The 1946 African Mine Workers' Strike: A Forgotten Uprising
The Story of South Africa: Empire, Apartheid, and Transformation — Fexingo HistoryPlay episode
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In August 1946, 100,000 black mine workers on the Witwatersrand downed tools in the largest strike in South African history. Led by African Mine Workers' Union president J.B. Marks, they demanded a minimum wage of 10 shillings a day and recognition of their union. The strike was crushed by Jan Smuts' government: police fired on pickets, 12 workers were killed, and over 1,200 were arrested. Yet the strike exposed the brutal conditions of migrant labor and forced the state to establish the Lansdowne Commission, whose findings documented malnutrition, low wages, and the pass system's role in controlling workers. This episode explores the strike's roots in wartime inflation, the color bar that reserved skilled jobs for whites, and the strike's legacy for the anti-apartheid movement. We also consider why this uprising has been largely forgotten, overshadowed by later events like the Defiance Campaign and the Treason Trial. #1946MineStrike #JBMarks #AfricanMineWorkersUnion #Witwatersrand #JanSmuts #LansdowneCommission #BlackLaborHistory #SouthAfrica #Apartheid #MigrantLabor #PassSystem #ColorBar #TradeUnionism #ForgottenHistory #FexingoHistory #History #SouthernAfrica #LaborHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
