The Economic Geography of Swaziland

Abstract

arose once again in the Press concerning the South African Protectorates, and the question of their transfer to the Union. I know little of conditions in either Basutoland or Bechuanaland, but I would like to bring forward some aspects of the geography of Swaziland, in the hope that they may perhaps serve to clarify the issue, at least where this Protectorate is concerned. The territory is about the size of Wales, and since I cannot hope to deal with all the problems, I propose to survey briefly the physical geography and historical development of Swaziland in relation to its economic development. It is this economic aspect which is likely to figure most prominently if and when terms for the transfer of the Protectorate to the Union are drawn up. Swaziland lies about 3 degrees south of the Tropic of Capricorn. On travelling through or flying over the country one is struck by the four welldefined topographical units into which the region falls. These physical divisions are determined mainly by geological structure, and themselves give rise to variations in the natural vegetation. Firstly, in the west the rim of much dissected mountainous country varying from 4000 to 6000 feet above sea-level is known as the high veld. Secondly, east of the high veld there is a perceptible drop into the deep valleys of the broken, rolling middle veld, which lies between 4000 and 1500 feet above the sea. This region is transitional to the third division, the low veld, which stretches eastward, a monotonous practically level plain across which thorn and bush dominate the landscape; this region is sometimes termed the bush veld. This last area varies from 800 to 2ooo feet above sea-level, while its continuity towards the sea is broken by the fourth division, the sheer face of the Lebombo rising abruptly from the bush-clad flats to 2500-3000 feet above the sea and forming a continuous range along the eastern boundary of Swaziland, breached only by the narrow but conspicuous gorges worn by the rivers, practically all of which drain eastward to Delagoa Bay. The rivers differ from most South African rivers in one respect which is of great importance-the main Swaziland rivers are perennial, and only those tributaries which rise within the bush veld dwindle to a string of muddy puddles during the dry season (Map i). From the geological map it appears that most of Swaziland is built of ancient granitic rocks (Map 2). Since very little is known concerning the geology I do not claim that this map is accurate. The mountainous region on the northwest border is a geological unit, and although the old rocks do not all lie within Swaziland, it is convenient to discuss the mountainland as a whole. From the map one can trace the relationship of the Barberton mountainland to the geology of the surrounding areas. It is a fragment of a series of sedimentary strata, presumably Pre-Cambrian in age, surrounded by the Old Granites, which cover immense areas in Southern Africa. The Pre-Cambrian beds reappear in the south of Swaziland. The Barberton mountainland is a most important physiographic element, for it has a marked influence on