63 Apartheid In South Africa Facts You Should Know

Apartheid is an Afrikaans word that literally means 'apartness' or 'separation'.

In 1948, South Africa implemented a system in which people were obliged to work and interact separately based on their race. ​​This system is known as apartheid.

During the 20th century, apartheid was the term of the rule that controlled relations between the white people and the nonwhite people in South Africa. Physical traits such as bone structure, color, hair, and eye color determined a person's race.

Despite the fact that racism had long been practiced there, the term apartheid was used in 1948 to denote the white minority government's racial discrimination policy.

The Start Of Apartheid In Africa

Apartheid restricted where Black South Africans could reside, the type of school they could attend, and whether or not they could vote based on their race.

• Before 1948, racial segregation was frequently practiced in Africa.
• When the National Party took power that year, it expanded the system and created the term apartheid to describe it.
• Hendrik Verwoerd served as prime minister and head of the National Party and was crucial in shaping apartheid policy enforcement.
• Hendrik Verwoerd started apartheid in South Africa.
• Hendrik Verwoerd is known as the 'architect of apartheid' because of his involvement as a minister and subsequently prime minister in designing the policy's implementation.
• Apartheid, often known as 'separate development' since the '60s was due to the Population Registration Act of 1950.
• The apartheid system ensured that South Africa's white minority population ruled the country legally, economically, and socially.

Causes Of Apartheid In Africa

Apartheid ended two decades ago when Nelson Mandela was elected as president of South Africa, yet it continues to play a significant role in the country's history.

• The key causes of apartheid are white supremacy beliefs and fear.
• White Afrikaners believed that they were superior to the Black South African people.
• Because white people in South Africa were in the minority, apartheid was partly driven by fear.
• Many were concerned that they would lose their jobs, heritage, and language.
• The whites also intended to keep white South Africans in control of most of South Africa's land, particularly the richest areas, such as Johannesburg's gold mines.
• White South Africans' nationalism grew stronger as a result of the apartheid perspective because they firmly believed that separation was necessary.

Events That Happened During The Apartheid Period

Apartheid in South Africa will undoubtedly be remembered as a disaster. However, inspirational people such as Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk emerged from the ashes of such tragedies to bring change.

• To build the South Africa apartheid regime, a larger number of apartheid laws were passed.
• The racial classification of citizens was handled by the Department of Home Affairs.
• People were separated into four racial groups and separated by the government during apartheid.
• White people held the highest social rank, followed by Indians and colored people, and last were Black Africans, according to this system.
• The Group Areas Law of 1950 was another important act in establishing apartheid.
• This act separated the lands in which blacks and whites resided into separate residential zones.
• The government expanded existing pass rules, which required non-whites to have documents approving their entry in limited areas.
• Without a proper pass, a person could be arrested and prosecuted for breaking the law.
• The Bantu Self-Government Act was implemented from 1960 to 1983 to force South Africans out of designated areas for whites.
• The Afrikaans language was made compulsory for Black South Africans.
• Afrikaans was the language of the apartheid system and rulers, hence many Black South Africans disliked it.
• Grand apartheid referred to the underlying restrictions placed on Black South Africans' access to land and political privileges.
• Apartheid laws made it illegal to marry people of other races.
• Those suspected of being in an interracial relationship were tracked down based on the Immorality Act, and those caught breaching apartheid were jailed, punished, or beaten.
• The Group Areas Act compelled Black South Africans to live in specific places.
• Everything was dominated by white South Africans and they were provided better privileges.
• They had their own residential places, such as Cape Town, where Black South Africans were not permitted.
• The black majority was forcibly relocated to settlement camps. They were not permitted to own property and had limited educational opportunities.
• During apartheid, education was separated, with whites receiving the finest education.
• The Bantu Education Act classified the black population as a working class.
• Separate universities existed for Blacks, colored people, and Indians.
• The Glen Grey Act was passed in Cape Colony in 1894 and had the effect of reducing Black Africans' land rights in designated areas.
• The Color Bar Act of 1926 made it illegal for Black miners to work in specialized occupations.
• The 1905 General Pass Regulations Act in South Africa denied Black people the right to vote.
• Other regulations prohibited inter-racial social interactions, divided public spaces, and established work restrictions.
• Gatherings were prohibited, as were some groups that were regarded to be a threat to the government.
• Only a Black person with permitted work received a pass. In Black native lands, families had to be left behind.
• All Black South Africans were obliged to take pass cards that contained fingerprints, photographs, and details on non-Black areas.
• The Color Bar Act of 1926 made it illegal for Black miners to work in specialized occupations.
• The Suppression of Communism Act prohibited any political group that supported communism.
• Public areas were set aside for a certain race under the Reservation of Separate Amenities Act of 1953, resulting in separate buses, schools, beaches, and hospitals.
• Blacks were not permitted to enter cinemas and theatres in white regions. In Black communities, there were almost no cinemas.
• Blacks were only allowed to reside in white districts if they were hired as servants, but only in servants' rooms.
• Conditions at white hospitals were far better than those in typically crowded and underpaid Black hospitals, owing to fewer white patients.
• There were countless incidents of violent protest during Black South Africans' strikes and protests.
• On March 21, 1960, at Sharpeville, South Africa, the most violent protest occurred.
• The police fired on the crowd, killing at least 69 people and injuring many more.
• Nelson Mandela led the African National Congress, which was prohibited by the government at the time.
• Mandela was imprisoned in 1962 when his political group was banned and condemned to life imprisonment. The anti-apartheid leader served 27 years in prison.
• Many of the improvements during that time would not have occurred if Nelson Mandela had not been involved in opposing apartheid rules.
• Cape Town's Purple March held on September 2, 1989, was an anti-apartheid demonstration held in Cape Town four days before South Africa's racially segregated parliament held its elections.
• A minority percentage of whites opposed apartheid, despite the fact that the majority of whites supported it.
• They founded the Progressive Federal Party, led by Colin Eglin, Helen Suzman, and Harry Schwarz.
• Public figures such as eminent author and Nobel Prize winner Nadine Gordimer were involved in anti-apartheid movements.
• Apartheid has had a negative impact on the lives of all South African children, but its consequences on Black children have been particularly catastrophic.

Duration Of Apartheid In Africa

South Africa's apartheid system was terminated through a series of agreements and direct actions by the de Klerk administration during 1990-1993. The apartheid era in South African history lasted from 1948-1994.

• In a more serious policy shift, South African President F.W. de Klerk's government removed most of the regulations that supported apartheid, particularly the Population Registration Act, in 1990–91.
• However, systematic racial discrimination remained profoundly ingrained in South African society and persisted in practice.
• In 1993, a new constitution was enacted that empowered Blacks and other racial groups, and it went into force in 1994.
• In 1994, all-race elections produced a unity administration led by anti-apartheid fighter Nelson Mandela and other Black South African anti-apartheid leaders.
• In 1994, the African National Congress, led by Mandela, won the election.
• In 1994, Nelson Mandela became South Africa's first Black president.
• These events led to the end of legally enforced apartheid, but not of its social and economic consequences.