The making of the white working class : class experience and class identity in Johannesburg, 1890-1922

Abstract

This thesis looks at the economic, social and political processes that shaped the lives of'Johannesburg's white working class between the beginning of deep level mining on the Witwatersrand and the Rand Revolt of 1922. It examines four related topics: white working class families, working class accommodation, the constitution of social networks and the problem of unemployment. It is maintained in this thesis that white working class experience in Johannesburg had an important role in fostering a sense of community between English and Afrikaner workers and their families. It is argued here that the sense of community and identity that workers' developed in the three decades that elapsed between 1890 and 1922 is a necessary element to understand English and Afrikaner workers solidarity and organisation during the 1922 Rand Revolt. (Abbreviation abstract)