Strangulation of a port: East London, 1847-1873

Abstract

East London was established as a port less than 30 years after the creation of Port Elizabeth. The geographic and climatic advantages which East London had over Algoa Bay could have allowed it to develop into the major port for the Eastern Cape. Peculiar political circumstances, however, strangled East London's growth during its initial three decades so that by 1870, when prosperity at last came its way, it was already too late to make up the leeway. This article examines the obstructions to the growth of East London's trade during this important foundation period and attempts to explain why it was doomed from the start to be a port of only secondary importance.