An Influence of The African People on The Diamond Industry

“Diamonds are a girl’s best friend and a man’s worst enemy” (Anonymous). This quote from an anonymous author has a much deeper meaning than it may seem. Diamonds have long been associated with love, romance, and other feelings of compassion. This is because we have been mesmerized by what we see on television, which shows only the beautiful side of the jewel. The reality is that since we are so far away from where most diamonds are mined, Africa, we have been separated from the struggles these people have been through to get the diamond to its’ present level of prestige. In the 19th century when the first diamond was found in South Africa, it was the native Africans who fueled the rapid growth of the industry by infiltrating the mines and also giving labor to the foreign claim owners. During the colonial period, African workers organized unions and advocated for better work environments for themselves and future members of the African diamond industry’s workforce. Also during this era, Africa became the largest diamond producer in history, thanks to the De Beers Group mainly. Lastly, though it may seem that much of the diamond industry in Africa is run by foreigners, some natives such as Tokyo Sexwale have learned from past errors made and are making a future in the industry seem viable for Africans.

In 1867, the Eureka Diamond was found by Erasmus Jacobs near Kimberley in South Africa. This discovery led to a large influx of foreigners from Europe who wanted to take advantage of the potential wealth in the area. The number of Africans who came to mine was largely outnumbered by the white European diggers, but their impact was much more important to the industry. The first people to enter were the Griqua. The Griqua were a Europeanized African community that descended from relationships between the original Dutch settlers of the area and the native peoples (Cleveland 40). Their entry into the mines sparked countless other Africans to take a chance on the diggings, and led to the division of the area into specific claims. Claims were pieces of land that were owned by a certain person, and only that person could mine the area. Not every colony could afford their own claim though, so many provided their services to the white miners. The amount of labor they gave to these European claim owners would lead to an increase in diamonds found and put millions in the pockets of the claim owners while keeping wages to a minimum as many would work for just about anything at this stage. Their willingness to work and seek out the opportunities presented to them helped the industry advance quickly in the world and would not have been possible without the rush of African labor into Kimberley.

The colonial period in Africa began in 1885 with the Berlin Conference. This was a meeting of European powers in Africa that basically divided the country into territories. The main owners of African subsidiaries were Germany, France, Portugal, Great Britain, and Italy. Although, it took more than just circling the portion of Africa you wanted on the map to make it officially their possession. The country must show effective occupation or a sign that you actually inhabited the land and were willing to govern it. Once they occupied their piece of land, many countries opened up mines and searched for gold for themselves. They employed numerous Africans to work for them, many of whom were migrants to the area. Migrants were natives who journeyed to digging sites and signed contracts to work for a period of time on that lot. At one point, they accounted for 80-85% of the mines’ workforce (Cleveland 125). The conditions these people had to work in were awful, and they were willing to fight for more rights in their workplace. One way they did this was to organize unions. A union of workers was people with similar complaints who could protest for a specific change in an organized fashion. They would stop until they received what they wanted, and this worked because without migrant workers performing the grueling tasks that the white men wouldn’t do, for example towing wheelbarrows of dirt that covered the kimberlite deposits, the mining operation had to be stopped until they returned. These strikes led to increased wages and respect for migrant workers. These unions also helped heighten the standard of living for today’s workers. Many companies now house their employees in decent living units, as opposed to the borderline “jails” they had to deal with during the early parts of the era.

Despite all of the conflicts that arose due to disputes between native Africans and their European settlers, the working relationship that was formed between these two sets of people helped put Africa on the map, so to say. Without the investments of people such as Cecil Rhodes and the diamond monopoly known as the De Beers Group, Africa would be nothing but an ant in the world of diamond mining. Rhodes invested nearly $650,000 into a farm with diamond deposits owned by the De Beer Brothers, which became the second biggest overall in terms of diamond yield. This started the company that would eventually absorb countless others in the country to become the monopoly of the industry. Although monopolies are now illegal, back then, it was just what the country needed to become a booming member of the world. De Beers worked as a protagonist for good business in Africa, and worked against those who were greedy. An example of this is when the Dictator leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mobutu Sese Seko, shut down his country’s trade relationship with De Beers. This made his stones more precious and worth more. To counter this, De Beers put a large amount of similar stones from holdings into the market and drove down prices 40%. This put down the rebellion and in turn, led to De Beers reserving jobs for “historically disadvantaged” groups or the native people. They offered higher level positions to natives and instilled confidence in them. This built a trusting relationship between the company and Africans that can still be seen to this day as Mpumi Zikilala, a native of South Africa, was recently appointed to the company’s Board of Directors. Without the De Beers groups’ initiative to cultivate the diamond fields in Africa into a great success, Africa might still be figuring out how to become a leader in the world through mining.

Finally, as the country of Africa settles down after the colonial era and looks to learn from the successes and failures they endured, new leaders with African Origins have stepped up to show their people the future is bright. Diamonds will always be coveted in the world, so it is only right that some companies are owned by the people who inhabit the land where they were initially found. A man by the name of Tokyo Sexwale is working his way up the ladder of the mining company known as Trans Hex in Cape Town, South Africa. He is a former convict, having served time for his role during the Apartheid in South Africa. He fought for the rights of his people, and the desegregation of the country. He became a leader in the ANC or African National Congress, and acted as a premier or prime minister for a short time. He then decided to leave this post and invest in mines along the Orange River in 1998; the same place the Eureka Diamond was found over 100 years earlier. Through his success in this mining project, he acquired a substantial share of Trans Hex and now acts as the deputy chairman on the company’s board. His success story and journey from a rebel to political leader and finally stopping at a business leader should work as motivation for younger Africans. In the beginning they were only able to work as basically slaves in mines and now they can have the attainable dream of running a thriving company in the diamond industry. This shows that there is hope for Africans and their future successes will take their rightful place in the diamond industry.

Overall, I believe that Africans have worked hard in the past to shape the diamond industry. They helped spark the surge of the industry after the initial discovery of African diamonds by providing their services to foreigners. During the colonial period, they fought for better working conditions for themselves and a more organized work force, which drove Africa to become the largest diamond manufacturer in history. De Beers Group can be thanked for pushing Africa to where it is today, in part due to their willingness to fight for the natives and also acceptance of the need for better work environments. Currently, the post-colonial period is full of aspiring Africans who are driven by their past struggles to make a name for their continent in the industry. They say that “Diamonds are forever”, but so is the impending influence of the African people on the diamond industry.