Codifying and implementing apartheid (1948-1959) Flashcards
What was the Population Registration Act (1950)?
A racial register of all racial groups (e.g. Blacks, Whites, and Coloured) which helped keep them separate. It was difficult to enforce with 20,000 still not classified by 1963.
What was the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act (1949)?
Made marriages between different racial groups illegal and punishable by imprisonments for whites. Expanded on the 1927 act which banned all sexual activity between partners of different races.
What was the Immortality Amendment Act (1950)?
Banned all sex between different races and held a max penalty of 7 years, from 1957. It was VERY difficult to enforce as it is a private act.
What was the Group Areas Act (1950)?
Prevented cities being near Black and Coloured owned houses and businesses by building zones (Sophiatown, District Six, Cato Manor) to separate different races. Each race received designated areas which led to the forced removals of over 3.5 million Africans between 1951-86.
What was the forced removal of Sophiatown (1955) and why did it happen?
Sophiatown was a mixed race township which had a population of between 39,000 - 60,000, where Africans could own properties but around 70% of homes were slums. In 1951, the Natives Resettlement Act allowed police to forcible remove people from Sophiatown, which began in 1955 when 2,000 police arrived to remove all residents. This ended in 1959.
What was the Bantu Authorities Act (1951)?
Extended onto legislation in 1911 and 1936 which established tribal reserves, by allowing reserves to be ruled by leaders picked by the government who were responsible for things like land, welfare. Due to an insufficient amount of land, tribes struggled to be sufficient.
What was the Native Law Amendment Act (1952) and what was the impact of it?
Required all Africans over 16 to carry a 90-page long reference book with their name, photo, workplace, and home, which prevented Africans from being in Urban areas longer than 70 hours without a permit and couldn’t live there unless they had: lived there for more than 15 year, were born there, or been with the same employer for more than 10 years.
IMPACT:
Important in controlling Africans and punishing them, with over 960,000 arrests being made in the early 1950’s, along with over 860,000 convictions.
What was the Bantu Education Act (1953) and what was its impact?
Before the act most Africans were educated in missions schools (4360 missions schools vs 230 government ran schools in 1945) with little spending given to them, as the government spent 16 times more on white children. 33% of Africans never attended school. The act, created by Hendrik Verwoerd (Minister of Native Affairs) established the Eiselen Commission which recommended that African children should be protected from Western influences, which Verwoerd claimed apartheid would do. It led to the development of a curriculum designed for low skilled jobs.
IMPACT:
It led to the closure of mission schools and expansion of state run-schools with all missions schools having to be handed over to the government by 1954. The ANC promised to boycott the schools but the National Party were happy for this to happen as they could close schools and off roll pupils. Unofficial schools sprang up as the Bantu Education Act came into force.
What was the Tomlinson Report (1956)?
- Report stated that tribal reserves would only support 2/3 of the populations - Recommended more land be given to house Africans
- Policies of Betterment be developed where the government could improve agricultural and living conditions
- £100 million would be needed to combat soil erosion in tribal reserves
- Recommended the development of industrial developments outside reserves to allow Africans to get to work
- Though the government accepted the report and what it recommended, it never acted on any of the advise and instead kept the current system of apartheid.
What was the Tomlinson Report (1956)?
The Tomlinson report stated that tribal reserves would only support 2/3 of the populations and recommended more land be given to house them. It recommended that Policies of Betterment be developed where the government could improve agricultural and living conditions and said that £100 million would be needed to combat soil erosion in tribal reserves. It further recommended the development of industrial developments outside reserves to allow Africans to get to work. Though the government accepted the report and what it recommended, it never acted on any of the advise and instead kept the current system of apartheid.
What was the Bantu Self Governing Act (1959)?
Established 8 self-governing homelands which were independent from South Africa, which (along with the Bantu Authorities Act) helped establish Bantustans.
What was the Suppression of Communism Act (1950)?
The government believed that communists were behind the majority of anti-apartheid protests and the reason for any unrest. Banning orders were used to control people by limiting contact for up to 5 years
What was the Public Safety Act (1953)?
Government could call a state of emergency for up to 12 months
What was the Criminal Law Amendment Act (1953)?
Anyone who is found accompanying a person found guilty of a crime would automatically also be found guilty
What were the Censorship Acts (1955-56)?
Censored any criticism of South African policies from imported literature or reports
