Private ondernemerskap op die voorpos: ontginning van Soutpansberg se soutbron in die 19de eeu

Abstract

The saltpan of Soutpansberg in the Northern Transvaal was a popular spot for salt-mining during the later pan of the 19th century. This was brought about by the ever-increasing permanent population in the Soutpansberg district after the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand in 1886. Although the government of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek initially tried to exercise some sort of administrative control at the pan, it was not successful. Consequently the saltpan was leased to private entrepreneurs. It however soon became clear that the pioneers on the frontier suffered heavy losses because of this arrangement. But nothing could be done to alter the situation since the government was contractually bound to the undertaking. The author suggests that privatization under frontier conditions in the 19th century, did not always benefit the frontier community.