Apartheid in South Africa

Question 1

What are the key turning points of racial segregation in South Africa before apartheid?

Answer 1

Racial segregation dates back to
colonialism in the 17th century
- British imposed their culture and
language on the local populations
■ Impact of the mineral discoveries
- creation of a migrant labour system
- white ownership of land and mineral
wealth, and control of African labour
■ The Union of South Africa was formed in
1910 after the South African War (AKA Second boer war)
- White people are given complete political
control over all other race groups
- Black South Africans were excluded
politically from South Africa

Question 2

What were the voting laws from 1910 to 1936?

Answer 2

1910 - white males allowed to vote. In the cape some ‘African’ and ‘coloured’ males were allowed to vote.

1930 - white married women can vote, in order to dilute the ‘African’ and ‘coloured’ male votes.

1936 - Africans removed from common voters’ roll. They voted separately for ‘Native Representatives Council’ who were white

Question 3

What was the Land Act of 1913? How was it changed in 1936?

Answer 3

This meant that black people could own only 7% of the land. These reserves were dispersed across SA on poor quality land. This made SA white man’s land, they owned all economically viable land.
1936: Reserves were supposed to be increased to 13% but
never were.

Question 4

What was the 1923 Urban areas act?

Answer 4

• made each local authority responsible for the people of colour in its area.
• introduced racial segregation
• movement of Africans to white areas limited by “influx control”
• Africans in urban
  areas or towns lived on the outskirts called “locations”
• Urban Areas natives pass Act Africans who worked in cities and towns had to carry around passes

Question 5

What happened in 1948?

Answer 5

National party came into power. Set about legalising apartheid by many repressive and discriminatory laws.
Considered the beginning of apartheid from a legal respect.

Question 6

Why did people vote for the NP?

Answer 6

Instability after the war:
White voters (Afrikaners) were worried due to
- the breakdown of segregation during WWII
- growth of black labour resistance

as well as being

• fearful of the rise of African nationalism

Question 7

What did apartheid promise to the white economy?

Answer 7

White economic domination, because:
- white workers feared competition from black labourers
- white employers wanted cheap labour
- white farmers wanted cheap labour in rural areas

Question 8

What are the major apartheid laws?

Answer 8

• Prohibition of mixed marriages act (1949)
• Immorality amendment act (1950)
• Population regristration act (1950)
• Group areas act (1950)
• Suppression of communism act (1950)
• Bantu education act (1953)
• Separate amenities act (1953)
• Pass laws (1952)
• Separate representation of voters act (1956)

Question 9

What year was the ANC created and what does ‘ANC’ stand for?

Answer 9

1912. African National Congress

Question 10

What happened to the ANC post-1948?

Answer 10

They abandoned their traditional, moderate methods of resistance (e.g. petitions and delegations) and became a more militant liberation movement.

Question 11

What year was the ANCYL founded and what does it stand for?

Answer 11

1944. African National Congress Youth League.

Question 12

What occurred in the ANCYL in 1949?

Answer 12

Adopt a ‘Programme of Action’ that calls for strikes/boycotts/defiance/civil disobedience. Commit to militant african nationalism. adopted by the larger ANC body.

Question 13

What occurred In May of 1950?

Answer 13

The ‘May Day Strike.’

Question 14

Give info on the ‘May Day Strike.’

Answer 14

• First mass-based act of defiance
• Protest against low wages, banning of Communist Leaders and plans to ban CPSA (Communist Party of South Africa)
• States response: Polive shot and killed 18 strikers, then implemented the 1950 Suppression of Communism Act

Question 15

What occurred on June 26 1952?

Answer 15

Launch of ‘Defiance Campaign.’

Question 16

What is 1952’s ‘Defiance Campaign?’

Answer 16

• The largest scale non-violent resistance ever seen in SA.
• First campaign pursued jointly by all racial groups under the leadership of the ANC and SAIC (SA Indian Congress)
• Launched to protest against 6 major apartheid laws.
• Planned to purposefully break apartheid laws in a mass-based, organised, peaceful way (AKA civil disobedience)
• Force the police to arrest resistors, flood jails, and make the admin of the country impossible.
• participants did not apply for bail or pay fines
• more than 8000 people went to jail
• lasted until mid-December.

Question 17

When was the launch of the Defiance campaign?

Answer 17

26 June 1952

Question 18

How did the state respond to resistance in the 1950s?

Answer 18

• Arrests of campaign leaders, violence and 2 new laws:
  1) Criminal Law Amendment Act + harsher penalties for deliberately breaking apartheid laws (1953)
  2) 1953 Public Safety Act + power to declare a state of emergency in any district, & so give police massive powers. During a state of emergency, the police and army can arrest anyone who they believe is a threat to the state.

Question 19

How did the ANC’s membership change due to the Defiance Campaign?

Answer 19

Members went from 7000 to 100 000.

Question 20

What was the congress alliance?

