Apartheid Flashcards
Years of Apartheid
legally 1948-1964
arguably 1948-1990
What was Apartheid
System of extreme radical segregation
- polices were designed to promote the white supremacy, keeping all other races separate
Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act
1949
- forbade white people from marrying non white people
population registration act
1950
- classified all South African’s into race groups (white, colored, Indian, or African)
Group Areas Act
1950
- deemed Africans to live in the countryside on townships
- townships allowed black people to commute to cities for jobs, but kept them living away from the city
Pass Laws
1952
- required black people to always carry a 96 page pass with them, would send them to jail if they were not carrying them
Reservation of separate amenities act
1953
- legalized the racial segregation of public premises, vehicles, and services. only public roads and streets were excluded from the act
Bantu Education Act
1953
-Specified a separate school curriculum for African Children.
- Designed to prepare them to be manual laborers.
- poor quality of education
Separate Universities Act
1959
- African students were forced to study at separate universities
Section 10 of the Native Laws Amendment act
1952
- prevented africans from staying in an urban area for more than 72 hours unless it was their birth place or they worked there
List of Protests (five most important)
1) Defiance Campaign (1952-1959)
2) Pretoria Women’s Protest (1956)
3) Sharpeville Burning of Passes (1960)
4) Johannesburg Bus Boycott’s (1957)
5) Response to Rivonia Trials, Rivonia Raid
Promotion of Bantu Self Gov. Act
divided the African Populations into 8 distinct ethnic groups which were assigned a white commission general. gov. could now argue that black south africans were no longer their political responsibility
Immorality Act
1950
- banned sexual relationships between whites and non whites
Unlawful Organizations Act
1960
- allowed the apartheid gov. to outlaw organizations they deemed as threatening the public safety or public order
- banned the ANC and the PAC
congress of the people
1955
- an alliance of anti-apartheid organizations/ movements which came together to:
1) form a single popular front in fight against apartheid
2) expand membership of ANC
3) Draft Freedom Charter
4) put into practice ANC’s strategies of working together with other parties and radical groups
Rivonia Raids
- what caused the Rivonia Trials
- MK members living on a farm, conspiring against SA Government
- Gov. went to the farm and found documents saying that MK were planning to overthrow the government
- MK members were arrested which led to the Rivonia Trials of 1963
Migrant Labor Laws
system of controlling African Workers
- system supported racial segregation of land because male migrants were employed by white people, yet still prohibited from living in white cities and towns
- conditions of reserves got worse because there were less people working within and caring for the reserves
Sharpeville Massacure
protest in Sharpeville involving the burning of pass booklets outside of police stations.
- police fired into the crowd and killed dozens of protesters including children
- significant because it led the ANC to adopt armed struggle
Defiance Campaign
First coordinated Protest against Apartheid (1952)
- nationwide and multiracial. organized by the ANC and South African Indian Congress
- nonviolent disobedience meant to gain global attention towards apartheid laws
effects of defiance campaign
8300 people were arrested by the end of 1952, none of the targeted laws were repealed; gov. enacted criminal law amendment making longer jail time for protesters
-membership of ANC grew rapidly
Verwoerd
Person who created the apartheid laws; assassinated on September 6th 1966
ANC
African National Congress
- social democratic political party that was anti-apartheid
- formed by Albert Luthuli
- founded in 1912
SACP
South African Communist Party (founded in 1917)
- had a strong influence on the ANC
Forced Removals
Black South African’s were forced out of their land. Gov. owned the land and shared it with white people
- 3.5 million were forcibly removed
Bantustans
Homeland system which had the idea to separate black and white people, gave black people the responsibility of running their own gov.
- Denied black people protection and any remaining rights a black person could have in South Africa
Freedom Charter
document that discussed the COP’s goals, and its visualization for a just South Africa
- presented in 1955. SA’s gov. immediate response was to crackdown on activists
Treason Trials
came right before the Rivonia trials
- writers of the freedom charter are put on trial since the gov. considered it an act of treason
- 1955-1961
Rivonia Trials Overview
- Nelson Mandela and 10 other anti-apartheid activists were charged with sabotage and conspiracy
- all but one were found guilty of the charged, sentenced to life in prison and Mandela served the longest sentence
MK
formed in 1961, wing of the ANC which was founded by Mandela
- mission: fight against the south african government with an armed struggle
Alexandra Bus Boycott’s
1957
- African’s would walk for 12 weeks instead of paying for a bus fee to ride to their jobs/homes
