Disease, Cattle, and Slaves: The Development of Trade between Natal and Madagascar, 187... - 1 views
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ions of South African trading relations with the rest of Black Af
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l222091943 on 26 Apr 23they are little information in which we find speaking about south Africa people trade and the rest of black Africa.
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, despite increasing evidence that they played a major role in both the formation and the erosion of African polities in the nineteenth
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First it examines the background and commercial impact of animal diseases and natural blights in Southern Africa in the late nineteenth cent
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ond, it analyzes the consequences of the subsequent cattle losses in South Africa, and notably Natal, by examining the huge demand that arose for imported cattle and the role of Madagascar as a major supplie
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, it sets the cattle import trade in the context of commercial relations in general between Natal and Madagascar in the period 1875-1
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The aim and object in life [for Africans] seems to be to accumulate cattle, rather than to accumulate money in the form of gold and silver; but in the ultimate analysis we see that cattle .. . takes the place of the banks
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in ancient time wealthy was not measured by how much money do you have but it was, measured by what you have in your yard and how many cattle's you have they believe that money was worthless than cattle's
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ir commercial impact has passed largely unremarked by historians, yet diseases were directly responsible in Natal for a marked stagnation in the cattle stock which, after increasing 24 percent between 1885 and 1889, fell by 8 percent in the following two yea
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Africa in 1896-1897, cattle diseases and other natural blights were ravaging stock and causing immense concern to farmers and political
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Cattle were also the primary, if not exclusive, form of capital accumulation for most Africans. Cattle diseases thus not only deprived African farmers of draft oxen to plow fields, supply manure, and transport goods, but also depleted their capital resources. -Kingon commented of the impact of East
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involvement by South African cattle merchants in the Malagasy slave trade.
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y diminishing rainfall. De Kiewet claims that between 1882 and 1925 South Africa suffered from a severe drought approximately every
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One prevalent cattle disease in the late nineteenth century was Redwater (Babesiosis) which first appeared in Natal in 1870-1871, having been introduced by infected cattle fro
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possible to maintain and the disease spread rapidly through Pondoland in the early 1880s to Kaffraria and the Cape Colo
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By 1890 it affected all regions of South Africa, although in the highlands of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal the
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.7 -Cattle mortality from Redwater was initially high, notable among imported European and Cape cattle, although it would appear that local stock developed a resistance to the disease following its most virulent phase in the summer of 1874
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During the 1870s Redwater was joined by "Quarter-evil" or "Sponsick," an allied disease that attacked mainly young cattle of between one and three years of ag
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entury.9 Another cattle disease prevalent in late nineteenth century South Africa was Lungsickness or bovine pleuropneumonia. Colenbrander claims that it was introduced in the 1850s
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traders of disposing of their cattle in small numbers to Africans as they travelled.10 Anthrax and nagana were also present in th
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s.11 In 1889 however, high cattle losses were caused by an outbreak of Fluke disease, known locally as "Slack" and elsewhere variously as Liver Rot, Coathe, Bane, and Sheep
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s of Lungsickness and to a persistent drought. The latter had led to the failure of crops in 1888, depleting winter forage and therefore lowering cattle resistance to parasites
