History of Southern Africa






History of Ciskei 1961-1994



During the Apartheid years, the South African government set aside certain regions as HOMELANDS for various African ethnicities. The CISKEI, part of the Cape Colony/Province since 1834, was selected as the homeland of the Xhosa people. The Ciskei was established as an administrative entity in 1961, given SELF-GOVERNMENT in 1972 and nominal independence in 1981. The capital of the new state consisting of two stretches of territory was established at BISHO. A part of the Xhosa population had been relocated there after the creation of the Ciskei in 1961.
As with the other homelands, the driving force behind Ciskeian independence had been South Africa's Apartheid regime, which wanted to deprive large sections of it's black population of it's citizenship of South Africa.
Economically as well as politically, the Ciskei depended on South Africa. In 1985, the country had a population of 777,000, many of whom lived as 'migrant workers' in South Africa. Ciskei's currency was the South African Rand.
Internationally, the Ciskei and the other 'independent' homelands (Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda) were regarded as South African puppets and not recognized. Ciskei failed to gain membership of any major international organization.
In 1994 - in South Africa the Apartheid policy had meanwhile been abolished - the Ciskei (as well as the other homelands) had been reintegrated into South Africa and today forms a part of the EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE. Today, speakers of isiXhosa make up 86 % of the population of the province, which is considerably larger than Ciskei and Transkei.






EXTERNAL
FILES 		History of the Ciskei, from Infoplease
Introduction to the Xhosa Language, from South African Languages
The Xhosa People, from Suedafrika.net
DOCUMENTS Flag of Ciskei, from FOTW; Civic Arms from International Civic Arms; from Wappenlexikon, comment in German
Map of South Africa's Black Homelands, from Perry Castaneda Library at UTexas
REFERENCE Robert Ross, A Concise History of South Africa, Cambridge Concise Histories, 1999, 219 pp.
Article : Ciskei, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1983 p.620 (on events in 1982) [G]
Article : Ciskei, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1984 p.624 (on events in 1983) [G]
Article : Ciskei, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1985 p.476 (on events in 1984) [G]
Article : Ciskei, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1986 p.470 (on events in 1985) [G]
Article : Ciskei, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1988 p.399 (on events in 1987) [G]
Article : Ciskei, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1989 p.399 (on events in 1988) [G]
Article : Ciskei, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1990 p.416 (on events in 1989) [G]
Article : South Africa : Ciskei, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1993 p.372 (on events in 1992) [G]
Article : South Africa : Ciskei, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1994 p.370 (on events in 1993) [G]
Article : South Africa : Ciskei, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1983-1984 pp.1098-1099 (data of 1982-1983) [G]
Article : South Africa : Ciskei, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1984-1985 pp.1095-1096 (data of 1983-1984) [G]
Article : South Africa : Ciskei, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1985-1986 pp.1096-1098 (data of 1984-1985) [G]
Article : South Africa : Ciskei, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1987-1988 pp.1100-1101 (data of 1986-1987) [G]
Article : South Africa : Ciskei, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1988-1989 pp.1103-1105 (data of 1987-1988) [G]
Article : South Africa : Ciskei, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1989-1990 pp.1110-1112 (data of 1988-1989) [G]
Article : South Africa : Ciskei, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1990-1991 pp.1111-1112 (data of 1989-1990) [G]
Article : South Africa : Ciskei, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1991-1992 pp.1114-1115 (data of 1990-1991) [G]
Article : South Africa : Ciskei, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1992-1993 pp.1204-1206 (data of 1991-1992) [G]
Article : South Africa : Ciskei, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1993-1994 pp.1206-1208 (data of 1992-1993) [G]



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2001, last revised on October 20th 2006

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