"The sea is in our blood" : community and craft in Kalk Bay, c. 1880-1939

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dc.contributor.advisorBickford-Smith, Vivianen_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorHarries, Patricken_ZA
dc.contributor.authorKirkaldy, Alanen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2016-11-10T14:15:34Z
dc.date.available2016-11-10T14:15:34Z
dc.date.issued1989en_ZA
dc.descriptionBibliography: pages 220-234.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThis thesis examines the historic right of the Kalk Bay fishermen to occupy the area and exploit the marine resources of False Bay. It attempts to provide the historical base absent from anthropological, and other, works which have focussed on the area. In recent years, the local handline fishing community has faced destruction by a complex web of political, social and economic forces. This work shows that these have simply been new challenges in a long line, albeit the most serious, faced by the fisherfolk of Kalk Bay. The study begins with an examination of human settlement, and the origins of fishing, in Kalk Bay to the late nineteenth century. This is followed by an analysis of the organisation of the local fishing industry at the close of that century. These two chapters provide the backdrop for discussion of the commercialization of the local fishing effort, between 1890 and 1913. The fourth chapter deals with the establishment of the modern fishing industry in Kalk Bay, from 1913 to 1939. The thesis concludes with a brief examination of the community to the 1980s. Major findings are that the local fishermen of today are the product of a cultural and economic tradition stretching back thousands of years. By the late nineteenth century, the rhythm of life in the area was being rapidly changed by its incorporation into the social and economic orbit of greater Cape Town. Over the main period covered by the thesis, the local fishermen, as a result of their race and class, occupied the weaker position in conflicts with local authorities, the state and capital. However, they were able to fight dependence upon a single buyer and growing pressures for their proletarianisation and managed to maintain their independence as petty-commodity producers. The independence of the fisherfolk was nevertheless maintained at the expense of increasingly depressed local markets for their fish. Since the Second World War, the escalating political, social and economic subordination of the fisherfolk has progressively threatened the existence of the handline fishing industry and the fishing community at Kalk Bay. However, should racial ideologies and commitment to monopoly capitalization of the industry be set aside by the state, the Kalk Bay fisherfolk could survive, albeit in altered and diminished circumstances.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationKirkaldy, A. (1989). <i>"The sea is in our blood" : community and craft in Kalk Bay, c. 1880-1939</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Historical Studies. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22499en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationKirkaldy, Alan. <i>""The sea is in our blood" : community and craft in Kalk Bay, c. 1880-1939."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Historical Studies, 1989. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22499en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationKirkaldy, A. 1989. "The sea is in our blood" : community and craft in Kalk Bay, c. 1880-1939. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Kirkaldy, Alan AB - This thesis examines the historic right of the Kalk Bay fishermen to occupy the area and exploit the marine resources of False Bay. It attempts to provide the historical base absent from anthropological, and other, works which have focussed on the area. In recent years, the local handline fishing community has faced destruction by a complex web of political, social and economic forces. This work shows that these have simply been new challenges in a long line, albeit the most serious, faced by the fisherfolk of Kalk Bay. The study begins with an examination of human settlement, and the origins of fishing, in Kalk Bay to the late nineteenth century. This is followed by an analysis of the organisation of the local fishing industry at the close of that century. These two chapters provide the backdrop for discussion of the commercialization of the local fishing effort, between 1890 and 1913. The fourth chapter deals with the establishment of the modern fishing industry in Kalk Bay, from 1913 to 1939. The thesis concludes with a brief examination of the community to the 1980s. Major findings are that the local fishermen of today are the product of a cultural and economic tradition stretching back thousands of years. By the late nineteenth century, the rhythm of life in the area was being rapidly changed by its incorporation into the social and economic orbit of greater Cape Town. Over the main period covered by the thesis, the local fishermen, as a result of their race and class, occupied the weaker position in conflicts with local authorities, the state and capital. However, they were able to fight dependence upon a single buyer and growing pressures for their proletarianisation and managed to maintain their independence as petty-commodity producers. The independence of the fisherfolk was nevertheless maintained at the expense of increasingly depressed local markets for their fish. Since the Second World War, the escalating political, social and economic subordination of the fisherfolk has progressively threatened the existence of the handline fishing industry and the fishing community at Kalk Bay. However, should racial ideologies and commitment to monopoly capitalization of the industry be set aside by the state, the Kalk Bay fisherfolk could survive, albeit in altered and diminished circumstances. DA - 1989 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 1989 T1 - "The sea is in our blood" : community and craft in Kalk Bay, c. 1880-1939 TI - "The sea is in our blood" : community and craft in Kalk Bay, c. 1880-1939 UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22499 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/22499
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationKirkaldy A. "The sea is in our blood" : community and craft in Kalk Bay, c. 1880-1939. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Historical Studies, 1989 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/22499en_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.otherFishers - South Africa - Kalk Bayen_ZA
dc.title"The sea is in our blood" : community and craft in Kalk Bay, c. 1880-1939en_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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