Forced Removals Flashcards
When was the National Party elected?
1948
What were some of the goals of apartheid?
To secure the supremacy of white South Africans and to control labour that was needed for the development of the country.
What did WWII result in for South Africa?
World War II had brought rapid urbanisation to South Africa, but a lack of planning and infrastructure meant that there was overcrowding, squatting and mixed race neighbourhoods.
Why was the group areas act implemented?
The National Party wanted to put an end to mixed-race neighbourhoods and have tight control over which sections of the population could live in certain areas of the country.
Who introduced the group areas act?
The minister of the interior
When was the group areas act passed?
1950
What were the consequences for anyone who did not comply with the group areas act?
A fine of about R200 000, or imprisonment for 2 years or both. Violators we’re furthermore charged an additional R10 000 per day they remained in an area or property which was deemed out of bounds.
What did the Group Areas act result in for the people?
It displaced thousands of people. It tore families apart, split up friends and divided communities. Resettling people across scattered areas made it difficult for those to reconnect and reestablish former relationships.
What did the group areas act result in?
Segregation and forced removals on a massive scale.
Did South Africa experience forced removals before the National Party came into power?
Yes. People of color already had their freedom of movement limited by the Native Land Act (1913) and the Native Trust Land Act (1936).
How were forced removals carried out?
Violently (bulldozing homes, using weapons) and seemingly non-violently (closing nearby schools and shops, spreading fear and intimidation, imposing unfair building restrictions) the government described it as voluntary as an attempt to persuade the world that forced removals were not actually taking place in South Africa.
What had happened by 1982?
Nearly 3.5 million people had been forcibly removed and many still faced the prospect of removals thereafter.
What was the population of Sophiatown?
Approximately 70 000
What had happened by the early 1950s?
The South African government made plans for the destruction of Sophiatown and for removal of its residents.
How did people resist to the destruction of Sophiatown?
Residents and political activists protested against the removal and resisted the governments plans. The ANC initiated an anti removal campaign which attracted the support of thousands.
What happened in 1955?
2000 armed policemen moved though Sophiatown and forced people out of their homes.
Where were people of certain races moved from Sophiatown?
Black - Meadowlands
Coloured - Eldorado Park
Indian - Lenasia
Chinese - Central Johannesburg
When and why was the group areas act finally repealed?
In 1991 under the Abolition of Racially Based Land Measures Act.
Who developed the principles of racial separation even further in the 1960s?
South African Prime Minister Dr HF Verwoerd.
Explain how the government created Bantustans.
The government turned reserves that had been created through the 1913 Land Act into 10 homelands or “Bantustans”.
What did the Bantu Homelands Citizenship Act declare?
The black peoples belonged to a homeland rather than to South Africa itself.
What happened through the process of the Bantu Homelands Citizenship Act?
Approximately eighty million black people lost their South African citizenship.
How were black South Africans assigned to Bantustans?
Depending on the language they spoke.
Where did white ethnographers designate which races?
KwaZulu - Zulu
Transkei and Ciskei - isiXhosa
Others were also provided with Bantustans including the Sotho speaking people, Venda, Tsonga and Swazi.
How did Bantustans work?
They would be like I dependant countries and people would have full political rights there, including being able to vote for their own rulers. The intention was for them to develop entirely independently form white South African people. The government wanted to create the impression for the rest of the world that it was democratic because supposedly all its citizens had the right to vote.
