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date: 06 February 2025

Beer in Africalocked

Beer in Africalocked

  • Anne Kelk MagerAnne Kelk MagerDepartment of Historical Studies, University of Cape Town

Summary

Beer is a powerful substance, in itself or in the way it is used. It can bring communion with the ancestors, lead to wealth or ruin, generate commensal feelings of well-being, and fuel the dark atrocities of war. Environmental and social conditions shape brewing and consumption rituals and regimes of control. In southern African settler societies, prohibition and restriction on beer brewing and consumption were aimed at the supply of sober labor for the capitalist economy and the generation of revenue from government-owned beer halls for the administration of Black townships and mining compounds. As large numbers of women came to depend on incomes from home brewing and multinational brewers pursued profits in the lucrative African market, consumption increased. Brewers used their economic power to influence government policy and keep regulation at bay. In the late 20th century, competitive beer wars led to increasing concentration and domination of the African market by a handful of players. Weak regulatory regimes led to the abuse of corporate power, and in the genocidal civil wars in Central Africa, multinational brewers became complicit in fueling the conflict. In the new millennium, social pressures and technological developments led to the introduction of a new generation of drinks brewed from traditional grains.

Subjects

  • Cultural History
  • Economic History
  • Social History

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