1872 - Black Prosperity

In 1872, after a long political struggle, the Cape Colony attained a degree of independence from Britain, and all three branches of the state’s government were under local control. It stimulated a new political awareness among Cape residents of all backgrounds, and most notably, there was a rapid growth in Black political consciousness. The new government reaffirmed their commitment to treat Black African and Coloured people as “fellow-subjects with white men” and held its non-racial nature as one of its core ideals, part of its new constitution. 

The number of Blacks in the Cape Colony significantly increased between 1872 and 1894. As Black farmers became more prosperous and more Blacks became literate clerks and teachers, many became qualified to vote. New laws affecting voting qualifications and taxes also stimulated more-vigorous Black participation in electoral politics after 1884. New political and educational organizations came into existence, as did the first Black newspapers and Black-controlled churches.