CHAPTER
4
Diamonds,Gold, and
British Imperialism,
1870-1910
After 1870, the rate of change in many parts of Southern Africa
accelerated dramatically under the impact of both external and
internal forces. The peak of British imperialism coincided with
the identification and exploitation of prolific deposits of dia-
monds and gold in the Southern African interior.
By the end of the century, Southern Africa had become, for
the first time, a significant contributor to the world economy.
Most of the capital invested in the mining industries came from
overseas, and a high proportion of the profits were absorbed in
Britain, continental Europe, and North America. Nevertheless,
the mineral discoveries stimulated major developments inside
Southern Africa. Deep in the interior, Kimberley, the city of
diamonds, and Johannesburg,
the city of gold, sprang up on
land that had been sparsely populated. Johannesburg, on the
Witwatersrand
(White Waters Ridge) in the Transvaal,
at-
tracted Africans from as far north as modern Tanzania and
people of European descent from North America, Australia,
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