separate Development". This enabled the homelands to establish themselves as self-governing, quasi-independent states. This plan was stepped up under Verwoerd's successor as prime minister, John Vorster, as part of his "enlightened" approach to apartheid. However, the true intention of this policy was to make South Africa's blacks nationals of the homelands rather than of South Africa—thus removing the few rights they still had as citizens. The homelands were encouraged to opt for independence, as this would greatly reduce the number of black citizens of South Africa. The process was completed by the Black Homelands Citizenship Act of 1970, which made black South Africans into citizens of the homelands, even if they lived in "white South Africa", and cancelled their South African citizenship.
In parallel with the creation of the homelands, South Africa's population was subjected to a massive programme of forced relocation. It has been estimated that 3.5 million people were forced from their homes from the 1960s through the 1980s, many being resettled in the Bantustans.
The government made clear that its ultimate aim was the total removal of the black population from South Africa. Connie Mulder
Connie Mulder
Connie Mulder, born Petrus Cornelius Mulder , was a South African politician and father of present cabinet minister and leader of the Freedom Front Plus Pieter Mulder....
, the Minister of Plural Relations and Development, told the House of Assembly
House of Assembly
House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level....
on 7 February 1978:
But this goal was not achieved. Only about 55% of South Africa's population lived in the Bantustans; the remainder lived in South Africa proper, many in township
Township (South Africa)
In South Africa, the term township and location usually refers to the urban living areas that, from the late 19th century until the end of Apartheid, were reserved for non-whites . Townships were usually built on the periphery of towns and cities...
s, shanty-towns and slums on the outskirts of South African cities. This was, among other reasons, because the economy of white South Africa depended on access to a black labour force.
International recognition
Bantustans within the borders of South Africa were classified as "self-governing" or "independent". In theory, self-governing Bantustans had control over many aspects of their internal functioning but were not yet sovereign nations while independent Bantustans (Transkei, Bophutatswana, Ciskei and Venda; also known as the TBVC states) were intended to be fully sovereign. In reality, lack of economic infrastructure meant all the Bantustans were little more than puppet states controlled by South Africa.International recognition for these new countries was extremely limited. Each TBVC state extended recognition to the other independent Bantustans while South Africa showed its commitment to the notion of TBVC sovereignty by building embassies in the various TBVC capitals. Israel was the only internationally recognized country and UN member to afford some sort of diplomatic recognition to any of the Bantustans, though formal acknowledgment of the Bantustans as fully-fledged countries never occurred. In late 1982, the Ciskei Trade Mission opened in Tel Aviv, flying its own flag and staffed by two Israelis, Yosef Schneider and Nat Rosenwasser, who were employed by the Ciskei Foreign Ministry. Bophuthatswana also had a representative in Israel, Shabtai Kalmanovich. In 1983 Israel was visited by the presidents of both Bophuthatswana and Ciskei, as well as by Venda’s entire chamber of commerce. During this visit Lennox Sebe
Lennox Sebe
Lennox Leslie Wongamu Sebe was chief minister of the Xhosa bantustan of Ciskei, and the country's first president, after its self-rule in 1972....
, the Ciskeian President, secured a contract with the Israeli government to supply and train his armed forces. Initially, six aircraft – at least one a military helicopter – were sold to Ciskei, and 18 Ciskei residents arrived in Israel for pilot training. In 1985 Israel received Buthelezi as Chief Minister of KwaZulu during an unofficial visit in 1985. Further, Taiwan encouraged business deals between Taiwanese investors and homeland industries.
