The Rand Rebellion ( af, Rand-rebellie; also known as the 1922 strike) was an armed uprising of white miners in the Witwatersrand region of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

, in March 1922. Jimmy Green, a prominent politician in the Labour Party, was one of the leaders of the strike. Following a drop in the world price of gold from 130 shillings (£6 10s) per fine troy ounce in 1919 to 95s/oz (£4 15s) in December 1921, the companies tried to cut their operating costs by decreasing wages, and by weakening the colour bar by promoting cheaper black mine workers to skilled and supervisory positions.

History

The rebellion started as a strike by white mine workers on 28 December 1921 and shortly thereafter, it became an open rebellion against the state. Subsequently the workers, who had armed themselves, took over the cities of Benoni and

Brakpan Brakpan is a mining town in the Gauteng province of South Africa. History The name Brakpan comes from a small pan on a farm called Weltevreden, which was filled with very brackish water and was probably referred to as the "brakpan," and it was nea ...

, and the

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

suburbs of

Fordsburg Fordsburg is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is located in Region 8. Fordsburg is a residential suburb, although housing numerous shops and factories. Today, Fordsburg is a major centre of Indian and Pakistani culture, with a la ...

and Jeppe. The young

Communist Party of South Africa The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), tactically dissolved itself in 1950 in the face of being declared illegal by the governing ...

(CPSA) took an active part in the uprising on grounds of class struggle whilst reportedly opposing racist aspects of the strike, as did the

syndicalists Syndicalism is a revolutionary current within the left-wing of the labor movement that seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through strikes with the eventual goal of gaining control over the means of produ ...

. The racist aspect was typified by the slogan; "''Workers of the world, unite and fight for a white South Africa!''" and by several pogroms against blacks. Several Communists and syndicalists, the latter including the strike leaders

Percy Fisher Percy Fisher (1891 – 14 March 1922) was an English-born South African syndicalist and trade union leader. Born in Durham in England, Fisher emigrated to the Witwatersrand at the start of 1912. He worked in the mines, and also became activ ...

and Harry Spendiff, were killed as the rebellion was quelled by the

Union Defence Force The Union Defence Force may refer to a former or current military organization: * Union Defence Force (South Africa), the predecessor of the South African Defence Force from 1912 to 1957 * Union Defence Force (UAE) The United Arab Emirates Armed ...

. The rebellion was eventually put down by "considerable military firepower and at the cost of over 200 lives". Prime Minister

Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as Prime Minister of South Africa, prime m ...

crushed the rebellion with 20,000 troops, artillery, tanks, and bomber aircraft. By this time the rebels had dug trenches across

Fordsburg Square Fordsburg Square in Fordsburg is a thriving square that is the site of a flea market was recently known for being run-down. This square in Johannesburg is the location of a battle between striking miners and the South African police, army and air ...

and the air force tried to bomb but missed and hit a local church. However, the army's bombardment finally overcame them. Lieutenant Colonel Llewellyn Andersson's role in creating the

Union Defence Force (South Africa) ) , headquarters = Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa , commander-in-chief = , commander-in-chief_title = Sovereign of South Africa , minister = , minister_title = , commander = , commander_title = Chief ...

was instrumental in crushing the rebellion. Smuts' actions caused a political backlash, and in the 1924 elections his

South African Party nl, Zuidafrikaanse Partij , leader1_title = Leader (s) , leader1_name = Louis Botha,Jan Smuts,Barry Hertzog , foundation = , dissolution = , merger = Het Volk South African Party Afrikaner Bond Orangia Unie , merged ...

lost to a coalition of the National Party and Labour Party. They introduced the

Industrial Conciliation Act 1924 The Industrial Conciliation Act 1924 was an act of the Parliament of South Africa The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa's legislature; under the present Constitution of South Africa, the bicameral Parliament compris ...

, Wage Act 1925 and

Mines and Works Amendment Act 1926 Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging *Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun Mi ...

, which recognised white trade unions and reinforced the colour bar. Under instruction from the

Comintern The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet Union, Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to ...

, the CPSA reversed its attitude toward the white working class and adopted a new 'Native Republic' policy.

In popular culture

TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...

in 8 episodes produced by the

SABC The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations (Amplitude modulation, AM/Frequency modulation, FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is o ...

in 1984 and entitled ''1922'', tells this part of South African history. In Agatha Christie's '' The Man in the Brown Suit'', published in 1924, the Rand Rebellion is mentioned both by name and as a backdrop for the mystery. Christie washes over the specifics and uses the Rebellion as nothing more than a minor inconvenience for her characters.

Bibliography

* Jeremy Krikler, ''Rand Revolt: The 1922 Insurrection and Racial Killings in South Africa'', Jonathan Ball Publishers SA, 2006, * Wessel Pretorius Visser, ''A History of the South African Mine Workers' Union, 1902-2014'',

Edwin Mellen Press The Edwin Mellen Press or Mellen Press is an international independent company and academic publishing house with editorial offices in Lewiston, New York, and Lampeter, Wales. It was founded, in 1972, by the religious studies scholar Professor ...

, 2016,

References

{{Political history of South Africa 1921 protests 1922 protests Conflicts in 1921 Conflicts in 1922 South African Communist Party Syndicalism in South Africa History of South Africa History of Johannesburg History of the East Rand Protests in South Africa 1921 in South Africa 1922 in South Africa Jan Smuts Labour disputes in South Africa Miners' labor disputes Military operations involving South Africa Revolutions of 1917–1923

History

In popular culture

Bibliography

See also

References