Prior to the arrival of the European settlers in the 17th century the economy of what was to become South Africa was dominated by subsistence agriculture and hunting.[1]
In the north, central and east of the country tribes of Bantu peoples occupied land on a communal basis under tribal chiefdoms. It was an overwhelmingly pastoral economy and wealth was measured in the number of cattle men held.[citation needed] Population growth had created a land pressure that had seen the tribes move steadily from the origins in central east Africa.[citation needed]
In the southern and western parts of the country, San (Bushmen) peoples led nomadic lives based on hunting and the Khoikhoi (Hottentots) peoples led a pastoral existence.
In the first half of the 20th century, agriculture and mining were the largest parts of the South African economy.[2]
^Baten, Jörg (2016). A History of the Global Economy. From 1500 to the Present. Cambridge University Press. p. 318. ISBN 9781107507180.
^Boshoff, W. H.; Fourie, J. (2020), Boshoff, Willem H. (ed.), "The South African Economy in the Twentieth Century", Business Cycles and Structural Change in South Africa: An Integrated View, Advances in African Economic, Social and Political Development, Springer International Publishing, pp. 49–70, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-35754-2_3, ISBN 978-3-030-35754-2, S2CID 219077517
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