Early protest by black South Africans was both strengthened and weakened by its indigenous nature. Ties to the land and existent social structures provided the basis for early identity and organization, but these were largely divided by persistent language, regional, and ethnic distinctions, and as elsewhere even more broken up by dispersion. Only as white rule and a unified state were consolidated fully did black South Africans find commonality in their experiences. Crosslanguage, cross-ethnic, and cross-class identity emerged, as did more united mobilization. Contacts with African-American activists and growing industrialization and urbanization continually reinforced black South Africans' efforts. Divisions remained, but were gradually eclipsed by racial identity and action in opposition to white rule, to which state authorities were forced to respond.

Consolidation of Racial Identity and Protest

Indigenous resistance to white domination predates the formal establishment of a unified South African state. Africans often either fought or sought to escape from the imposition of white rule and exploitation after the arrival of the Dutch and later the British. Africans north of the Kei River waged war against the British during the nineteenth century, a conflict resulting in considerable bloodshed. Most notably, in 1879 an entire British regiment was defeated by the Zulus. In that same year, the “semi-political” Native Education Association was founded, with one of its early presidents also serving as editor of the Isigidimi Sama Xhosa newspaper.