trănskīˈ, former black "homeland" and nominal republic, E South Africa. Transkei was bounded by the Great Kei River on the south, by the Indian Ocean on the east, by Natal on the north, and by Lesotho on the northwest. The capital and main city was Umtata.

Part of the Drakensberg Range was in W Transkei. Much of the former territory of the homeland is hilly or mountainous, and there is little good farmland. Most of the area's inhabitants speak a Xhosa language. Roughly two thirds of the Transkei's income was provided by the South African government, and all trade was conducted through South Africa.

History

In the 1830s and 40s the Transkei was the scene of fighting between European settlers and Africans over the possession of cattle and grazing land. Much of the territory was annexed in 1848 by Britain as Kaffraria, which in 1865 was joined to Cape Province. Transkei was separated from Cape Province in 1963 to become the first of ten black areas within South Africa that were allegedly internally self-governing. In 1976 Transkei became the first of the homelands to be granted "independence." The South African government then revoked the citizenship of its residents. Transkei's assembly controlled many internal matters, but its decisions were subject to the control of the South African government. From 1978 to 1980 territorial disputes prompted Transkei to sever diplomatic relations with South Africa. Like the other homelands, it was not recognized internationally as an independent state. In 1994, after a multiracial election, the establishment of a new South African government, and the end of apartheid, Transkei and the other nine homelands were reabsorbed into South Africa.

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