The 1930 Land Apportionment Act made it illegal for Africans to purchase land outside of established Native Purchase Areas in the region of Southern Rhodesia, what is now known as Zimbabwe.[1] Before the 1930 act, land was not openly accessible to natives, but there were also no legal barriers to ownership.[1] The Act was passed under British colonial rule in an attempt to prevent a loss of government authority over those native to the region.[1]
The Act led to the eventual overpopulation of Native Reservations, and limited African access to quality land that resulted in large economic and social inequality.[2] The consequences of The Land Apportionment Act of 1930 can be seen in the legislation passed to address the issues it created, such as the Native Land Husbandry act of the 1950s, that also enforced land segregation and limited native opportunities in Southern Rhodesia.[2] Post independence, land reform continues to maintain its salience in Zimbabwe, as the current administration works to redefine land ownership in the twenty-first century.[3]
- ^ a b c Mujere, Joseph; Mseba, Admire (2019). "The Politics of African Freehold Land Ownership in Earlycolonial Zimbabwe, 1890–1930". African Economic History. 47 (1): 32–53. doi:10.1353/aeh.2019.0002. ISSN 2163-9108. S2CID 204427986.
- ^ a b Machingaidze, Victor E.M. (1991). "Agrarian Change from above: The Southern Rhodesia Native Land Husbandry Act and African Response". The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 24 (3): 557–588. doi:10.2307/219092. ISSN 0361-7882. JSTOR 219092.
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