The 1922 Rand Rebellion was the only instance of worker protest in the twentieth century in which a modern state used tanks and military airplanes, as well as mounted infantry, to suppress striking workers. These circumstances were unprecedented in their own time and for most of the century. The compressed and intensely violent rebellion of twenty thousand white mineworkers in South Africa’s gold mines had several overlapping features. Within a matter of days—from 6 to 12 March—it went from a general strike to a racial pogrom and insurrection against the government of Prime Minister Jan Smuts. Throughout all these twists and turns, the battle standard remained, “Workers of the world unite and fight for a White South Africa!” Race and violence were integral features of South Africa’s industrial history, but they do not explain the moments when discrete groups of people chose to use them as weapons or bargaining tools. At the close of the First World War, for instance, South Africa’s white mine workers demanded a more comprehensive distribution of the privileges of white supremacy, but in a manner that was both violent and contentious. Consequently, South Africa’s immediate postwar period became one of the most violent moments in its history.

1922 年的兰德叛乱是 20 世纪唯一一次现代国家动用坦克、军用飞机以及步兵镇压罢工工人的工人抗议事件。这些情况在他们那个时代以及本世纪的大部分时间里都是前所未有的。南非金矿中两万名白人矿工的压缩而激烈的暴力反抗有几个重叠的特征。在短短几天内——从 3 月 6 日到 12 日——它从总罢工演变成针对总理扬·斯穆茨 (Jan Smuts) 政府的种族屠杀和叛乱。在所有这些曲折中，战斗标准始终如一：“全世界无产者团结起来，为白人南非而战！”种族和暴力是南非工业史上不可或缺的特征，但它们并不能解释离散群体选择将其用作武器或讨价还价工具的时刻。例如，在第一次世界大战结束时，南非的白人矿工要求更全面地分配白人至上的特权，但方式既暴力又充满争议。因此，南非战后时期成为其历史上最暴力的时刻之一。