American Enterprise in South Africa

This is a study of the role of the United States' private sector in the development of South Africa. The account surveys more than two centuries of American enterprise and adds a historical dimension to the current debate on the propriety of America's presence in that troubled country. The text examines the different forms of enterprise - missionary, philanthropic, cultural and commercial - and assesses their individual impact on South Africa. It identifies the forces that impelled American entrepreneurs to go to South Africa and that affected the nature of their presence. It examines their roles as smugglers, prospectors and preachers and also as important pioneers in African education, urban health care for the poor, social work, peasant agriculture and mining technology. Americans are seen as agents of British imperialism, purveyors of key industrial and consumer technology, providers of crucial capital and pioneers in the communications and entertainment business.