History of South Africa: Apartheid
Here is a short video on the overview of the Apartheid.
Roots of the Conflict
Parties involved:
- Whites: Mainly of Dutch descent, they are also known as Boers/ Afrikaners.
- Blacks: South Africans, they are also referred to as Bantus
- Coloured: People who were from mixed marriages
A Dutch settlement was established in South Africa in 1652. However in 1796, the British arrived and colonised the Dutch settlement. They proceeded to set up a Parliament under the English Parliament and British common law. The individualistic and liberal British regime was considered offensive to the Afrikaners who were Dutch Settlers of South Africa. The Dutch enjoyed slavery and preferred a government system whereby no standing was granted to nonwhites. (Hazlett, 2008).
South African slavery was abolished in 1834. This led to the Great Trek, which occurred from 1835 to 1846. During this movement, the Boers mass migrated from left eastern frontier towns such as Grahamstown, Uitenhage and Graaff- Reinet, crossed the Orange River and Vaal River into the Transvaal region. (South African History Online, n.d.). They hoped to restore cultural, economic and political unity free from British power. (South African History Online, n.d.). The interior of South Africa experienced massive social instability and bloodshed as the indigenous people who lived in the interior of South Africa fought to defend their territories. However the Boers had more modern weapons and the Europeans were successful in occupying most of South Africa. Most of the power over land, labour and trade was still in favour of African chiefdom’s and politics which include the Zulu, Tswana and Pedi.
The British saw no need to colonise the interior due to still conflicting parties in those regions and costly conquest. However this changed during the discovery of diamonds in 1867 and the rich gold deposits in 1886 in the Transvaal region, making direct colonial control over the Cape colony an attractive option.
In 1910, the law regarding racial segregation in South Africa was published. The Constitution of South Africa also founded in the same year. There was much resistance against racial discrimination. Many labour organizations and political parties were also formed between 1910 and 1930. One of them was the South African Native National Congress. (Pajula et al., n.d.)
The Colour bar was introduced in 1911, placing restrictions on the type of jobs one could be engaged in based on race. It brought a period of labour calm. This was because the black workers and white capitalist who were specifically targeted by the Colour Bar were unable to change the system. (Hazlett, 2008).
In the mid-1930s, there was great international demand for South Africa’s mineral export. There was great expansion of the mining and industrial sectors due to the strong demand during World War II. By 1948, whites were becoming unemployed. This sparked fear that the black workers would rise in social status. The National Party was elected to implement apartheid to ensure the economic protection of white labour. Their aim was for the whites to continue to dominate South Africa and further extend racial segregation. Racial discrimination was effectively legalized when the apartheid law was enacted in 1948. (Pajula et al., n.d.)
The discriminatory policies had brought discrimination to all aspects of the South African society, and its influence can still be seen today. We will be cover life during the Apartheid era in the areas of politics, education, healthcare and economy. The system of Apartheid began to diminish in the 1990s, and ended in 1994 with the first democratic elections held, that was won by the African National Congress, under the leadership of Nelson Mandela.