South Africa under Apartheid

1. South Africa under Apartheid

2. What was Apartheid? • It was a system of government from 1948 to 1990. • This Afrikaans word means separation: the whites were separated from the black Africans and other minorities. • The white minority ruled the country and the black majority did not have any rights.

3. In 1652 the Dutch came to settle in South Africa. They believed the land was theirs. They defeated many Africans and forced them to work as servants and slaves.

4. In 1806, Great Britain captured the colony from the Dutch. When diamonds and gold were discovered, the British forced blacks off the mineral-rich land. In 1948 the racist Nationalist Party was elected to power.

5. The government established an official policy called “apartheid.” The South African government tried to completely separate the small number of whites from the black majority.

7. 19 million blacks were put in 13% of the available land, while 4.5 million whites live on 87%. Housing, Education, Services, and even Beaches were segregated.

10. In 1958, the government separated black people from white people by making blacks live on reserves, or homelands. Several blacks also lived in shanty towns – overcrowded towns full of poorly built shacks on the edges of cities.

15. Most black men had to leave their homeland to find work in mines or factories. Women raised whatever crops they could.

18. The shanty towns became centers for black groups who resisted the white government. Thousands resisted apartheid by refusing to work, refusing to buy white products, going into “white only” areas, and marching in nonviolent demonstrations.

21. APARTHEID IN ACTION • 1950: POPULATION REGISTRATION ACT • 4 RACIAL CATEGORIES: • 1. BANTU (BLACK AFRICAN) • 2. WHITE • 3. COLORED (MIXED RACE) • 4. ASIAN (INDIANS AND PAKISTANI’S) • GROUP AREAS ACT OF 1950: ASSIGNED RACES TO DIFFERENT RESIDENTIAL SECTIONS

23. Apartheid Laws • Black people were not allowed to employ white people. • Black police were not allowed to arrest whites. • Cinemas and theatres in "white areas“ were not allowed to admit blacks. • Blacks were not allowed to buy hard liquor

24. Apartheid Laws • Black Africans were prohibited from attending "white" churches • Most blacks were stripped of their South African citizenship when the "homelands" were declared "independent". They thus were no longer able to apply for South African passports. • Pedestrian bridges, drive-in cinema parking spaces, graveyards, parks, pedestrian crossings, public toilets and taxis were also segregated.

25. In 1986, the white South African government tried to destroy those who resisted apartheid. Still, blacks increased their actions against the government. In 1994, the government agreed to an open election. The African National Congress, the largest anti-apartheid party, won. Nelson Mandela became the new president of South Africa.

26. contribute to the end of apartheid • South Africa’s racial policies were criticized by the international community. • Many nations restricted their trade with South Africa because of its discrimination policies against blacks • A growing number of white South Africans began calling for an end to apartheid.

28. The first black president: Nelson Mandela • He was the most important antiapartheid leader • He spent 27 years in prison for his ideas • In 1994 he became the first black president after the first free elections in South Africa: for the first time the black people could vote in their own country.