Tomlinson Report (South Africa)

Hendrik Verwoerd, Minister of Native Affairs.

The Tomlinson Report was a 1954 report released by the Commission for the Socioeconomic Development of the Bantu Areas, known as the Tomlinson Commission, that was commissioned by the South African government to study the economic viability of the native reserves (later formed into the bantustans).[1][2][3] These reserves were intended to serve as the homelands for the black population. The report is named for Frederick R. Tomlinson, professor of agricultural economics at the University of Pretoria. Tomlinson chaired the ten-person commission, which was established in 1950.[4] The Tomlinson Report found that the reserves were incapable of containing South Africa's black population without significant state investment. However, Hendrik Verwoerd, Minister of Native Affairs, rejected several recommendations in the report. While both Verwoerd and the Tomlinson Commission believed in "separate development" for the reserves, Verwoerd did not want to end economic interdependence between the reserves and industries in white-controlled areas. The government would go on to pass legislation to restrict the movement of blacks who lived in the reserves to white-controlled areas.

  1. ^ Giliomee, Hermann (2011). The Afrikaners: Biography of a People. Hurst.
  2. ^ Beck, Roger B. (2000). The History of South Africa. Greenwood. pp. 133–134.
  3. ^ Houghton, D. Hobart (January 1957). "The Significance of the Tomlinson Report" (PDF). Africa South.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).