History 144 L3: The Union and After

Why did activists travel to London in 1906 & 1909?

To block racist Union provisions

What was the 1909 Bloemfontein Convention?

African leaders met to protest exclusion

What argument did they make?

Claimed rights as British subjects

Why did Britain refuse to intervene?

Didn’t want to upset Afrikaner reconciliation

What did the South Africa Act state?

 Blacks excluded from franchise in Natal, OFS, Transvaal; Cape kept property‑based vote

Who denounced the South Africa Act?

William Schreiner and African leader

When did Union begin?

31 May 1910

Who was first Prime Minister?

Louis Botha

Who was another key Afrikaner leader?

 Jan Smuts

Which party dominated?

South African Party

Natives’ Labour Regulation Act (1911)?

Criminalised breaking labour contracts

Mines and Works Act?

Job reservation for whites

Dutch Reformed Church Act?

Denied Africans full membership

Who hosted the 1911 meeting?

Pixley ka Isaka Seme

What did Seme call for?

African unity beyond tribal divisions

What organisation was formed in 1912?

South African Native National Congress (SANNC)

Who were the SANNC leaders?

John Dube (president), Sol Plaatje (secretary), Pixley Seme (treasurer)

What was the SANNC newspaper? 

Abantu‑Batho (1912–1933)

How many chiefs were honorary presidents of the SANNC?

22

What early issue did SANNC oppose?

The Squatters’ Bill (land restrictions)

What was Dube’s war‑cry?

 “Onward! Upward! Into civilisation and Christianity.”

How did he view the British?

Believed they were magnanimous and fair.

What did the 1913 Land Act formalise?

Segregated land ownership.

How much land was allocated to Africans?

 7.5% (later 13% in 1936).

What happened to African sharecroppers?

Forced off white farms in OFS.

Long‑term impact?

 Basis for dispossession and segregation.

Who did SANNC meet in 1913? 

Native Affairs Department

Who did SANNC meet in 1914? 

Louis Botha (unsuccessful)

What delegations were sent to Britain?

1913 Land Act protest; post‑WWI franchise/land appeal.

Outcome of delegations sent to Britain?

All unsuccessful.

Why did leaders trust Britain?

Missionary education, English language, Christian values.

How did they show loyalty?

Offered to recruit soldiers for WWI.

Why did SANNC decline?

Persuasion failed, funding problems.

Who funded SANNC?

Rural chiefs.

How did government view Africans?

As “tribal” and rural, ignoring urban change.