Die armblanke-vraagstuk in Port Elizabeth, 1916 - 1934: 'n verkennende studie

Abstract

Two factors were mainly responsible for the impoverished rural Afrikaner's trek to the city, namely rural impoverishment and urban industrialisation. Most of the poor whites were unskilled or semi-skilled workers. White unemployment was rife in Port Elizabeth during the 1920's and 1930's. Only a small percentage of the whites owned their own homes. Overcrowding was a common phenomenon. Korsten and Sidwell was in actual fact one big slum. The health conditions were shocking. Community poverty also adversely affected the urban Afrikaner as regards education. Many impoverished Afrikaners in the city thus developed a feeling of inferiority.