Answer 20

AND, SAIC, Coloured People’s Congress, Congress of Democrats and South African Congress of Trade Unions formed an alliance and planned a national meeting knoown as the Congress of the People.

Question 20

When was the Congress Alliance established?

Answer 20

1954

Question 21

What did they plan to do at the Congress of the People meeting?

Answer 21

Draw up a Freedom Charter, expressing the demands of all groups in SA.

Question 22

When was the Congress of the People?

Answer 22

25-6 June 1955

Question 23

What occurred in 1960?

Answer 23

PAC (Pan-Africanist Congress) organise peaceful anti-pass marches.

Question 24

When was the PAC form? What does it stand for?

Answer 24

1959. Pan-Africanist Congress.

Question 25

Who was the first leader of PAC?

Answer 25

Robert Sobukwe

Question 26

WHat was PAC’s mantra?

Answer 26

Government of Africans, by Africans, for Africans.

Question 27

What is the Sharpeville Massacre?

Answer 27

It was a peaceful act of resistance on 21 March 1960 that turned into a massacre when police opened fire. There was a peaceful crowd of 3-5ooo and they faced 3oo policemen. Police opened fire (with real bullets, not the rubber ones often used and non-fatal), killing 69 and wounding 180 people. Most people who died were shot in the back - an important reminder of the fact that they were running away and were not opposing the police.

Question 28

What happened a week after the Sharpeville Massacre?

Answer 28

30 000 people from Langa and Nyanga take to the streets, heading towards the city in protest of the previous week’s event. The PAC leader at the time, Kgosana, met with the police and was promised a meeting with the justice minister in exchange for leading the march out of the city. When Kgosana did so, he was instead arrested.

Question 29

What act was passed on 8 April 1960?

Answer 29

Unlawful organisations act. Banned the ANC and PAC.

Question 30

How did the Unlawful Organisations Act affect the ANC and PAC?

Answer 30

It banned both, and thousands were arrested. ANC and PAC sent representatives overseas to establish offices in exile. Oliver Tambo left South Africa and set up ANC’s external mission in Botswana.

Question 31

How did the Sharpeville Massacre affect the globe?

Answer 31

Newspapers all over the world published about it. England held a month-long boycott of SA goods. THe UN raised the issue of apartheid for the first time in 1960 and called on the government to abandon its policies. In 1962 the UN called for economic sanctions against SA but no Western Government supported this due to the Cold War.

Question 32

What was the Rivonia Trial?

Answer 32

Nelson Mandela; Walter Sisulu; Govan Mbeki; Raymond Mahlaba; Ahmed Kathrada; Lionel Bernstein; James Kantor; Bob Hepple, Dennis Goldberg; Elias Motsoaledi; and Andrew
Mlangeni were all charged with recruiting people for training in sabotage and guerrilla warfare for the purpose of violent revolution. The death pentalty was demanded by the state, and defendants believed they were going to die. In what they believed was their final act of rebellion, they used the trial as a platform to highlight the injustices of the system and explain reasons for adoption of armed struggle. Mandela, Sisulu, Mbeki, Mhlaba, Goldberg, Kathrada, Motsoaledi, and Mhlangeni sentenced to life imprisonment.

Question 33

What was the Terrorism act and when was it passed?

Answer 33

It was passed in 1967. Allowed for indefinite detention of any individual if suspected of terrorist activity.

Question 34

When was the Rivonia Trial?

Answer 34

December 1963 to June 1964.

Question 35

What was formed in June 1961?

Answer 35

MK (Spear of the Nation), the armed wing of the ANC. Conducted a sabotage campaign and prepared for guerrilla warfare. Targeted government installations and avoided bloodshed and endangering civilians.

Question 36

How did the resistance change in 1961?

Answer 36

In contrast to the peaceful defiance campaigns, the main resistance groups were now prepared to use sabotage and violence to overthrow the government.

Question 37

What was the Sabotage Act?

Answer 37

• Gave massive powers to the minister of police
• increased presidents power to declare organisations banned
• any person who committed any wrongful and wilful act whereby he/she injured, obstructed, tampered with or destroyed the health or safety of the public, the maintenance of law and order, the supply of water, light, power, fuel or foodstuffs, sanitary, medical, or fire extinguishing services could be tried for sabotage

– minimum penalty: 5 years; maximum penalty: death
- Passed in 1962

Question 38

What was the general law amendment act?

Answer 38

• passed in 1963
• allowed for detention without trial for 90 days (later changed to 180 days)
• over 1000 were arrested in 18 months
• September 1963: first suspicious deaths in detention were reported

Question 39

What happened in July 1963?

Answer 39

The raid of MK’s secret HQ at Lilliesleaf farm, Rivonia. Most MK leaders were arrested and the ‘Operation Mayibuye’ document was seized, which discussed a plan to launch guerrilla warfare. This was used as evidence in the Rivonia trial.

Question 40

Where were the ANC and PAC by the end of the 1960s?

Answer 40

They had next to no power left in SA, and resistance slowed down due to lack of organisations and leadership.