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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Land, labour and the establishment of commercial forests in Swaziland 1947-1962
Author:Simelane, H. SiphoISNI
Year:1987
Periodical:Journal of Eastern African Research and Development
Volume:17
Pages:124-146
Language:English
Geographic terms:Swaziland - Eswatini
Great Britain
Subjects:colonialism
labour recruitment
foreign investments
agroforestry
Abstract:The post-1945 decade in Swaziland was a period of massive capital penetration. The precursor of capital penetration was the emergence of huge commercial forests within the highveld, a product of colonial officials' enticement of British and South African investors. During the initial stages of commercial afforestation, capital investors had to be assured not only of the availability of land and labour, but also of their cheapness. The methods used to acquire both land and labour, and the repercussions of land expropriation and labour mobilization on Swazi society are examined. The establishment of commercial forests led to the eviction of Swazi peasants within the highveld from their lands, and to the disruption of the traditional subsistence economy. Much of the impact of land expropriation was felt within the Swazi traditional political structure, with some traditional chiefs losing their traditional powers and privileges and being shifted to areas in which they had no command over land distribution. The mobilization of the Swazi for wage labour produced fundamental transformations within the Swazi labour market, exemplified by the socialization of Swazi labour, the effects of which were seen in the labour agitation of 1962. Notes, ref.
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