Transkei, meaning the area beyond [the river] Kei),
officially the Republic of Transkei, was an unrecognised state in the
southeastern region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994. It was a Bantustan - an
area set aside for black South Africans of Xhosa descent - and operated as a
nominally independent parliamentary democracy. Its capital was Umtata (renamed
Mthatha in 2004).
Transkei represented a significant precedent and
historic turning point in South Africa's policy of apartheid and "separate
development"; it was the first of four territories to be declared
independent of South Africa. Throughout its existence, it remained an
internationally unrecognised, diplomatically isolated, politically unstable de
facto one-party state, which at one point broke relations with South Africa,
the only country that acknowledged it as a legal entity. In 1994, it was
reintegrated into its larger neighbour and became part of the Eastern Cape
province.
The South African government set up the area as one of
the two homelands for Xhosa-speaking people in Cape Province, the other being
Ciskei; it was given nominal autonomy in 1963. Although the first election was
contested and won by the Democratic Party, whose founder Chief Victor Poto was
opposed to the notion of Bantustan independence, the government was formed by
the Transkei National Independence Party. Of the 109 members in the regional
parliament, 45 were elected and 64 were held by ex officio chiefs.
The entity became a nominally independent state in
1976 with its capital at Umtata (now Mthatha), although it was recognised only
by South Africa and later by the other nominally independent republics within
the TBVC-system. Chief Kaiser Daliwonga Matanzima was Transkei's Prime Minister
until 1979, when he assumed the office of President, a position he held until
1986.
The Transkei consisted of three disconnected sections
with a total area covering 45.000 km². The large main segment was bordered by
the Umtamvuna River in the north and the Great Kei River in the south, with the
Indian Ocean and the Drakensberg mountain range, including parts of the
landlocked kingdom of Lesotho, served as the eastern and western frontiers. A
further two small segments occurred as landlocked isolates within South Africa.
One of these was in the north-west, along the Orange River adjoining
south-western Lesotho, and the other in the uMzimkhulu area to the east, each
reflecting colonially designated tribal areas where Xhosa speaking peoples
predominated. A large portion of the area was mountainous and not suitable for
agriculture.
Conflicting data exist about the number of
inhabitants. According to the South
African Encyclopaedia, the total population of the Transkei increased from
2.487.000 to 3.005.000 between 1960 and 1970. An estimate of 1982 puts the
number at about 2,3 million, with approximately 400,000 citizens residing
permanently outside the territory's borders. Fewer than 10.000 individuals were
of European descent, and the urbanisation-rate for the entire population was
around 5%.
I had noticed on Facebook that stamps from the four
homelands were still valid for use in South Africa, so I began buying old
stamps to put on envelopes. When the homelands issued their stamps (until 1994)
the postal rates were much lower than now so only small values were issued.
This means that a lot of stamps are needed to make up the current tariff. On
the positive side it makes a very attractive envelope.
I sent the cover to the post office in the former
capital city of Transkei, Mthatha, and it arrived back in almost three months.
The envelope was damaged and repaired with tape.
Date sent: 28 April 2017
Date postmark: 30 May 2017
Date received: 21 June 2017
Number of days: 54
Envelope in collection: 185
