Chinese Labour ( In The Transvaal )

Published by London, Macmillan & Co, 1904. 1st edition. Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 39 pages. Very good blue card covers. Internally very good. Embossed stamp on the title page. Rare.

Why then were 63,695 Chinese labourers imported into the Transvaal when the other ‘white’ colonies were in the process of restricting Asian migration? To answer this question it is necessary to examine how the transnational issues played out in the previous chapter developed within the local context of the Transvaal just after Britain had won the South African War. The whole issue reflected southern Africa’s position at the crossroads of African and settler colony policies and beliefs. On the one hand there was the ‘civilising mission’ to Africans and a need to promote colonial financial interests through encouraging African labour. On the other hand there was a concern about whether southern Africa could ever be a ‘white colony’, with such a large African population.