Brief History of South Africa

Geography 1

Geography 2

Landing at the Cape In 1652, the Dutch set up a way station at the Cape of Good Hope. Settlement called Cape Colony. Largest white settlement on continent. They helped to supply ships sailing from the Netherlands to the Dutch East Indies The descendants, known as Afrikaners or Boers, spoke Afrikaans

Landing at the Cape

The Cape Grew As the demand for more land grew, farmers (Boers) moved further east, pushing out the Khoikhoi (Hottentots), the Xhosa, and other tribes

Power Struggles The British, wanting a secure route to India took over the Cape Colony by 1814 Abolished slavery, causing resentment by Boers

The Great Trek In 1837, Boers moved north in the Great Trek to escape the British. Fights broke out between the Boers and other African groups, including the Zulu people. Boers won most of the battles.

Brief Note on the Zulu At the end of the 18th century, all over southern Africa small tribal groups were combined into the larger Zulu tribe By 1816, the infamous Zulu warrior Shaka had created a large, centralized state with a strong army Fought Boers for control of area. Superior weapons of the British eventually allowed British to eventually defeat the Zulu in 1879.

Boer Republics The Boers establish two independent republics in 1852 and 1854 – Orange Free State & Transvaal 1867: Diamonds discovered 1886: Gold discovered Competition for southern Africa increased

Boer Wars Late 1800’s British desire for the newfound riches drives them to war. Boers surrender on condition that British preserve white supremacy. Boer republics joined into the Union of South Africa and controlled by British

History of Discrimination Louis Botha elected prime minister. Small white minority ruled black majority Blacks were excluded from parliamentary system. Mixed races had some limited rights. Whites and nonwhites segregated socially Unofficial system of separate facilities for whites and non-whites

History of Discrimination 1911 Union Acts included Mines & Works Act – limited blacks to menial work, no right to vote or strike 1913 Native Land Act – set aside 7.3% of land as reservations for blacks

Apartheid 1948 fear of rising black protests brings white Afrikaner National Party to power. National Party institutes Apartheid: complete separation of races All divided into one of four categories: white, black, coloured (people of mixed race) and Indian

The Apartheid Era People to be classified by race Laws where each of four races could live Interracial marriage banned All non-whites had to carry passes if out of their designated area Schools, cultural events, sports, public transit, neighborhoods were strictly segregated Few educational or job opportunities for blacks

Homelands Act South African government established “ homelands ” for blacks. Bantustans. Blacks not allowed to live in white areas unless worked for whites. Although blacks were over 75% of the population, homelands were only 13% of land. Whites kept best land. 1970: Blacks stripped of citizenship in South Africa

Bantustans (homeland territories)

African National Congress (ANC) Founded in 1912 to fight for black rights. Best known anti-apartheid group. 1940s and 1950s began to promote strikes, boycotts, and civil disobedience to protest racist policies.

Sharpeville massacre 1960 Police opened fire on peaceful demonstration. People refusing to carry passes 69 killed and many wounded

Soweto 1976 Peaceful demonstration by black schoolchildren to protest the use of Afrikaans language required in schools. About 600 students die.

African National Congress Banned in 1960 after Sharpeville. ANC went underground. Began guerrilla tactics, trained fighters outside country. Nelson Mandela one of its leaders

Statistics

Nelson Mandela Charged with treason and found guilty Mandela is imprisoned for life in 1964 in the Rivonia Trial Mass protests resulted in the government banning all opposition groups

Excerpt of Nelson Mandela ’ s speech at trial “ I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die…. ”

Nelson Mandela Held on Robben Island for 18 of 27 prison years Cell had bed, a bucket for a toilet and he was forced to do hard labor in a quarry Allowed to write and receive one letter every 6 months One visitor a year for 30 minutes

Steven Biko Protest leader. Banned in Meant he could meet with only one person at a time, restricted movement and could not speak publicly. Continued to organize protests Arrested in 1977

Steven Biko In coma from massive head injury. Died. White journalist friend took pictures and published story His death brought a lot of publicity to apartheid 10,000 attended funeral

International Resistance to Apartheid United Nations Resolutions 1977 mandatory arms embargo on South Africa International Sports Boycotts

1986 President Botha declared state of emergency Arrested many black leaders Western nations: economic boycotts and sanctions as requested by black South African bishop, Desmond Tutu Some companies withdraw from South Africa

LIBERATION 1989: FW. De Klerk elected 1990-Ban on ANC withdrawn and Nelson Mandela released from prison Negotiations begin to end apartheid ANC wins majority in first election; Nelson Mandela becomes President

1994 Nelson Mandela elected President of South Africa

Time Magazine

Sources The History of Apartheid in South Africa students.standford.edu/~cale/cs201/aparthei d.hist.html students.standford.edu/~cale/cs201/aparthei d.hist.html Mazour, Anatole Gregory, and John M. Peoples. World History: People and Nations. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Print. World History: Patterns of Interaction. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, Print.