The Diggers' Revolt in Griqualand West, 1875

In 1875 the white diamond miners known as rose in a short-lived revolt against British rule in Griqualand West. The diggers, though disgruntled, were badly organized, and the revolt was put down with a show of force by the British troops and the arrest of the leaders. However limited in scope, the revolt was significant in its causes and effects. The main motivation was the desire of the white diggers to exclude non-whites from the mining industry in all capacities except that of a carefully controlled labor force. The revolt was the first step in the growth of the South African white trade union movement. The theme of racial division within the working class, so obvious on the Rand, began here. The diggers achieved little for themselves. Diamond mining quickly became mechanized, and the small claimholder was squeezed out. The demands of the diggers for greater control of black labor, however, came about within two decades; Gold mining on the Rand, from the start, was a matter of white ownership and skilled labor, and a very tightly regulated black labor force. The discovery of diamonds in Griqualand was central to the major events occurring in South Africa in the 1870s.2 The prospect of a wealthy, self-supporting colony in South Africa led Britain to reassert her influence north of the Cape, where in previous decades the British role had been deliberately played down.It has been convincingly argued that the desire to control the diamond fields was a central motive in the various British confederation schemes of the 1870s,3 and the mines were considered important enough to warrant

Ancient history · Political science · African history and culture studies · History · Legal Issues in South Africa · South African History and Culture

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