Aspects of the social and political history of Langa Township, Cape Town, 1927-1948

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dc.contributor.advisorBickford-Smith, Vivianen_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorSaunders, Christopher Cen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorMusemwa, Muchapararaen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2016-09-06T14:46:52Z
dc.date.available2016-09-06T14:46:52Z
dc.date.issued1993en_ZA
dc.descriptionBibliography: pages 198-213.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThis study focuses on the social and political history of Africans in Langa Township from 1927 to 1948. Langa conveniently and justifiably serves as a good case study of the urban African experience because it is the area in Greater Cape Town, during this period, where there was the largest concentration of a relatively organised, stabilised and permanent African working class community. It is also the oldest township with the deepest roots and longest evolution in Cape Town. Langa also makes an interesting area of study because the politics surrounding its evolution as an urban African segregated residential township presents it not only as an arena of social conflict between the ruler and the ruled, but also stands out as a veritable testimony of the African struggle to become an integral part of the city. The thesis traces what, initially, began as an "externalised" struggle by Africans against the forced removals from the city and Ndabeni Location to Langa and attempts to establish the continuities of this struggle within the township - i.e."internalised" struggle. African popular struggles in Langa predominantly centred around such issues as rents, railway fares, living conditions, restrictions on beer brewing and trading activities, the demand for direct municipal representation and the freedom of movement. The study explores the nature of the relationship that subsisted between the Langa residents and the Cape Town City Council and the internal social and political relations in the Langa community, paying particular attention to conflicting tendencies and the forms of resolution implemented. The thesis aims to highlight the fact that protest and resistance were the only weapons that empowered the Langa residents to fight against unilateral unpopular decisions by the local authority or central government. Flowing from these findings is an attempt to discover how the lived experiences of the Langa people, their frustrations, disillusionment, crises of expectations, translated into political consciousness and how these help us to explain the people's role in nationalist politics. Alternatively, this will help us to explain how political parties, the African National Congress (ANC), the Communist Party of South Africa (CPS A), and the National Liberation League (NLL) exploited the crises in civic matters to enhance or strengthen their support bases and with what results.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationMusemwa, M. (1993). <i>Aspects of the social and political history of Langa Township, Cape Town, 1927-1948</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Historical Studies. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/21707en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationMusemwa, Muchaparara. <i>"Aspects of the social and political history of Langa Township, Cape Town, 1927-1948."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Historical Studies, 1993. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/21707en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationMusemwa, M. 1993. Aspects of the social and political history of Langa Township, Cape Town, 1927-1948. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Musemwa, Muchaparara AB - This study focuses on the social and political history of Africans in Langa Township from 1927 to 1948. Langa conveniently and justifiably serves as a good case study of the urban African experience because it is the area in Greater Cape Town, during this period, where there was the largest concentration of a relatively organised, stabilised and permanent African working class community. It is also the oldest township with the deepest roots and longest evolution in Cape Town. Langa also makes an interesting area of study because the politics surrounding its evolution as an urban African segregated residential township presents it not only as an arena of social conflict between the ruler and the ruled, but also stands out as a veritable testimony of the African struggle to become an integral part of the city. The thesis traces what, initially, began as an "externalised" struggle by Africans against the forced removals from the city and Ndabeni Location to Langa and attempts to establish the continuities of this struggle within the township - i.e."internalised" struggle. African popular struggles in Langa predominantly centred around such issues as rents, railway fares, living conditions, restrictions on beer brewing and trading activities, the demand for direct municipal representation and the freedom of movement. The study explores the nature of the relationship that subsisted between the Langa residents and the Cape Town City Council and the internal social and political relations in the Langa community, paying particular attention to conflicting tendencies and the forms of resolution implemented. The thesis aims to highlight the fact that protest and resistance were the only weapons that empowered the Langa residents to fight against unilateral unpopular decisions by the local authority or central government. Flowing from these findings is an attempt to discover how the lived experiences of the Langa people, their frustrations, disillusionment, crises of expectations, translated into political consciousness and how these help us to explain the people's role in nationalist politics. Alternatively, this will help us to explain how political parties, the African National Congress (ANC), the Communist Party of South Africa (CPS A), and the National Liberation League (NLL) exploited the crises in civic matters to enhance or strengthen their support bases and with what results. DA - 1993 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 1993 T1 - Aspects of the social and political history of Langa Township, Cape Town, 1927-1948 TI - Aspects of the social and political history of Langa Township, Cape Town, 1927-1948 UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/21707 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/21707
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationMusemwa M. Aspects of the social and political history of Langa Township, Cape Town, 1927-1948. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Historical Studies, 1993 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/21707en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Historical Studiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherBlacks - South Africa - Cape Town - Langa - Politics and governmenten_ZA
dc.subject.otherGovernment, Resistance to - South Africa - Cape Town - Langaen_ZA
dc.titleAspects of the social and political history of Langa Township, Cape Town, 1927-1948en_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMAen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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