This thesis is about the history of the muthi trade (the African traditional medicine trade) since it was introduced to Durban. "D'Urbanised Tradition" refers to the way the tradition surrounding muthi was urbanised in Durban, and how it has been viewed as a 'de-urbanising' element in the city. The thesis deals with the changes, over the past 100 years, to the tradition of muthi trading that were brought about both by actors 'within' the trade - what I refer to as 'restructuring of tradition' - and by interventions from 'external' forces (the state, the biomedical lobby and the conservationist lobby) - what I have termed 'the development of tradition'. Whereas many studies present (Zulu) tradition as something static, this study of "D'Urbanised tradition" focuses on change and process - why and how these changes to tradition have occurred. It comprises an analysis of how the dialectic between change and continuity within the muthi trade has been negotiated by strategic actors throughout the twentieth century. Emphasis is on the economic and political potentials of tradition and traditional medicine, and focus will be on changes in the muthi trade in Durban, using the Russell Street Muthi Market in the 1990s as a case study. Although 'restructuring' and 'development' are kept separate in this thesis, they denote interrelated processes whereby active agents strategically use tradition to achieve their ends. It is argued that the traditions surrounding muthi have been manipulated both as economic as well as political tools by the various vested interests in the trade. The thesis deals with one of the largest and most important sectors of South Africa's informal economy, and provides a historical analysis and case study of the strategies used by both traders and outside institutions involved in the trade. This is done by using the paradigm of 'tradition'. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1999.

Colonial Natal has become an increasingly popular field of investigation for historians of Southern Africa over the last decade or so. This trend is not premature or " irrelevant for, although not demonstrating" the economic impact of the diamond-mining industry of the Cape, or the gold-mining industry of the Transvaal, the political " economy of nineteenth century Natal played a significant role in forming patterns of South African social and economic development, as well as attitudes towards this, not least of all in terms of labour exploitation. The history of Natal during this period has been lacking by and large in what I consider to be two important aspects. Firstly, the colony, on the whole, has been neglected by Marxist and radical historians; and secondly, the history of women in South Africa, as yet a nascent area of research in itself, has not included an attempt to date, understand the lives of those women who lived along the south-east coastal belt of Southern Africa, between the Drakensberg and the Indian Ocean. This study strives to be a preliminary step in the direction of redressing this imbalance, by offering an introductory exposition on the political economy of women in colonial Natal. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1982.

The aim of this thesis is to bring together scattered information about the South African textile industry in an endeavour to give its growth some semblance of order up to 1948. The thesis commences by looking at the early colonial period, from the arrival of the 1820 Settlers and the first mill they established. As wool and cotton are basic commodities in the textile industry, these are dealt with from the arrival of Jan van Riebeeck in 1652, as is the colonial economy. The development of the industry is tabled , in chronological order, from 1822 covering where mills were sited and their founders. Two chapters are devoted to the leading pioneers in the industry - Harris, Mauerberger, Beier and Frame. The position of trade unions and the role of the state in the industry are looked at, subsequently. The thesis concludes with an assessment of the industry up to 1948. The question is posed as to the future of the textile industry in the South African economy. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

The midlands was the first area occupied and farmed by white settlers. It became the agricultural heartland of colonial Natal. Its farmers became politically and economically powerful. Their success rested on the construction of a community. They formed a close-knit society in which family links and a sense of belonging were constantly reinforced. The community was closed to blacks. A keen sense of class was developed which made it difficult for outsiders to gain admission. In order to become a member, new immigrants could enroll in some of the many social institutions which were created. It was these institutions which served to integrate the community, to order and police it, and to define it. The community was composed of people who all owned land. A sense of belonging to this community was achieved in a number of ways. Families were nurtured, becoming exceptionally important as institutions through which wealth was passed. They were places of social interaction as well as transgenerational units which ensured a continuous presence in the area. Amongst the institutions which the settlers founded were schools, societies, volunteer regiments. agricultural organisations and sports clubs. The institutions were consciously modelled on their metropolitan counterparts. Settler masculinity was nurtured in the institutions. It prescribed male behaviour according to the values of a land-owning settler gentry. This masculinity was disseminated throughout the colony, becoming a key feature of the colonial gender order. A strong emphasis was placed on being tough and fit, on obedience and teamwork. These were values which gave sport major popularity within the colony and which fueled a militarism that had a bloody and brutal climax in the 1906 rebellion. The institutions gave men power and served as networks by which white male prestige and influence was sustained . Although women were formally excluded. they occupied a central position within the family and made a major contribution to the reproduction of the community. White boys and men found the demands of settler masculinity exacting. Nevertheless. apart from providing them with powerful places in the colonial order, its emphasis on male companionship and fit bodies produced a powerful camaraderie. On the other hand. It stigmatised men who did not fit the mould, enforcing conformity as it did so. Settler society was able to renew and reproduce itself largely through its own institutions outside the sphere of the state. The expansion of the state in the twentieth century threatened settler institutions though they were successfully defended. The midland community and its families were not as homogenous as they liked to pretend. They maintained a facade by excluding and silencing dissidents. This process was a necessary part of the creation of a myth which elevated old Natal families to positions of social status and prestige. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1996.