APARTHEID IN
SOUTH AFRICA
1948-1994
Background/Introduction
• After the settlement of the Dutch in the Cape,
the British came to South Africa and conquered
them.
• As a result of the defeat, the Dutch established
two colonies: Orange Free State and Transvaal
(both free of British rule).
• However, there was an invasion by the British in
the Boer States as a result of the discovery of
diamonds and gold (a start of the Anglo-Boer
War – 1899 to 1902).
• The growth of mining and industrialization
resulted to many poor Blacks starting to work
for Whites.
• Only the British colonies (the Cape and Natal)
were less racist.
• As a result of the Native Lands Act of 1913 which saw Blacks
being allocated into clustered Bantustans, the natives needed
passports to gain entry into White-only reserved areas.
• This led to mine disputes between the Blacks and Whites (like the
Rand Rebellion in 1922).
• This was a colour bar (the segregation of people of different
colour or race, especially any barrier to black people participating
in activities with white people) but eventually transitioned to
apartheid.
• Hence, because of strong Afrikaner nationalism, apartheid
emerged.
Apartheid
In 1948, South Africa had a new
government, the National Party
Elected by a small majority in a whitesonly election, its victory followed a steady
increase in black migration to the
country's towns
This migration had led to a fear of black
domination among the minority whites the Afrikaners, and the English-speaking
community, mainly of British descent
Former flag of SA and a symbol of apartheid
used from 1928-1994
Discrimination of Blacks by White policemen
Overview of Apartheid
What is Apartheid?
• Following the National Party’s 1948 victory in South Africa, its all-white government instantly
began imposing existing policies of racial segregation under a system of legislation known as
apartheid (an Afrikaans word meaning “the state of being apart”).
• Under this system of minority rule, non-white South Africans, who made up a majority of the
population were compelled to live in separate areas from whites and use “black-only” public
facilities. Also interaction between the two groups was limited by the government.
• It lasted from 1948-1994
• It was created to keep economical and political power with people of English
descent/heritage.
Government
Actions To Enforce
Apartheid
1913 and 1936
1950
Native Land Act of 1913 and
1936 required Blacks, Coloreds,
and Asians live on a small
percentage of the land.
Population Registration Act of
1950 required that each citizen
of South Africa be registered
by their race.
Prohibition of Mixed Marriages
Act of 1949 made illegal
marriage in between races.
Pass Laws Act of 1952 required
that all Blacks, Asians, and
Coloreds carry a passbook at all
times
1949
1952
Bantu Education Act of
1953 required that only
concepts that would be
used in allowed jobs would
be taught
Separate Amenities Act of
1953 legalized racial
segregation of public areas
Criminal Law Amendment
Act of 1953 made harsher
punishments legal for
nonwhites (i.e. corporal
punishment for shoplifting)
Native Labor Act of 1953
banned Africans from
going on strike
The Impact of Apartheid
• Pictures of apartheid
showing the impact of the
imposed segregation laws
• It forced blacks to move to poor
rural areas called HOMELANDS.
• Blacks could not vote.
• Blacks were kept in low-paying
jobs.
• Blacks were put in poor schools.
• Blacks had to carry
identification.
• Separate schools, restaurants,
and hospitals were created for
whites and blacks.
• The Bantu Homelands Citizenship Act of 1970
• “Made every black South African a citizen of one of the
homelands, effectively excluding blacks from South
African politics”
• The land was not desirable and lacked resources
• A lot of people fought to stop the cruelty of apartheid
– people who opposed apartheid were often met with
brutality
1949
1950
Prohibition of Mixed Marriages
Act, Act No 55 of 1949
prohibited marriages between
white people and people of
other races.
Group Areas Act, Act No 41 of
1950 forced physical separation
between races by creating
different residential areas for
different races
Population Registration Act, Act
No 30 of 1950
led to the creation of a national
register in which every person's
race was recorded.
Extension of University
Education Act, Act 45 of 1959
put an end to black students
attending white universities
1950
1959
1970's- 1980's Civil unrest,
sanctions imposed on South
Africa, forced resettlement
process and Township revolts.
More than 3 million people
forcibly resettled in black
'homelands’
Black protesters are killed in
an uprising in Soweto
With the enactment of apartheid laws
in 1948, racial discrimination was
institutionalized
In 1950, the Population Registration
Act required that all South Africans be
racially classified into one of three
categories: white, black (African), or
colored (of mixed decent)
The colored category included major
subgroups of Indians and Asians
Classification into these categories was
based on appearance, social
acceptance, and descent
For example, a white person was defined as “in appearance obviously a white
person or generally accepted as a white person”
A person could not be considered white if one of his or her parents were nonwhite
The determination that a person was “obviously white” would take into account
“his habits, education, and speech and deportment and demeanor‘”
A black person would be of or accepted as a member of an African tribe or race,
and a colored person was one that was not black or white
The Department of Home Affairs (a government bureau) was responsible for the
classification of the citizenry
Belief of apartheid
The system's chief objective was to deny non-whites the fruits
of supposedly white labors: commerce and industry
Hendrick Verwoerd, South Africa's president in the 1950s and
1960s, said: " ... the white man, therefore, not only has an
undoubted stake in - and right to - the land which he
developed into a modern industrial state from denuded
grassland and empty valleys and mountains. But - according to
all the principles of morality - it was his, is his, and must remain
his"
Of course, many individuals saw it differently
They believed that it was indeed African labor that contributed
to the rise of a modern industrial state
• Apartheid sparked significant
internal resistance and violence
against South Africa.