Life in the Bantustans
Like most other African nations, the Bantustans were generally poor, with few local employment opportunities being available.Their single most important home-grown source of revenue was the provision of casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
s and topless
Nudity
Nudity is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations and social considerations...
revue shows, which the National Party government had prohibited in South Africa proper as being "immoral". This provided a lucrative source of income for the South African elite, who constructed megaresort
Megaresort
A Megaresort is a type of destination resort which is of an exceptionally large size, sometimes featuringlarge-scale attractions . The hotels along the Las Vegas Strip are most typically thought of as megaresorts owing to their immense size and complexity...
s such as Sun City
Sun City, North West
Sun City is a luxury casino and resort, situated in the North West Province of South Africa. It is located about two hours' drive from Johannesburg, near the city of Rustenburg. The complex borders the Pilanesberg Game Reserve.- History :...
in the homeland of Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana , officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana was a Bantustan – an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity – and nominal parliamentary democracy in the northwestern region of South Africa...
. In this, and other respects, the South African Bantustans somewhat resembled the Native American reservations
Indian reserve
In Canada, an Indian reserve is specified by the Indian Act as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." The Act also specifies that land reserved for the use and benefit of a band which is not...
in the United States and Canada, although the parallel is not exact. Bophuthatswana also possessed deposits of platinum, and other natural resources, which made it the wealthiest of the Bantustans.
However, the homelands were only kept afloat by massive subsidies from the South African government; for instance, by 1985 in Transkei
Transkei
The Transkei , officially the Republic of Transkei , was a Bantustan—an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity—and nominal parliamentary democracy in the southeastern region of South Africa...
, 85% of the homeland's income came from direct transfer payments from Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
. The Bantustans' governments were invariably corrupt and little wealth trickled down to the local populations, who were forced to seek employment as "guest workers" in South Africa proper. Millions of people had to work in often appalling conditions, away from their homes for months at a time. For example, 65% of Bophuthatswana's population worked outside the 'homeland'.
Not surprisingly, the homelands were extremely unpopular among the urban black population, many of whom lived in squalor in slum housing. Their working conditions were often equally poor, as they were denied any significant rights or protections in South Africa proper. The allocation of individuals to specific homelands was often quite arbitrary. Many individuals assigned to homelands did not live in or originate from the homelands to which they were assigned, and the division into designated ethnic groups often took place on an arbitrary basis, particularly in the case of people of mixed ethnic ancestry.
Post-1994
In March 1990 reformist PresidentPresident of South Africa
The President of the Republic of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under South Africa's Constitution. From 1961 to 1994, the head of state was called the State President....
F. W. de Klerk announced that his government would no longer grant independence to any more bantustans. With the demise of the apartheid regime in South Africa in 1994, the Bantustans were dismantled and their territory reincorporated into the Republic of South Africa. The drive to achieve this was spearheaded by the ANC
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
as a central element of its programme of reform. Reincorporation was mostly achieved peacefully, although there was some resistance from the local elites, who stood to lose out on the opportunities for wealth and political power provided by the homelands. The dismantling of the homelands of Bophuthatswana and Ciskei was particularly difficult. In Ciskei, South African security forces had to intervene in March 1994 to defuse a political crisis.
From 1994, most parts of the country were constitutionally redivided into new provinces
Provinces of South Africa
South Africa is currently divided into nine provinces. On the eve of the 1994 general election, South Africa's former homelands, also known as Bantustans, were reintegrated and the four existing provinces were divided into nine. The twelfth, thirteenth and sixteenth amendments to the constitution...
.
Nevertheless many leaders of former Bantustans or Homelands have had a role in South African politics since their abolition. Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi is a South African Zulu politician who founded the Inkatha Freedom Party in 1975 and continues to lead the party today.His praise name is Shenge.-Early life:...
was chief minister of his KwaZulu
KwaZulu
KwaZulu was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government as a semi-independent homeland for the Zulu people. The capital, formerly at Nongoma, was moved in 1980 to Ulundi....
homeland from 1976 until 1994, and in post-Apartheid South Africa he has served as President of the Inkatha Freedom Party
Inkatha Freedom Party
The Inkatha Freedom Party is a political party in South Africa. Since its founding, it has been led by Mangosuthu Buthelezi. It is currently the fourth largest party in the National Assembly of South Africa.-History:...
and Minister of Home Affairs. Bantubonke Holomisa, who was a general in the homeland of Transkei from 1987, has served as the president of the United Democratic Movement since 1997. General Constand Viljoen
Constand Viljoen
General Constand Viljoen SSA SD SOE SM is a former South African military commander and politician. He is partly credited with preventing the outbreak of armed violence by disaffected Afrikaners prior to the 1994 elections.-Military service:Viljoen received a degree in military science in 1955...
