ABSTRACT
Between the 1890s and the end of the First World War, the state was chiefly involved in mobilising the labour force for the mines, and with meeting the demands of white commercial farmers for wage labour. The main instruments of labour coercion during that period were the Glen Grey Act of 1894 and the Natives Land Act of 1913. The Native Laws Amendment Act of 1937 was the first piece of legislation that acknowledged the existence of permanent urban-dwellers, but it also provided for tighter influx controls. The United Party relaxed influx controls during the Second World War in response to the demand by manufacturing interests for labour. Broadly, Nationalist governments emphasised influx controls, while United Party policy was inclined towards permitting urbanisation. The strategy of stabilisation which developed after 1976 was based on the recognition of permanent African urban communities and the consequent attempt to establish appropriate political, fiscal and administrative structures.