• Since the 1950s, a series of popular
protests were met with the banning
of opposition and imprisoning of
anti-apartheid leaders.
• As unrest became more violent,
state organizations responded with
increasing repression and stateviolence.
Resistance against Apartheid
(Significant Events)
• 1960 – The Sharpeville Massacre
• 1976 – The Soweto Uprising
• 1977 – The Death of Steve Biko
Nelson Mandela
Growing Up
• Born on July 18, 1918 in the village of Mvezo
• Earned the name Nelson at a local mission school. His
real name “Rolihlahla” literally means “pulling the
branch of a tree”.
Education
• After primary schooling, he
attended several colleges to
further his education.
• Earned his bachelors degree in law
at the University of South Africa.
• Starts to become interested in
Politics
The ANC
• As a young lawyer in the 1940s, Mandela joined
the African National Congress (ANC) and became
an active member of its leadership. He was
involved in various nonviolent resistance
campaigns against apartheid policies.
Resistance to Apartheid
• Started By breaking curfew laws.
• Strikes, civil disobedience and boycotts were all
used to pressure the Apartheid Government.
Formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe
•
In 1961, after the Sharpeville Massacre and
facing increasing government repression,
Mandela co-founded Umkhonto we Sizwe
(Spear of the Nation or MK), the armed wing
of the ANC.
•
Although MK engaged in sabotage against
government infrastructure, Mandela
consistently advocated for strategies that
would avoid human casualties.
• At first, Mandela and his fellow members of the ANC used
nonviolent tactics like strikes and demonstrations to protest
apartheid. In 1952, Mandela helped escalate the struggle as a
leader of the Defiance Campaign, which encouraged Black
participants to actively violate laws. More than 8,000 people—
including Mandela—were jailed for violating curfews, refusing to
carry identification passes, and other offenses.
• While in jail for the arrest of leaving the country, police discovered
documents related to Mandela’s plan for guerrilla warfare. They charged
him and his allies with sabotage.
• Mandela and the other defendants in the ensuing Rivonia Trial knew they
were sure to be convicted and executed. So, they turned their show trial
into a statement, publicizing their anti-apartheid struggle and challenging
the legal system that oppressed Black South Africans.
• When it was Mandela’s turn to speak for the defense, he delivered a fourhour-long speech.
Trials and
Prison
• In 1964, Mandela was
sentenced to life in prison
• He spent 27 years in prison, 18
of which were on Robben
Island.
• He was allowed only one 30minute visit with a single
person every year, and could
send and receive two letters a
year.
Prison years
• Confined in austere conditions, he worked in a
limestone quarry and over time, earned the
respect of his captors and fellow prisoners. He
was given chances to leave prison in exchange for
ensuring the ANC would give up violence but
refused.
• His mother and son died
• His family suffers
Symbol of Resistance
• While incarcerated, Mandela
became a global symbol of
resistance to oppression,
garnering international support
and amplifying global calls for his
release and the end of apartheid.
• Mandela became the world’s bestknown political prisoner. His
words were banned in South
Africa.
Release and Negotiations
• Released in 1990, Mandela
immediately engaged in negotiations
with then-President F.W. de Klerk to
dismantle the apartheid system.
• Their joint efforts led to the
unbanning of liberation movements,
the release of political prisoners, and
the start of multi-party negotiations.
• In the 1960s, some members of the United Nations began to
call for sanctions against South Africa—calls that grew
louder in the decades that followed. Eventually, South Africa
became an international pariah. In 1990, in response to
international pressure and the threat of civil war, South
Africa’s new president, F.W. de Klerk, pledged to end
apartheid and released Mandela from prison.
The End of
Apartheid
• Reforms to apartheid in the
1980s failed and in 1990
President Frederick Willem
de Klerk began negotiations
to end apartheid,
culminating the multi-racial
democratic elections in 1994,
which were won by the
African National Congress
under Nelson Mandela.
Peaceful Transition
• Through the early 1990s,
Mandela was instrumental in
preventing outbreaks of civil
unrest and in steering the
country toward its first multiracial democratic elections in
1994.
End of
Presentation