, an Afrikaner who served as chief of the South African Defence Force
South African Defence Force
The South African Defence Force was the South African armed forces from 1957 until 1994. The former Union Defence Force was renamed to the South African Defence Force in the Defence Act of 1957...
s, sent 1,500 of his militiamen to protect Lucas Mangope
Lucas Mangope
Kgosi Lucas Manyane Mangope is the former leader of the Bantustan of Bophuthatswana and current leader of the United Christian Democratic Party, a minor political party based in the North West province of South Africa....
and to contest the termination of Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana , officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana was a Bantustan – an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity – and nominal parliamentary democracy in the northwestern region of South Africa...
as a homeland in 1994. He founded the Freedom Front in 1994. Lucas Mangope, former chief of the Motsweda Ba hurutshe-Boo-Manyane tribe of the Tswana and head of Bophuthatswana is President of the United Christian Democratic Party.
Bantustans in South Africa
Transkei
The Transkei , officially the Republic of Transkei , was a Bantustan—an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity—and nominal parliamentary democracy in the southeastern region of South Africa...
, Venda
Venda
Venda was a bantustan in northern South Africa, now part of Limpopo province. It was founded as a homeland for the Venda people, speakers of the Venda language. It bordered modern Zimbabwe and South Africa, and is now part of Limpopo in South Africa....
, Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana , officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana was a Bantustan – an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity – and nominal parliamentary democracy in the northwestern region of South Africa...
and the Ciskei
Ciskei
Ciskei was a Bantustan in the south east of South Africa. It covered an area of 2,970 square miles , almost entirely surrounded by what was then the Cape Province, and possessed a small coastline along the shore of the Indian Ocean....
). The other six had limited self-government:
Transkei
Transkei
The Transkei , officially the Republic of Transkei , was a Bantustan—an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity—and nominal parliamentary democracy in the southeastern region of South Africa...
(Xhosa) — declared independent on 26 October 1976 Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana , officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana was a Bantustan – an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity – and nominal parliamentary democracy in the northwestern region of South Africa...
(Tswana) — declared independent on 6 December 1977 Venda
Venda
Venda was a bantustan in northern South Africa, now part of Limpopo province. It was founded as a homeland for the Venda people, speakers of the Venda language. It bordered modern Zimbabwe and South Africa, and is now part of Limpopo in South Africa....
(Venda
Venda language
Venda, also known as or , is a Bantu language and an official language of South Africa. The majority of Venda speakers live in the northern part of South Africa's Limpopo Province, but about 10% of speakers live in Zimbabwe. The Venda language is related to Kalanga which is spoken in Botswana...
) — declared independent 13 September 1979 Ciskei
Ciskei
Ciskei was a Bantustan in the south east of South Africa. It covered an area of 2,970 square miles , almost entirely surrounded by what was then the Cape Province, and possessed a small coastline along the shore of the Indian Ocean....
(also Xhosa) — declared independent on 4 December 1981 Gazankulu
Gazankulu
Gazankulu was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government to be a semi-independent homeland for the Tsonga people. It was carved out of the former Transvaal Province and given self-rule in 1971, with its capital at Giyani. When Apartheid was abolished in 1994, the population...
(Tsonga [Shangaan
Shangaan
The Tsonga people inhabit the southern coastal plain of Mozambique, parts of Zimbabwe and Swaziland, and the Limpopo Province of South Africa...