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oxen in 1902 and 1903 - despite interruptions caused by the French imposition of a quarantine on all ships from Natal following the false rumor of an outbreak of plague at Durban. The influx of Madagascar cattle helped sustain the rapid rise in imports into Natal: in 1901 Africa, excluding South Africa, accounted for over one percent of Natal's total imports for the first time in fourteen years.35 East Coast Fever had the same general impact upon the South African economy as rinderpest, similarly generating a large demand for cattle imports.36 However, whereas Madagascar's geographical isolation saved it from rinderpest, the same was not true of East Coast fever. As Koch noted in his 1903 report : In Beira I was informed some time ago cattle were frequently brought there from German East Africa and Madagascar, and that the latter animals, especially ... from the South of the Island, soon became sick and died, while the cattle from the East African Coast and the Northern districts of Madagascar remained healthy.37 As soon as his findings became public, demand in South Africa for Malagasy cattle fell sharply, their value dropped, and imports plummeted. It would appear that following the spread of East Coast Fever, many cattle imported from Madagascar were ordered to be slaughte
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ath of stock - in the 1890 drought 100,000 cattle died in the Transkei alone - and the spread of malnutrition and disease.14 Severe droughts created particularly favorable conditions for th
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Southern Africa. The 1896 locust plague was also a major contributing factor in the rebellion that year in Bechuanaland, which had been particularly badly affected, as the main locust breeding ground was located on the edge of the Kalahari.15
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The cattle stock of South Africa was thus considerable enfeebled by 1896 when it was hit by
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maliland in 1889. Rinderpest subsequently spread rapidly south, reaching Uganda in 1890 and Zambia (Northern Rhodesia) by late 1892. The river Zambesi was the most effective barrier to its progress south, for the disease did not reach Zimbabwe (Southern
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Cape before the end of 1896 and in late November 1897 Cape Town w
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Consequently owners were frequently compelled to sell their cattle at ridiculous prises, rather than to keep them, and run
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Accentuated by the effects of the 1897 drought, the rinderpest epidemic of 1896-1897 wrought havoc with the cattle stock of South Africa. In Mafeking 95 percent and in the Transkei an estimated 90 percent of cattle were killed by rinderpest. Overall it has been estimated that rinderpest caused an 85 percent mortality among unprotected cattle. Even in areas where inoculation was adopted, as in most of Cape Colony, 35 percent of cattle perished. Due to a variety of factors, African losses were much higher than those sustain
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by 77 percent in 1897, compared to a decrease for white-owned stock of 48 percent. Subsequently white owned stock, increased although in 1898 the number of African-owned cattle decreased by a further 34 percent: Thus whereas Africans in Natal possessed 494,402 cattle in 1896, just over double the total white owned stock, by 1898 their cattle stock had plummeted to 75,842, or just under half the number of cattle owned by whites.18 A second epidemic of rinderpest hit South Africa in 1901, its impact accentuated by the demand for cattle established by the South African War of 18991902. Moreover, it was closely followed by an outbreak of East Coast Fever, a disease that caused as much destruction to cattle, albeit over a more extended period of time, as rinderpest. East Coast Fever first attracted the atten
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uth Africa occurred at Komatipoort and Nelspruit in M
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00 - the first recorded cases in South Africa occurred at Komatipoort and Nelspruit in May 1902. Its progress south was slower than rinderpest ,but by 1904 it affected most of the Transvaal from where it spread to Natal. In 1910 it crossed into the Transkei and within a few years all of South Africa was affected. The similarity of East Coast Fever to Redwater initially led to it being termed "Rhodesian Redwater," an indication of its supposed origins. As with rinderpest, specialists found the disease difficult to contend with and theories on preventative measures and treatme
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19 Thousands
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this graph is showing the numbers of infected cattle's which was first recorded in at the end of 1900 which occurred in Komati port
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nfected imported cattle to the non-immune stock of the interior and to foreign cattle imports.21 In 1903 an inoculation program was started in Zimbabwe, while the following year the government of Natal voted ?2,000 to assist its farmers in the erection of cattle dipping tanks. Nevertheless by 1905 East Coast Fever had spread throughout all the lowveld districts of South Africa, and incidences of the disease were reported on the highveld at Marico, Germiston, and Boksburg. Although it appeared to vanish quickly, outbreaks reoccurred in 1906 in the Natal districts of Paulpietersburg, Ngotshe, Vryheid, Nongoma, and Mahlabatini. The disruption caused by the Zululand rebellion of that year - a revolt in which cattle losses might well have been a formative cause further facilitated the spread of the disease; by March 1910 it had reached Eastern Griqualand via the Umzimkulu district, and by 1912 had spread through the Transkei (where of 158,884 cattle inoculated against the disease by 1914 only onethird survived) to affect the
