South Africa and Apartheid

Zulus The Zulu tribe pushed into southern Africa in the late 1700’s Only known drawing of Shaka standing with the long throwing assegai and the heavy shield in 1824 - four years before his death

South Africa More Europeans settlers came to South Africa than to anywhere else on the continent. Many fair-skinned Europeans believed dark-skinned Africans were less than human. This belief system is called racism, which is the belief that one type of ethnicity is better than another.

Boer War 17th century-the Dutch known as the Boers were the first Europeans to settle in South Africa The Boers moved into the lands conquered recently by the Zulus. In 1867 and 1884, diamonds were discovered where the Boers had moved. A struggle between the Boers and the British then ensued in 1902 for this land in what was known as the Boer War. British won and created the Union of South Africa and granted it self-government.

Dutch Settling in South Africa

Apartheid By the early 20th century, the British military gained control of South Africa. South Africans were not allowed to vote under British rule- beginning of apartheid. Apartheid means “separateness” in Afrikaans, the language of the descendants of the Dutch settlers known as Afrikaners. Many Europeans grew wealthy and powerful while millions of South Africans suffered.

Then Only white men were allowed to vote. Boers made up the majority of the white population and gained control of the South African government.

Now Whites make up 16 percent of South Africa’s population. The majority of South Africans—70% are black. 11% are mixed and 3% are Asian.

Origin of Apartheid In 1948, the Nationalist party came to power in South Africa. Most were descendents of Dutch settlers who held on to views of white supremacy. They set up the strict legal system of apartheid (rigid separation of races)—segregation already existed. Passes were required to leave designated areas for particular ethnic groups.

Apartheid Black South Africans could only leave their homeland if they were going to work for a white person. To come and go, black residents of homelands had to have passes. Black South Africans had to carry passes at all times. Traveling without a pass could result in going to jail.

(UN Photo# 155573) A passbook that the South African blacks are required to carry. Blacks and Coloureds were compelled to carry identity documents. These identity documents became a sort of passport by which migration to so-called 'white South Africa could be enforced. Blacks were prohibited from living in (or even visiting) 'white' towns without specific permission.

General Rules The Population Registration Act of 1950 required all citizens of South Africa to be classified into categories according to their race. (white, black (African), and coloured (people of mixed descent). The Reservation of Separate Amenities Act of 1953 created separate public facilities to be used by whites and blacks. Workers, Africans or Coloured, were restricted by law from protesting the enactment of the Native Labor Act of 1953.

Apartheid Non-whites had separate schools, hospitals, beaches, and libraries; they couldn’t share drinking fountains or restrooms. The services and buildings for whites were much better than those for everyone else. During apartheid, white people in South Africa lived in conditions that were better than those found anywhere else in Africa.

(UN Photo# 151906C) A segregated beach in South Africa, 1982.

During the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, the government implemented a policy of 'resettlement', to force people to move to their designated 'group areas'. Some argue that over three and a half million people were forced, through this policy, to resettle during that period.

The most well-publicized forced removals of the 1950s occurred in Johannesburg, where 60,000 people were moved to the new township of Soweto (an acronym for South Western Township). Despite the heavy influx of people into the township, Soweto was situated far from the city centre and the all-important work places, and contained few amenities. Houses in Soweto, a black township. (UN Photo# 155571C)

Inhabitants of Ekuvukene, a "resettlement" village in the black "homeland" called KwaZulu in Natal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_South_Africa_in_the_apartheid_era http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_South_Africa_in_the_apartheid_era A rural area in Ciskei, one of the apartheid-era "homelands"

Umbulwana, Natal in 1982. Umbulwana was called "a black spot" because it is in a "white" area. It was eventually demolished and the inhabitants forced to move to identically numbered houses in "resettlement" villages in their designated "homelands." Millions of black South Africans were forcibly "resettled" in this way. (UN Photo# 151703)

General Laws Government officials, under the Public Safety and Criminal Law Amendment Acts, possessed the power to declare states of emergency and increase the penalties for protesting against any or supporting the repeal of any government established law. Imprisonment, whippings, and fines were a few of the penalties the government could enforce. One such state of emergency occurred in 1960, during a peaceful protest at Sharpeville. Large groups of blacks refused to carry their dompas, attempting to overthrow the unjust Pass Law. According to the police, the protest became violent. During this particular protest, 69 blacks were killed and another 187 were wounded.

South African police at Alexandra Township in 1985. (UN Photo# 155579)

Standing around as the dreaded police van goes by. During the times of Apartheid these vans, usually Bedfords, would patrol "White areas" in search of Blacks without passes. The passes gave "non-Whites" permission to be in a "White area".

At home in the township of KwaMashu, just outside of Durban, Natal. This area has seen plenty of violence between the ANC and the Inkatha movement.

Apartheid The African National Congress was founded in 1912. The goal of the ANC was to bring people of all races together and to fight for rights and freedoms. The ANC received support from many groups and nations outside South Africa. In many parts of the world, apartheid was viewed as racist and unjust. In 1973, the United Nations defined apartheid as a crime against humanity.

Nelson Mandela Nelson Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist. For many years, Mandela protested nonviolently against apartheid. Then, Mandela became leader of the ANC’s armed wing in 1961. Police arrested Mandela on August 5, 1962. He was imprisoned for 27 years at Robben Island.

Nelson Mandela While in prison, Mandela continued to fight against apartheid. In a 1964 court appearance, he said: “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. 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.”

The End of Apartheid The apartheid system began to fall apart in the 1980s. Two million unemployed blacks, a shrinking white minority, continued black resistance, and an economy suffering from international sanctions finally convinced many South Africans that something had to change. F.W. De Klerk was elected in 1989 and promised to seek a compromise between the majority and the minority.

F.W. de Klerk F. W. de Klerk, president of South Africa, released Nelson Mandela from prison in 1990. De Klerk agreed to end apartheid and wanted a multi-racial, democratic South Africa. In 1994, Nelson Mandela was the first president to be elected democratically in South Africa. He was also South Africa’s first black president.

Nelson Mandela F. W. de Klerk

South Africa and Apartheid