Apartheid South Africa Flashcards
Apartheid was introduced by
National Party in South Africa in 1948 after DF Malan and National Party gained power
_________ government immediately began…
All-white
Enforcing and adding to existing policies of racial segregation
Apartheid translated means
Separateness
Apartheid was a system
Of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa from 1948 to early 1990’s
Apartheid was characterised
By an authoritarian culture based on baasskap
Baasskap
Ensured SA was dominated politically, socially and economically through country’s dominant minority white population
Hierarchy of races in SA during Apartheid
- White citizens (highest status)
- Indian & coloured people
- Black people
________ & _________ of apartheid ________
Economic legacy
Social effects
Continue to present day, particularly inequality
Goal of Apartheid policies
To separate the different races in all respects - socially,politically, economically and territorially: to keep white poeple in a position of power and control
These apartheid laws ruled:
- How people were classified
- Where people could live
- What amenities people could use
- Who people could marry
These apartheid laws were passed by
National Party government to ensure white minority rule
Apartheid laws:
- The Population Registration Act
- The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act
- The Immorality Act
- The Group Areas Act
- The Abolition of Passes Act
- The Separate Amenities Act
- The Bantu Education Act
Population Registration Act
1950: forced South Africans to classify/register into one of four groups: White, Indian, Coloured/Black
Were largely determined by the group which an individual belonged:
- Social rights
- Political rights
- Educational opportunities
- Economic status
3 Basic classifications under the law
- Black
- White
- Coloured (mixed)
Indians were added later: initially seen as having “no historical right to the country”
Criteria for separating Coloured People from White People
- Characteristics of person’s head hair
- Characteristics of person’s other hair
- Skin colour
- Facial features
- Home language & especially knowledge of Afrikaans
- Area where person’s lives, friends & acquaintances
- Employment
- Socioeconomic status
- Eating and drinking habits
The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act
1949
- Made it illegal for black and white people to marry each other. Introduced by apartheid government and part of its overall policy of separateness.
Consequences of breaking The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act
- People are arrested and charged for breaking its provisions
- Interracial marriages of South Africans that occurred outside the country are nullified
Immorality Amendment Act
1950
- Forbid unmarried sexual intercourse between “Europeans” and anyone not “European
- Enforcement of the act was up to police who often followed people to their homes to ensure there were not in violation of the law
Consequences of breaking the Immorality Amendment Act
Police would raid the homes of those believed to be in mixed marriages
The Group Areas Act
1950
- Divided the towns and cities of the country into separate residential and business areas for each race group
Consequences of breaking Group Areas Act
- People (Indians, Coloured/Blacks) are removed from areas (designated for whites) by police and are then forced to live in newly designated area
The Abolition of Passes Act
1952
- Forced all black men (over age of 16) to carry a pass/reference book/dompass
- Illegal to be without a pass
- Pass books severely restricted movements of Black South Africans and other racial groups by confining them to designated areas/allowed black people to enter “white” South Africa to work
- 1956 law was extended to include women
Consequences of breaking Abolition of Passes Act
To be without a pass the penalty was arrest & jail
Pass books included
Detailed information, including employment information and evaluations from employers (fingerprints)
The Separate Amenities Act
1953
- To create separate social environments for white and other population groups
- Enforced segregation of facilities and services e.g. hospitals, post offices, trains and buses etc.
The Bantu Education Act
1953
- Bantu Education: majorly long term impact “black” education
- Introduced a system of education: designed to serve apartheid and train black people for unskilled work
- Government spent far more on education for white children than black children
- Long shortage of qualified teachers: teacher-student rates ranged from 40-1 to 60-1
- Intended to spread idea that blacks were to accept being subservient to white South Africans
Money spent for schools:
- Whites
- Indians & coloured
- Blacks
African-American in USA resisted
Jim Crow laws
People in South Africa resisted
Apartheid laws