Transkei - Geography, People, History of the Bantustan

Former independent black homeland in SE South Africa; between the Kei and Mtamvuna Rivers on the Indian Ocean; capital, Umtata; traditional territory of the Xhosa; self-government, 1963; granted independence by South Africa (not recognized internationally), 1976; bloodless military coup, 1987; incorporated into Eastern Cape province in the South African constitution of 1994.

The Transkei — which means the area beyond the Kei River — is a region situated in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. 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.

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.

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.

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 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. The Transkei government was a participant in the Codesa negotiations for a new South Africa.