Transkei
The Transkei — which means the area beyond the Kei River — is a region situated in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. It is also the name of an Apartheid-era Bantustan (1959-1994) corresponding to this territory. The Transkei is bordered by the Umtamvuna River in the north and the Great Kei River in the south, while the Indian Ocean and the Drakensberg mountain range of the landlocked kingdom of Lesotho serve as the Transkei's eastern and western frontiers respectively. The main city is Mthatha.
Geography
The Transkei has many rivers flowing from the mountains to the oceans, so unlike much of South Africa, it is relatively unscathed by drought. Xhosa, with its distinctive clicks derived from the Bushman or Khoi-San peoples, is the main language.
People
For much of the 1900s, many black male farmers in the Transkei were forced by punitive taxes levied only on Africans, known as poll taxes, to head north by train to work contracts underground in Johannesburg's gold mines. Some never returned, crushed in rockfalls in mines with very low standards of safety for their workers. Others returned with dreadful lung diseases from inhaling particles, or tuberculosis. Migrant labour has continued to shape the Transkei ever since.
Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first democratic president, was born in the Transkei in 1918, and still has a home in Qunu. His first two wives were also from what later became Transkei, as was the father of his second wife Winnie Madikizela, who served as Agriculture Minister in the Transkei.
History of the Bantustan
In 1959, the National Party government introduced legislation to create eight ethnically and linguistically divided homelands (Bantustan) for black South Africans in order to pursue a policy of "Separate Development" for South Africa's various races. The Transkei and Ciskei were set aside for Xhosa people.
For much of its history, the Transkei Bantustan was ruled by Chief Kaizer Daliwonga Matanzima, a nephew of Mandela's. In 1980, he deposed the king of the Thembu people, Sabata Dalindyebo. The Transkei homeland became a nominally independent state in 1976 with its capital at Umtata (now Mthatha), although it was only recognised by South Africa. From 1978 to 1980 territorial disputes prompted Transkei to sever diplomatic relations with South Africa. This created the unique situation of a country refusing to deal with the only (internationally-recognised) nation it was recognized by. In 1987 there was a military coup led by General Bantu Holomisa. The Transkei government was a participant in the Codesa negotiations for a new South Africa. It was reincorporated into the 'new' South Africa, on 27 April 1994.
See also
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