Home, Farm and Shop: The Migration of Madeiran Women to South Africa, 1900–1980

Abstract

Madeiran immigration into South Africa from the beginning of the1900s to the 1970s followed a classic male-led migration pattern. It was virtually unheard of for a woman to migrate without a formal attachment to a man. The history of Madeiran migration has therefore usually under-stated the experience of women in the migration chain. This article attempts not only to recover some of the historical experience of women immigrants from Madeira to South Africa but to place gender relationships at the centre of the migration process. Initially they provided the labour and domestic continuity that made the release of young men from the peasant economy possible. After joining men in South Africa, they continued to provide crucial labour, stabilised the community, and became the most important bearers of cultural identity. The first section of the article focuses on male departure. It analyses the conditions in the Madeiran household which made migration both possible and desirable. The second section discusses the migration of women to South Africa through various forms of marriage and family reunification. The final section concentrates on the immigrant family. It examines patriarchal households, the isolation of women, the influence of the Catholic Church and the often unrecognised role of women's labour in establishing family businesses.