Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Literature and Philosophy in the subject history at the University of South Africa. This thesis examines the emergence and development of the African working class in Durban between 1959 and 1985. It begins with an analysis of Durban's economy, which significantly changed the lives of Africans. It shows how, during an era of economic boom, of intensive state repression and unparalleled social engineering, the state intervened in the shaping of the African community and created the oppressive setting of the African working class, which was to pose the greatest challenge to the established order.
