DIAMONDS.GOLD.AND BRITISHIMPERIALISM
continental Europe, and, particularly, Great Britain and grew to contain
the largest concentration of people in the entire region. Coal mines, dyna-
mite factories, and several smaller industrial establishments
produced
commodities required by the core mining industries, but the dominance of
mining resulted in policies favoring cheap imports rather than protective
tariffs to foster local textile and clothing industries. African and white
farmers supplied grain and meat to the new markets. The governments of
the Cape Colony and Natal vied with each other to share in the new wealth
by improving their port facilities and constructing railroads to Kimberley
and Johannesburg.
While these things were happening, Whites were also conquering Af-
rican communities that had previously preserved their independence in
Southern Africa. Throughout the region, Whites were incorporating Af-
ricans into a capitalist, white-dominated
economy. Many Africans were
obliged to pay rent, or to surrender a share of their produce, or to provide
labor services for the right to live on land that white people had appropri-
ated. In areas where the land was still in African hands, the white govern-
ments were obliging chiefs and headmen to acquiesce in the presence of