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The Import of Cattle into Natal The persistence in Natal of disease and natural blights ensured a chronic dearth of cattle and, as the latter constituted such an important element in the local economy, especially in agriculture and transport, imports were encouraged to build up depleted stock, notably in the periods 1875-1882, 1890-1892, and 1896-1909, as shown in Table 1, below. Some cattle were imported from as far afield as Argentina and Australia, but the nearest source of cattle considered undiseased was the large Indian Ocean island of Madagascar, separated by 200 miles from Mozambique at the closest point, and boasting a high bovine population. Madagascar rarely accounted for less than 80 percent of all oxen imported into Natal between 1875 and 1909, comprising 100 percent of such imports in 1878-80, 1884, 1890/91-1891/92, and 1904. Malagasy oxen first entered Natal in 1875, although their import was subsequently halted until 1878 due to the imposition of a strict quarant
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The persistence in Natal of disease and natural blights ensured a chronic dearth of cattle and, as the latter constituted such an important element in the local economy, especially in agriculture and transport, imports were encouraged to build up depleted stock, notably in the periods 1875-1882,
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s.27 Despite regular veterinary inspections which slowed the process of importation, the profits to be gleaned tempted seven Natal firms to engage in the trade in the perio
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Between 1883 and 1897 very few cattle were imported into Natal, Malagasy oxen only being imported in any number during the years 1890/91-1891/92 (a total of 175) when it is possible that only one Natal merchant, Beningfield & Son, was involved. Imports of
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the price o
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Bay, at the strikingly low price of ?1.6 a head.32 Likewise, Natal merchants looked to Madagascar to replenish their stocks. Oxen from Madagascar proved consistently cheaper than those imported from other sources, the sole exception being in 1902 when 673 oxen were imported from Britain at under ?2.00 a head. It was therefore to Madagascar, despite the history of cattle infections there, that Natal merchants turned. Moreover, the demand came from white and black farmers alike. Although the fortunes of African farmers were sharply reduced by cattle losses, forcing considerable numbers of African males to seek wage
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Accentuated by the effects of the 1897 drought, the rinderpest epidemic of 1896-189
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t of Natal's total imports for the first time in fourteen years.35 East Coast Fever had the same general impact upon the South African economy as rinderpest, similarly generating a large demand for cattle imports.36 However, whereas Madagascar's geographical isolation saved it from rinderpest, the same was not true of East Coast fever. As Koch noted in his 1903 report : In Beira I was informed some time ago cattle were frequently brought there from German
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associated with the cattle trade was the trade in hides. Colenbrander indicates that cattle mortality in Natal and adjoining regions boosted exports of cattle hides. The Natal Blue Books show that between 1871 and 1899, the export of ox and cow hides peaked in 1875, 1880, 1882, 1884-1886, 1889, 1891-1895, 1897, and 1899, while exports of sheep, goat, and calf skins peaked in 1874, 1885, 1894, and 1897. The dramatic rise in hide and skin exports in 1897 is evident reflection of the impact of rinderpest
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For example, Ballard claims that as a result of rinderpest and a locust plague, the maize and sorghum crop declined by between 24 and 98 percent in fifteen out of the twenty-four Natal administrative districts in 1895-1896.39 This combined with the rapid expansion or urban mining centers meant that by 1899 South Africa was generally no longer self-sufficient in food. Competition from foreign suppliers grew as freight rates declines due to improved transport facilities, in the form of ocean steam ships and the rapid extension inland of railways. The result was an increase in imported wheat, maize, vegetable and dairy products. Madagascar emerged as an important supplier of both maize, a staple food crop in Natal, and beans in the periods 1877-188
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In contrast to imports into Natal from Africa (excluding South African territories), Madagascar was a marginal consumer of Natal's exports to Africa - of which it generally accounted for less than 10 percent except in the decade 18781888, when it fell below 10 percent in 1884 and 1886-1887 due largely to the economic effects of the Franco-Merina War of 1882-1885.42 Madagascar's greatest share of Natal's exports was in 1878 (35 percent) and 1881-1883 (25, 22, and 29 percent respectively). Conditions in Natal also affected the region's export performance, particularly during the South African War of 1889-1902 when, in marked contrast to its imports from Africa (which rose appreciably), its exports to Africa declined. Indeed, conditions of trade for the entire period 1898-1904 were considered abnormal, the customs collector in 19
