1908
Natal’s Native Beer Act Enables Municipal Beer Monopolies
In 1908, Natal legislation authorized municipalities to monopolize the brewing and sale of African beer. Durban opened its first municipal beer hall in 1909 and used beer revenue to finance hostels, policing, and other parts of a racially segregated system of urban administration. The monopoly displaced or criminalized many African women who earned income by brewing and selling beer. Known as the Durban System, it turned an indigenous drink into both a revenue source and an instrument for controlling Black urban labor.
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Sources
These sources support the dating and historical claims in this entry.
Whelan, Debbie. “eMatsheni: The central beer hall as social and municipal infrastructure in twentieth century Pietermaritzburg.” Historia 60(1), May 2015, pp. 75–91.
Kotze, Steven, and Bonginkosi Zuma. “Navigating Freedom: Social Cohesion Policies and the Democratic Cultural Landscape of Durban’s Liberation Heritage Route.” Museum International 69(1–2), 2017, pp. 98–113 (Durban System discussion, p. 106).
La Hausse, Paul. “The Struggle for the City: Alcohol, the Ematsheni and Popular Culture in Durban, 1902–1936.” University of Cape Town, 1984.
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