In 1899 Britain completed its takeover of what is today South Africa. This had begun with the annexation of the Cape in
1795 and continued with the conquest of the Boer Republics in the late 19th century, following the Second Boer War. Cecil
Rhodes was the pioneer of British expansion north into Africa with his privately owned British South Africa Company.
Rhodes expanded into the land north of South Africa and established Rhodesia. Rhodes' dream of a railway connecting Cape
Town to Alexandria passing through a British Africa covering the continent is what led to his company's pressure on the
government for further expansion into Africa.
British gains in southern and East Africa prompted Rhodes and Alfred Milner, Britain's High Commissioner in South Africa,
to urge a "Cape-to-Cairo" empire linking by rail the strategically important Canal to the mineral-rich South, though German
occupation of Tanganyika prevented its realisation until the end of World War I. In 1903, the All Red Line telegraph system
communicated with the major parts of the Empire.
Boer guerrillas during the Second Boer War
British soldiers lie dead on the battlefield after the Battle of Spion Kop, 24th Jan. 1900.
Boer women and children in a concentration camp
APARTHEID
“APARTNESS”
A SYSTEM OF RULE BASED ON RACIAL SEGREGATION – COMPLETE
SEPARATION OF THE RACES WHERE A WHITE MINORITY
GOVERNED AND CONTROLED A NON-WHITE MAJORITY
-
Rooted in the colonial rule of South Africa – particularly that of the
Dutch “Afrikaaners”
Apartheid becomes legal official policy of South Africa in 1948 with the
coming to power of the Afrikaaner dominated National Party
75% - Black
1948 population distribution by race:
13% - White 9% - Mixed race “colored”
3% - Asian
1949-Act No 55, Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act:
Prohibited marriages between white people and people and non-white people.
1950- Act No 21, Immorality Amendment Act:
Prohibited adultery between white and non-white people.
1950- Act No 30, Population Registration Act:
Required every South African to be racially classified.
1950-Act No 41, Group Areas Act:
Forced separation between races through the creation of residential areas designated for certain
races.
1951-Act No 27, Bantu Building Workers Act
Prevented black Africans from performing skilled work in any areas except those designated for black
occupation.
1951-Act No 52, Prevention of Illegal Squatting Act:
Gave the Minister of Native Affairs the ability to displace blacks from public and privately owned land
and to place them in resettlement camps.
1951-Act No 68, Bantu Authorities Act:
Created black homelands, regional authorities and abolished the Native Representative Council.
1952-Act No 67, Natives (Abolition of Passes and Co-ordination of Documents) Act:
Forced black people to carry identification (which included a photograph, place of origin, employment
record, tax payments, and encounters with the police) at all times.
1953-Native Labour (Settlement of Disputes) Act:
Prohibited black people to go on strike.
1953-Act No 47, Bantu Education Act:
Established a Black Education Department compiled a curriculum suited to the "nature and
requirements of the black people". The aim of this law was to prevent black Africans from receiving
an education that would allow them to work in positions that they were not allowed to hold under the
previous Apartheid laws.
1953-Act No 49, Reservation of Separate Amenities Act:
Enacted segregation in all public areas including buildings and public transport. 1956-Act
1959-Act 45, Extension of University Education Act:
Prevented black students from attending white Universities.
1970-Bantu Homelands Citizens Act:
Removed black South African citizenship and required all black people to become a citizen of the
homeland designated for his/her ethnic group.
Notice that most, if not all, public signs are written in
English AND Afrikaans.
The “HOMELANDS” of South Africa
In essence, these were “reservations” for South Africa’s black
population. 13% of the land was set aside for roughly 75% of the
population. These were some of the worst lands in South Africa.
People were uprooted and forced into these impoverished,
overcrowded areas. There was to be no economic development
and because the only available work was in white areas, long
travel, or spending most of the year in “workers’ barracks” were
the only options.
The Sharpeville Massacre
In 1960, thousands of people in the township of Sharpeville
peacefully resisted the pass book laws by marching to the police
station and turning in their passes. Police opened fire, killing 69
and wounding 180 people. This would lead to the South African
government outlawing groups like the ANC and result in those
groups starting to deviate from their previous non-violent
strategies. The ANC will form the “Spear of the Nation” to
pursue greater armed resistance. Nelson Mandela will be its
leader.
A mass funeral was held following the Sharpeville massacre. The government
declared a state of emergency, detaining more than 18 000 people, including
prominent anti-apartheid activists, and led to the banning of the ANC and PAC
Protests in the United Kingdom in the aftermath of the Sharpeville massacre.
The international community and the United Nations criticised the Apartheid
government for their actions while then Prime Minister Dr Hendrik Verwoerd
praised the actions of the police.
THE SOWETO UPRISING
In 1976, students in the black township of Soweto outside
Johannesburg took to the streets to protest the fact they were
being taught in Afrikaans, the language they regarded to be of
their oppressor. Growing into a protest that also demanded
equal education and the end to apartheid, more than 600
students were killed by government troops and thousands
arrested.
NELSON MANDELA
Below, at one of his trials. Convicted and jailed between 1964 and February
1990 for conspiracy, treason, and sabotage for advocating armed struggle
against the white South African government
Frederick DeKlerk with Mandela
@1994
DeKlerck’s uncle coined the term
“apartheid” and was South
Africa’s first National Party
prime minister. Under immense
pressure he begins to dismantle
the apartheid system in the late
1980’s – early 1990’s. In 1992,
68% of white South Africans
voted to end apartheid in a
nationwide referendum. He gets
rid of the passbook and repeals
all segregation laws. In 1990 he
legalizes the African National
Congress (ANC) and frees Nelson
Mandela from prison in 1991.
He will allow the first free
elections in South Africa in 1994
where Mandela and the ANC win
the presidency. In 1993 DeKlerk
and Mandela will share the
Nobel Peace Prize.
By the 1970’s South Africa had been ostracized by most of
the rest of the world. They were ousted from the United
Nations in 1974 and were prohibited from participation in
the Olympics between 1970 and 1994.
Desmond Tutu- Archbishop of the South African Anglican Church. Winner of the
1984 Nobel Peace Prize. Called for ending apartheid through peaceful non-violent
struggle. Urged foreign governments and people to put pressure on South Africa
through economic sanctions!!! The U.S. officially bans “new” investment in South
Africa in 1986.
A petty example of Shell’s acceptance of apartheid was shown by the company’s
proud announcement that 25 luxury toilets had been installed in their service
stations for “whites only”. Shell’s Public Relations Officer pointed out that “when
we find that the non-whites have proved that they are capable of looking after and
keeping their present toilets clean, the new luxury rest-rooms would be made
available to them”.
Victims of Famine in India 1876—1878