Gold Rushes

In the 19th century there were goldrushes worldwide, from California to Australia and Alaska people sought fortunes in a period of rapid colonial expansion. The same process happened in Africa, the first prospectors entered Swaziland in the 1880s and found gold at Forbes Reef and Pigg''s Peak in 1883/4. The find at Piggs Peak was particularly rich and people believed that this was El Dorado, the mythic mine that would make the finder and owners legendarily rich.

Although the top was exceptionally rich the rest of the mine was not. Other mines were also small and by 1895 it was clear that Swaziland was not going to be the tremendous source of gold that people dreamed of - that wealth was in Johannesburg, hundreds of kilometres away. However the lure of gold kicked off the colonial era in the country and caused the Swazi people to lose control of both the land and political independence. The British incorporated the country into their empire in 1902 as a protectorate. In 1907 they divided up the country into thirds: one third for the Swazi Nation, one third for colonial settler farmers and one third as Crown Land for future use. During the 20th century the Swazi Nation gradually regained more and more land and achieved political indepencece once more in 1968.