Aspects of hawking in the Transkei, 1920 - 1945.

Abstract

• Opsomming: Transkei het in die 20ste eeu 'n heenkome aan trekarbeiders, oues van dae, vroue en kinders begin bied. Die teenstrydigheid is egter dat die geleidelike armoede van die streek en sy swart bevolking ekonomiese geleenthede vir blankes veral in die dorpe geskep het. Armblankes wat aan die moeilike ekonomiese toestande in blank-Suid-Afrika wou ontkom, het as smouse sukses in Transkei behaal hoofsaaklik vanweë plaaslike owerhede se diskriminerende maatreëls teen swart mededinging. Op die Transkeise platteland kon swart graanhandelaars ook nie juis daarin slaag om direkte toegang tot die mark te verkry en so die geldmag van gevestigde blanke handelaars uit te skakel nie.

• Summary: During the 20th century Transkei became a place of migrant workers, old people, women and children. The gradual impoverishment of the region and its African population paradoxically was accompanied by economic opportunities for whites, particularly in the towns. Poor whites fleeing the harsh economic climate of white South Africa were able to succeed as hawkers in Transkei largely because local authorities had discriminatory policies towards black competition. In the countryside African maize traders attempted without much success to gain direct access to the market and thus evade the financial power of the vested white traders.