1828
Ordinance 50 repeals key Khoikhoi labour restrictions
Ordinance 50 removed important pass and residence restrictions on Khoikhoi and free people of colour in the Cape, although coercive labour structures and discrimination persisted.
View in timelineOrdinance 50, promulgated in 1828, removed important pass and residence restrictions on Khoikhoi and free people of colour in the Cape. It also strengthened formal recognition of their ability to enter labour contracts, although coercive labour structures, unequal access to land and colonial discrimination persisted.
Significance
The ordinance widened formal legal mobility and contract rights without ending the broader system of colonial labour and racial control.
Why it matters
The ordinance widened formal legal mobility and contract rights for Khoikhoi and free people of colour, but did not end unequal labour relations, land dispossession or colonial racial control.
Perspective notes
The reform followed sustained criticism of pass and labour restrictions. Its legal changes mattered to Khoikhoi and other free people, while employers and officials continued to pursue control through contracts, courts, land policy and local administration.