Microsoft Word - PhD Thesis Final.pdf - University of Limpopo ...

state, the entire land referred to above was under the ZAR government,
even if most polities were still independent while some of them were not
even aware of the claims of the new Boer state. It was just a matter of
time before these independent Black polities could feel the impact of the
ZAR state when it gradually tried to consolidate its authority, especially
by land acquisition.
Until the latter half of the 1860s, the authority and control of the ZAR over
the Black population of the Transvaal was extremely devolved. The forms
of exaction and administration were shaped as much and probably more
by local exigencies and possibilities as they were by state policy, and
local officials and notables retained considerable autonomy of central
direction. In the late 1860s and early 1870s, however, while the authority
and unity of the ZAR remained far from secure, some attempts were
made to enforce a more centralised control over the state’s domain. After
weathering initial crises of secession and civil war, the ZAR state was
better placed to deal with Black issues such as raising revenue among
them, labour supply and land occupation.
One of the ZAR state’s problems which impacted on land was the
shortage of revenue. The fledgling state, unable to finance military
expeditions or the barest essentials of civil administration, used land as
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