]) KaNgwane
KaNgwane
KaNgwane was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government to be a semi-independent homeland for the Swazi people. Formerly called the "Swazi Territory", the homeland was granted nominal self-rule in 1981. Schoemansdal was designated as its capital. Its official capital was at...
(Swazi) KwaNdebele
KwaNdebele
KwaNdebele was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government as a semi-independent homeland for the Ndebele people. The homeland was created when the South African government purchased nineteen white-owned farms and installed a government....
(Ndebele) KwaZulu
KwaZulu
KwaZulu was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government as a semi-independent homeland for the Zulu people. The capital, formerly at Nongoma, was moved in 1980 to Ulundi....
(Zulu) Lebowa
Lebowa
Lebowa was a bantustan located in the Transvaal in north eastern South Africa. Seshego initially acted as Lebowa's capital while the purpose-built Lebowakgomo was being constructed. Granted internal self-government on 2 October 1972 and ruled for much of its existence by Cedric Phatudi, Lebowa...
(Northern Sotho or Pedi) QwaQwa
QwaQwa
QwaQwa was a Bantustan, or homeland, in the eastern part of South Africa. It encompassed a very small region of in the east of the former South African province of Orange Free State, bordering Lesotho. Its capital was Phuthaditjhaba...
(Southern Sotho
Sotho
Sotho may refer to:*The Sotho people , an African ethnic group principally resident in South Africa and Lesotho.*The Sotho language , a Bantu Language spoken in southern Africa, an official language of both South Africa and Lesotho.*The Northern Sotho language , a group of related Bantu dialects...
)
The first Bantustan was the Transkei, under the leadership of Chief Kaizer Daliwonga Matanzima in the Cape Province
Cape Province
The Province of the Cape of Good Hope was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa...
for the Xhosa nation. Perhaps the best known one was KwaZulu for the Zulu nation in Natal Province, headed by a member of the Zulu royal family Chief Mangosuthu ("Gatsha") Buthelezi
Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi is a South African Zulu politician who founded the Inkatha Freedom Party in 1975 and continues to lead the party today.His praise name is Shenge.-Early life:...
in the name of the Zulu king.
Lesotho
Lesotho
Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...
and Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
were not Bantustans, but independent countries, and are former British Protectorates. These countries are mostly or entirely surrounded by South African territory, and are almost totally dependent on South Africa, but have never had any formal political dependence on South Africa, and were recognised as sovereign states by the international community from the time they were granted their independence by Britain in the 1960s.
Bantustans in South West Africa
Beginning in 1968, and following the 1964 recommendations of the commission headed by Fox OdendaalFox Odendaal
Frans Hendrik Odendaal was a South African politician, governor of the Transvaal province, best remembered for heading the commission that became known by his last name.-Odendaal Commission:...
, homelands (or Bantustans) similar to those in South Africa were established in South West Africa
South West Africa
South-West Africa was the name that was used for the modern day Republic of Namibia during the earlier eras when the territory was controlled by the German Empire and later by South Africa....
(present-day Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
). In July 1980 the system was changed to one of separate governments on the basis of ethnicity only, and not geography. These governments were abolished in May 1989 at the start of the transition to independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
. Of the ten homelands established in South West Africa, only four were granted self-government.
- Basterland
- BushmanlandBushmanlandBushmanland is a name applied to two different territories; one in Namibia and one in South Africa. Though they have points of resemblance, they do not adjoin....
- DamaralandDamaralandDamaraland was a name given to the north-central part of what later became Namibia, inhabited by the Damaras. It was bounded roughly by Ovamboland in the north, the Namib Desert in the west, the Kalahari Desert in the east, and Windhoek in the south....
- East CapriviEast CapriviEast Caprivi was a bantustan in South West Africa , intended by the apartheid government to be a self-governing homeland for the Lozi people. It was set up in 1972 and self-government was granted in 1976...
(self rule 1976) - HererolandHererolandHereroland was a bantustan in South West Africa , intended by the apartheid government to be a self-governing homeland for the Herero people. It was set up in 1968 and self-government was granted two years later....
