History of Apartheid World Studies

I. South Africa’s early history The Boers left the Netherlands & settled the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th century Left their home for religious reasons Believed they were ordained to rule South Africa

The Boers long argued that they were the first to arrive there, even before Africans Archeology has since proved this wrong There had been a great civilization

Hostile to local African groups; fought with them frequently & used slave labor to establish their colony

II. The British arrive Cape Colony became a British holding in 1806 as a result of the Napoleonic Wars The Boers resented British rule Didn’t fit w/ their religious expectations Within a few decades slavery was illegal throughout the British Empire & was applied to Boers as well

The Great Trek Starting in 1835, Boers began leaving the area of British control for the more rural areas By 1852 there are 12,000 settled & the local Zulu aren’t too keen

The Zulu protest, the British agree w/ them, but local British authorities decide it would be better to side w/ whites & fight the Zulu into submission The British recognize the South African Republic in 1852

The discovery of diamonds in Boer land in 1867 causes the British to rethink & leads to the Boer Wars, which the British win The Boers are entirely under British rule by 1902, but maintain language (Afrikaans) & cultural identity

III. Union of South Africa Becomes a unified state under the British in 1910 Parliamentary system from which non-whites were excluded Afrikaners (Boers) were given control of the “native issues” 80% of arable land went to whites (10% of population)

South Africa supported the Allies in WWII As white men went to fight, the economy demanded that restrictions on non-whites be lessened and factories be desegregated After the war racial tension increases

IV. National Party Ran the 1948 campaign based on race They win narrowly & proceed w/ policies of strict segregation In the beginning, didn’t look much different than the racism that existed in many other places As time passes it becomes clear that it is very different

V. Apartheid Laws Population Registration Act (1950) Required all South Africans to officially register their race; white, native/Bantu, colored or, later, Asian Group Areas Act (1950) Divided up land and you could only live/work in the area designated for your race Required blacks to be forcibly moved

Several anti-apartheid organizations met and tried to establish a process of nonviolent protests African National Congress (ANC) formed to resist racist policies towards Natives Many protests were met by police who beat, tortured and in many cases, killed participants

Soweto South west township outside Johanesburg

Over time more and more blacks moved to urban areas, but there weren’t enough houses Forced to build/live in shanty towns

Pass Laws Non-whites were required to show their passes whenever requested Nelson Mandela encouraged civil disobedience (non-violent, non-cooperation) in 1960 20,000 went to protest; over 200 were killed or injured when police fired in to the crowd, this became known as the Sharpeville Massacre Government outlawed the ANC

Bantu Education Act (1953) The white government would create a curriculum that suited the "nature and requirements of the black people." "Natives [blacks] must be taught from an early age that equality with Europeans [whites] is not for them.“ Schools were severely overcrowded as the government only built schools in areas it wanted to push blacks in to Teacher to student ratio was 50 to 1 and only 10% of black teachers had finished 12th grade, 1 in 5 students went to secondary school

Teachers were under-qualified and by the 1970s the government was forced to improve schools in order to have better trained workers In 1975 when the government insisted that school be taught in Afrikaans, students rebelled 15,000 marched and were met brutally by the police; known as the Soweto Massacre 23 to 200 died; riots would last for days

We strongly refuse to swallow an education that is designed to make us slaves in the country of our birth Hector peterson

International Pressure South Africa became increasingly isolated from the world community Activists in Europe and the United States protested against apartheid Governments and international corporation refused to do business with South Africa

New Era In 1989, longtime president Pieter Botha resigned due to illness and was replaced by Frederik de Klerk De Klerk recognized the necessity of dismantling apartheid Lifted the 30 year ban on ANC Freed Nelson Mandela from prison; who had been in prison for 27 years

South African Parliament began repealing apartheid laws White South Africans vote in 1992 to end apartheid First inclusive election occurred in 1994, and the ANC emerged victorious

Mandela Wins Nelson Mandela was elected president of South Africa He served until 1999 Mandela won the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing an end to apartheid