Ciskei

Ciskei, former black "homeland" and nominal republic, SE South Africa. Surrounded by the Cape Province (in the portion that is now Eastern Cape) of South Africa, it consisted of two parcels of land, the larger one bordering the Indian Ocean to the southeast. The capital was Bisho. Ciskei was largely dependent on South Africa for economic support.

Under acts of the South African Parliament, land was set aside for blacks in pseudoindependent territories (originally called "Bantustans"), allegedly to allow blacks self-government and cultural preservation. Ciskei was designated for Xhosa-speaking people. In 1961, Ciskei became a separate administrative territory and in 1972 was declared "self-governing." During the 1970s Xhosa-speaking people were relocated to the homeland.

In 1981, Ciskei became the fourth homeland to be granted "independence" and subsequently its residents' South African citizenship was revoked. Ciskei, like all of the homelands, was not recognized as an independent nation by the international community. Even after the legal foundation of apartheid was largely struck down in 1991-92, the Ciskei government remained closely aligned with the South African government. In Sept., 1992, Ciskei police fired on a crowd of African National Congress demonstrators, killing 28 and wounding several hundred. South Africa took control of Ciskei in early 1994 after a coup by local police, and later that year, Ciskei and the other homelands were reincorporated into South Africa after the nation's first all-race elections.

Former Bantustan, Republic of South Africa. Inhabited principally by Xhosa-speaking peoples, the Bantustan bordered the Indian Ocean and South Africa. In the late 18th century the Xhosa peoples living in the area came into conflict with European settlers; the ensuing wars resulted in the region's incorporation into the Cape Colony by the end of the 19th century. Ciskei became an administratively distinct territory within South Africa in 1961. In 1972 it was declared self-governing, with its capital at Bisho. In 1981 the South African government declared Ciskei to be independent, but its independence was not internationally recognized. In 1994, after the abolition of apartheid, Ciskei was reincorporated into South Africa as part of the new Eastern Cape province.

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Ciskei was a Bantustan in the south east of South Africa. It consisted of two separate blocks of land covering 2,970 square miles (7,700 km³), almost entirely surrounded by what was then the Cape Province and possessing a small coastline along the shore of the Indian Ocean.

Ciskei had a succession of capitals during its existence. Originally, Zwelitsha served as the capital with the view that Alice would become the long term national capital. However, it was Bisho (now spelled Bhisho) that became the capital until Ciskei's reintegration into South Africa.

Under South Africa's policy of apartheid, land was set aside for black peoples in self-governing territories. Ciskei was designated as one of two homeland or "Bantustan" for Xhosa-speaking people. Xhosa speakers were resettled there and to Transkei, the other Xhosa homeland.

The name Ciskei means "on this side of the Kei River", and is in contrast to the neighboring Bantustan of Transkei.

History

In 1961 it became a separate administrative region and in 1972 was declared self-governing under the rule of Lennox Sebe. In 1981 it became the fourth homeland to be declared independent by the South African government and its residents lost their South African citizenship. In common with other Bantustans its independence was not recognised by the international community.

Sebe was deposed in 1990 by Brigadier Oupa Gqozo, who ruled as a dictator despite an initial promise of a swift return to civilian rule. During 1991-92, many of the legal foundations of apartheid in South Africa were removed, undermining the rationale for the homelands' continued existence. The African National Congress pressed strongly for them to be reincorporated into South Africa. This was opposed by Gqozo and the other homeland leaders.

On 7 September 1992 the Ciskei Defence Force fired into a crowd of ANC members demanding the removal of Gqozo. 28 people were killed and hundreds injured in the Bisho massacre outside the Ciskei capital, Bisho.

Gqozo refused to participate in the multiracial negotiations to agree a post-apartheid constitution for South Africa and initially threatened to boycott the first multiracial elections. This became unsustainable and in March 1994, Ciskei government workers went on strike for fear of losing their job security and pensions in the post-apartheid era. The police then mutinied, prompting Gqozo to resign on 22 March. South African government took control of the homeland to ensure security until the elections could be held the following month.

Ciskei and all of the other homelands were reincorporated into South Africa on 27 April 1994, after the first post-apartheid elections. Along with Transkei, it became part of the new Eastern Cape Province. Its capital became the capital of the Eastern Cape Province.

See also

• Heads of State of Ciskei

Books on Ciskei

• Mager, A.K. (1999) Gender and the Making of a South African Bantustan: A Social History of the Ciskei, 1945-1959, Heinemann.
• Switzer, L. (1993) Power and Resistance in an African Society: The Ciskei Xhosa and the Making of South Africa, University of Wisconsin Press.

External links

• Ciskei - General Information
• African Studies Quarterly
• South African history site
• WHKMLA site
• Creation of tribalism in Ciskei