Ciskei (redirected from Republic of Ciskei)

Ciskei (sĭskī`), former black "homeland" and nominal republic, SE South Africa. Surrounded by the Cape Province (in the portion that is now Eastern Cape) of South Africa, it consisted of two parcels of land, the larger one bordering the Indian Ocean to the southeast. The capital was Bisho. Ciskei was largely dependent on South Africa for economic support.

Under acts of the South African Parliament, land was set aside for blacks in pseudoindependent territories (originally called "Bantustans"), allegedly to allow blacks self-government and cultural preservation. Ciskei was designated for Xhosa-speaking people. In 1961, Ciskei became a separate administrative territory and in 1972 was declared "self-governing." During the 1970s Xhosa-speaking people were relocated to the homeland.

In 1981, Ciskei became the fourth homeland to be granted "independence" and subsequently its residents' South African citizenship was revoked. Ciskei, like all of the homelands, was not recognized as an independent nation by the international community. Even after the legal foundation of apartheid was largely struck down in 1991–92, the Ciskei government remained closely aligned with the South African government. In Sept., 1992, Ciskei police fired on a crowd of African National Congress demonstrators, killing 28 and wounding several hundred. South Africa took control of Ciskei in early 1994 after a coup by local police, and later that year, Ciskei and the other homelands were reincorporated into South Africa after the nation's first all-race elections.

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Ciskei

Former Bantustan, Republic of South Africa. Inhabited principally by Xhosa-speaking peoples, the Bantustan bordered the Indian Ocean and South Africa. In the late 18th century the Xhosa peoples living in the area came into conflict with European settlers; the ensuing wars resulted in the region's incorporation into the Cape Colony by the end of the 19th century. Ciskei became an administratively distinct territory within South Africa in 1961. In 1972 it was declared self-governing, with its capital at Bisho. In 1981 the South African government declared Ciskei to be independent, but its independence was not internationally recognized. In 1994, after the abolition of apartheid, Ciskei was reincorporated into South Africa as part of the new Eastern Cape province.

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Ciskei

(formerly) a Bantustan in SE South Africa; granted independence in 1981 but this was not recognized outside South Africa; abolished in 1993. Capital: Bisho