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n some cases at ridiculously low prices - on to markets already overstocked owing to the too sanguine expectations of merchants, all tended seriously to disturb the ordinary conditions of trade. Indeed, to so great an extent was this the case that only now ... can the trade of the country be considered to have reverted to anything like normal conditions. 43 Malagasy cattle comprised two breeds: a European humpless variety and the more common Zebu. Although the main grazing lands of the island were the southern and western plains where cattle-raising was the chief occupation of the Bara, Mahafaly, Antandroy, Tsimihety, and Sakalava peoples, most cattle exported from Madagascar were until the 1860s shipped from Merina-controlled regions, notably from the major port of Toamasina, on the north east coast, to the Mascarenes. Elsewhere cattle were exported to Mozambique, primarily from Mahajanga and Morondava on the west coast, whilst a multitude of small ports provided oxen to provision passing ships. The demand
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ered an average 20 percent loss in cattle en route compared to an average of ten days' sail from the southwest to Durban and a 9 percent cattle mortality en route.45 Second, by sailing to independent reaches of Madagascar, Natal merchants avoided middlemen costs imposed by the Merina. Taxes raised by local chiefs in the southwest of Madagascar varied in amount and value but, as Stanwood, the US consular agent in Morondava, noted in 1880, "Duties in Sakalava ports are paid per ship a fixed amount in and out, no two ports are alike in this respect, Tullia [Toliara] being the highest and Maintirano the lowest, but none come up to the 10 of the Hovas [ie. Merina]."46
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gascar. Rum constituted the greater part of such imports until the French takeover
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ottons, the staple export from Natal to Madagascar in the 1877-1894 period, were not only consumed as clothing, but also constituted the main commodity currency outside the main Merina-controlled commercial centers.47 The Malagasy market was of considerable importance to Natal, consuming never less than 23 percent of its cotton exports between 1887 and 1889, with a high point of over 60 percent from 1885 to 1888. This was particularly marked in plain and in printed and dyed piece goods; Madagascar accounted for over 75 percent of Natal's exports of plain cotton exports in 1878, 1883, and 1885-1888, and of its printed and dyed piece goods in 1882 and 1885-1889. All cotton pieces were re-exports from Britain or India. Ready-made clothing was also a considerable export to the island, almost rivaling cotton
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nd 1879 (to 16 and 19 percent respectively). Another significant export from Natal to Madagascar was arms, notably muskets and rifles, bullets/balls and gunpowder. In 1878 for instance, McCubbin, the largest importer of Malagasy oxen into Natal, sought a gunpowder export license from the Natal government for his Madagascar trade. The request was refused but export licenses for arms were granted during the 1880s Franco-Merina conflict. For example, in 1882 A.C. Sears, captain of the American bark the Sic
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,
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Cottons and arms imported into west Madagascar played a significant role in the Malagasy slave trade. First, arms were used by Malagasy slavers to procure slaves in the interior of the island. Second, arms and cottons formed the chief means of payment for slaves. For instance, 81 percent of the price paid for slaves in Toliara in the mid-1880s comprised gunpowder and arms, and approximately ?9,995 in arms and ?1,419 in cotton piece goods was imported annually into St. Augustin Bay to pay for slave exports.50 It is probable that the majority of the cottons and some of the arms were supplied from Natal, and the Natal merchants became involved in the slave trade. Madagascar played
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slave trade. Maintirano was the focal point for this trade, possibly 30 percent of all slave imports into Madagascar, and a good percentage of slave exports from the island, passing through the
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oned on Nosy Ve, which in 1887 was described as "nothing but a slaving station" serving R6union.54 Thus most of the Natal merchant houses involved in importing Malagasy oxen were involved directly or indirectly in the Malagasy slave trade. In this context it is highly interesting to note that both Beningfield and Snell were heavily involved in shipping workers and goods between Natal and Delagoa Bay and Inhambane, and were therefore quite possibly directly involved in the trans-Mozambique Channel slave traffic.55 However, the opportunity cost of establishing direct contact with the supplier could prove great, for the absence of an established group of commercial intermediaries created an unstable context for trade. After negotiating a passage through the reef that characterized the southwest coast, foreign traders contact
