The potato boycott of 1959 was a consumer boycott in

Bethal Bethal () is a farming town in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The farms in the region produce maize, sunflower seeds, sorghum, rye and potatoes. The town lies east of Johannesburg on the N17 National Route. History The town originated on an old farm ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

during the

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

era against slave-like conditions of potato labourers in

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

. The boycott started in June 1959 and ended in September 1959. Prominent figures of the movement included

Gert Sibande Richard "Gert" Sibande (born 1907 near Ermelo, Mpumalanga, died 1987) was a South African political activist. He was one of the ANC co-accused to stand trial in the treason trial of 1956-61 alongside Nelson Mandela and 154 others. Sibande played a ...

, Ruth First, Michael Scott and

Henry Nxumalo Henry Nxumalo (1917 – 31 December 1957), also known as Henry "Mr Drum" Nxumalo, was a pioneering South African investigative journalist under apartheid. Early life He was born in 1917 in Margate, Natal, South Africa, and attended the Fasca ...

Events leading up to potato boycott

A participant of the potato boycott in

reported that young boys were taken to potato farms after committing

Pass Law Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to: Places *Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland * Pass, Poland, a village in Poland *Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see List of straits *Mountain pass, a lower place in a mountai ...

offences. Their clothing was taken away and given sacks to wear as clothing. They slept on concrete floors and used their hands to dig the potatoes due to a lack of resources. The boys were beaten with sjamboks by the foremen and many of those who died were buried on the fields without reporting the death to the relatives of the deceased. Community leaders then decided to boycott the potatoes from Bethal farms In the 1940s, a prominent leader

played an important role in organising and revealing the conditions of labourers in Bethal. His findings after going undercover as a potato farmworker in Bethal were revealed in the ''New Age''/''The Guardian'' with assistance from journalist Ruth First and Michael Scott in 1947. In 1952, ''Drum magazine''s

also published an article reporting unsatisfactory working conditions on Bethal farms. ''Drum magazine'' journalists came into contact with a collection of documents and trial cases of beatings that occurred in the 1940s, this also included the case of a worker who had been beaten to death in 1944.

Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd (; 8 September 1901 – 6 September 1966) was a South African politician, a scholar of applied psychology and sociology, and chief editor of ''Die Transvaler'' newspaper. He is commonly regarded as the architect ...

dismissed these findings in Parliament and described it as 'a most unjust attack by unwarranted generalisations'.

Potato boycott

After the 1952 Defiance Campaign and the Congress of the People in 1955, the government prohibited most forms of political action and also banned many political leaders. The movement turned to boycotts as a method of resistance. Representatives of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

(ANC), the South African Congress of Trade Unions,

South African Indian Congress The South African Indian Congress (SAIC) was an organisation founded in 1921 in Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal), South Africa. The congress is famous for its strong participation by Mahatma Gandhi and other prominent South African Indian figures during ...

(SAIC), South African Coloured Peoples Organisation/SACPO and the Congress of Democrats created a combined body called the

Congress Alliance The Congress Alliance was an anti-apartheid political coalition formed in South Africa in the 1950s. Led by the African National Congress, the CA was multi-racial in makeup and committed to the principle of majority rule. Congress of the People ...

. The Congress Alliance aimed to initiate a boycott strategy in the struggle for equality in

. Consumer boycotts were popular as there was less victimisation compared to other forms of resistance. Other boycotts included the 1957 Alexandra bus boycott,

Beer Hall Boycott The Beer Hall Boycott of South Africa was a women-led national campaign of boycotting municipal beerhalls. According to the Native Beer Act of 1908 it was illegal for women to brew traditional beer. Police raided homes and destroyed home brewed li ...

as well as 'Dipping tanks' which was initiated by women in Natal. On Friday, 26 June 1959 the

South African Congress of Trade Unions The South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) was a national trade union federation in South Africa. History The federation was established in March 1955, after right wing unions dissolved the South African Trades and Labour Council in 1954 to ...

, launched the national potato boycott in response to the unsatisfactory working conditions of labourers in Bethal in the Eastern Transvaal now known as

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

. Over 60, 000 people attended the launch of the boycott at Currie's Fountain in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

.Mac Maharaj. Reflections in Prison. African National Congress. Zebra, 2001. pg 170 The potato boycott of 1959 is regarded as one of the most successful boycotts supported by the ANC Many people, black and white, started boycotting potatoes, a staple to many people's diets. Setswannung Molefe, an ANC supporter from Alexandra Township in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

believed that: 'The Boer who farmed with potatoes had the habit of knocking down his 'lazy' labourers with his tracter. He did not bury them, instead, he used them as compost in his potato farm. We convinced that what we heard was true, because even the potatoes themselves were shaped like human beings. They were not completely round. Then we had to boycott potatoes...we argued that eating potatoes was the same as eating human flesh.' Due to the effects of the boycott, the government appointed a Commission of Inquiry into the labourers working conditions. Farmers on potato farms also started improving the conditions of the labourers on their farms. In August 1959 a leaflets were released by the Congress Alliance titled: 'Potato Boycott lifted. A victory for the people. A warning for the farmer.'The boycott was finally called off in September 1959. It gave people confidence to participate in other protests. In 1957, Congress Alliance initiated a mass boycott of

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

controlled businesses. Products listed included Rembrandt cigarette products, Senator Coffee, Braganza tea, Glenryck canned fish, Neptune canned fish, Laaiplek Farm Feeds and Protea Canned Fish.

International response

The consumer boycotts in South Africa gained international attention from anti-apartheid groups in Britain,

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and

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who also started boycotting Rembrandt cigarette products. A British boycott started in the 1950s. Chief Albert Luthuli and Duma Nokwe visited anti-apartheid supporters in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Chief Luthuli responded to a request from the Boycott Movement for a clear statement endorsing the British boycott. The statement was co-signed by G M Naicker, the president of the South African Indian Congress (SAIC), and Peter Brown of the Liberal Party. It stated: ‘Economic boycott is one way in which the world at large can bring home to the South African authorities that they must mend their ways or suffer for them … This appeal is therefore directed to the people of Great Britain to strike a blow for freedom and justice in South Africa.’ The statement and appeal became the founding statement of the Anti-Apartheid Movement.

Participants

* Ruth First *

Michael Scott (priest) Guthrie Michael Scott (30 July 1907 – 14 September 1983) was an Anglican priest and anti-apartheid activist, who joined in the defiance of the apartheid system in South Africa in the 1940s – a long struggle for social justice in that ...

*Mary Thipe *Dorothy Nyembe *

Florence Mkhize Florence Grace Mkhize (1932 – July 10, 1999) was an anti-apartheid activist and women's movement leader. Mkhize was usually called 'Mam Flo'. Mkhize was also involved in trade unions in South Africa, organizing for the South African Congress of ...

Thomas Nkobi Thomas Titus Nkobi (22 October 1922 – 25 September 1994) was a senior leader of the South African African National Congress (ANC) and a key figure in the Anti-Apartheid movement. Until his death he was the Treasurer General of the ANC and al ...

Organisations

ANC The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election installe ...

*South African Congress of Trade Unions *

*South African Coloured Peoples Organisation * Congress of Democrats *

References

{{Reflist

External links

*http://www.saha.org.za/oralhistory/narrative_on_the_bethal_potato_boycott_of_1959.htm *http://www.thesolomon.co.za/baard-frances.html Opposition to apartheid in South Africa Events associated with apartheid Civil disobedience Protests in South Africa 1959 in South Africa Boycotts of apartheid South Africa