(self-rule 1970) - KaokolandKaokolandKaokoland is an area in Northern Namibia, in the Kunene Region. It is one of the wildest and less populated areas in Namibia, with a population density of one person every 2 km², that is 1/4 of the national average. The most represented ethnic group is the Himba people, that accounts for...
- KavangolandKavangolandKavangoland was a bantustan in South West Africa , intended by the apartheid government to be a self-governing homeland for the Kavango people...
(self-rule 1973) - NamalandNamalandNamaland was a bantustan in South West Africa , intended by the apartheid government to be a self-governing homeland for the Nama people. A centrally administered local government was created in 1980....
- OvambolandOvambolandOvamboland was the name given by English-speaking visitors to the land occupied by the Ovambo people in what is now northern Namibia and southern Angola...
(self-rule 1973) - TswanalandTswanalandTswanaland was a bantustan in South West Africa , intended by the apartheid government to be a self-governing homeland for the Tswana people...
Usage in non-South African contexts
The term "Bantustan" has also been used in a number of non-South African contexts, generally to refer to actual or perceived attempts to create ethnically based states or regions. Its connection with apartheid has meant that the term is now generally used in a pejorative sense as a form of criticism.In the Near East, in relation to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
, critics of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i government policies have claimed that Israel seeks to implement a "bantustan model" for the Palestinian territories. Some critics provide a map of the Taba offer showing Israeli settlements and Israeli settlement roads in the West Bank. However, mediating parties during the Taba negotiations state that these maps were false, and no such Bantustan plan existed. (See Israel and the apartheid analogy for a fuller discussion of this comparison.)
In South Asia, the Sinhalese
Sinhalese people
The Sinhalese are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group,forming the majority of Sri Lanka,constituting 74% of the Sri Lankan population.They number approximately 15 million worldwide.The Sinhalese identity is based on language, heritage and religion. The Sinhalese speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language and the...
government of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
has been accused of turning Tamil
Tamil Eelam
Tamil Eelam , is the name given by certain Tamils in Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora to the independent state which they aspire to create in the north and east of Sri Lanka. Tamil Eelam has no official status or recognition by any other state or authority...
areas into "bantustans". The term has also been used to refer to the living conditions of Dalits in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
In Southeastern Europe, the increasing numbers of small states in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, following the breakup of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, have also been referred to as "bantustans".
In Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, one Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa Citizen
The Ottawa Citizen is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Canada. According to the Canadian Newspaper Association, the paper had a 2008 weekly circulation of 900,197.- History :...
newspaper editorial criticised the largely Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
territory of Nunavut
Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
as being the country's "first Bantustan, an apartheid-style ethnic homeland.".
See also
- South Africa under apartheid
- Black Homeland Citizenship ActBlack Homeland Citizenship ActThe Bantu Homelands Citizenship Act, 1970 was a denaturalization law passed during the apartheid era of South Africa that changed the status of the inhabitants of the bantustans so that they were no longer citizens of South Africa...
- Indian reservationIndian reservationAn American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
- Racial segregationRacial segregationRacial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
- VolkstaatVolkstaatVolkstaat is a proposal for the establishment of self determination for the Boer and Afrikaners minority in South Africa according to federal principles, alluding to full independence in the form of a homeland for Boer and Afrikaners....
- Internal passportInternal passportAn internal passport is an identity document used in some countries to control the internal movement and residence of its people. Countries that currently have internal passports include Russia, Ukraine, China and North Korea...
- HukouHukouA Hukou or huji refers to the system of 'class system' residency permits which dates back to ancient China, where household registration is required by law in People's Republic of China and Republic of China ....
- PropiskaPropiskaPropiska was both a residence permit and migration recording tool in the Russian Empire before 1917 and from 1930s in the Soviet Union. It was documented in local police registers and certified with a stamp in internal passports....
- Ethnic cleansingEthnic cleansingEthnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic orreligious group from certain geographic areas....