South Africa 1948-59 Flashcards
What did the NP do in 1949 in order to keep power within Parliament
Added six more white seats for Parliament in Namibia (South West Africa) where the NP had support
Why were Coloured people given their own category
They were culturally similar to White People and spoke English and Afrikaans, but they couldn’t be allowed to be equal in the eyes of the NP as they mostly voted UP.
How are laws introduced in SA
Simple 51% majority
Describe the events of ‘The Coloured Vote Constitutional Crisis’
- NP wanted to remove the Coloured Vote in the Cape Province
- This was specially protected so a 2/3 majority was needed to change it
- The NP illegally tried changing it despite only getting a simple majority in 1951
- In 1952, a court deemed that the law was unfair and was not valid
- To get their way, the NP redid the trial but used Afrikaner judges and packed the senate with NP members, so they won and the Coloured People lost their vote in 1956
What was the name of the initial act trying to remove the vote of Coloured People
Separate Representation of Voters Bill 1951
What was the name of the second act that successfully removed the vote of Coloured People
Separate Representation of Voters Amendment Act 1956
How successful were the NP in the 1953 elections
Very successful, gaining another 200,000 votes and enough parliamentary seats to control SA until the end of Apartheid
How did Afrikaners completely control the country after the 1953 elections
They took most senior positions in the military, police force and government so they had full power
During the 1950s, state employed people rose from ______ to ______, the majority of which were ________
During the 1950s, state employed people rose from 482,000 to 799,000, the majority of which were Afrikaners
What 2 groups emerged within the NP who had ideological differences regarding segregation, and what did they believe
- Hardliners who believed in tighter separation of races
- Pragmatists who recognised that the economy needed large numbers of African workers so full segregation was impossible
Who was the Minister of Native Affairs from 1950-1958
Hendrick Verwoerd
What two acts did Verwoerd introduce which aimed to get African people to support Apartheid
- Bantu Authorities Act 1951: Gave authority to conservative African tribal leaders in reserves who would support the NP
- Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act 1959: Turned tribal lands and reserves into 8 ‘Bantustans’ (later 10) which self-governed
What two laws (and years) were introduced prohibiting relationships between different races
Mixed Marriage Act (1949) - Marriage
Immorality Act (1950) - Sex
What law (and year) assigned every citizen of South Africa into four races
Population Registration Act (1950)
What were the four designated races in South Africa
White, African, Coloured, Indian
Where were most African townships located
On the edge of towns or cities, as far from the centre and inner suburbs as the government could
What act provided the government the ability to eradicate townships too close to the city centre
Group Areas Act 1950
Name three examples of areas demolished as a result of the Group Areas Act 1950
Sophiatown, Johannesburg
Cato Manor, Durban
District Six, Cape Town
How many people were removed from Sophiatown
60,000
What years were Sophiatown being bulldozed
1950-56
What could Apartheid Laws be categorised into
Petty Apartheid (day to day activities like separate facilities) and Grand Apartheid (no votes)
What act made it legal to provide separate facilities for Africans and White people of unequal quality
Reservation of Separate Amenities Act 1953
What act replaced passes with reference books for black men, establishing their identity and whether they had a right to be in urban areas (reference books were commonly called pass books anyway)
Natives Abolition of Passes Act 1952
What year did the Natives Abolition of Passes Act 1952 extend to women
1956
What were the requirements for an African Man to be allowed into urban areas
Being born in the urban area, having lived there for 15 years or having worked there for 10 years.
Even still only a minority of African people were accepted
What was a major problem for Africans who WERE allowed into urban areas
They still weren’t allowed to buy land or property in the urban areas and had to travel from townships
How many people were convicted because of pass laws in the following:
1952:
1962:
1952-62:
1952: 164,324
1962: 384,497
1952-62: 3,000,000
The African Urban Population went from ________ in 1946 to ________ in 1960
Why is this surprising?
Went from 1.8 million in 1946 to 3.5 million in 1960.
This is surprising as the Group Areas Act and Pass Laws should have reduced this number to near zero, but instead in doubled
Give two reasons for the rise in urban population of Africans from 1946 to 1960
- The work opportunities were so much better in cities that many Africans chose to brave the pass laws and take the risk
- A lot of employers colluded with Africans to help them work in the city as they could be paid less
What % of Africans were recorded as literate in the 1951 census
24%
Name and describe the act that segregated Black Schools
Bantu Education Act 1953
- It segregated the content of schools in order for Africans to be limited to less lucrative jobs like factory workers
- It DID increase educational opportunities at a basic level for all Africans
Why did Verwoerd (still the Minister of native Affairs) allow the increase of education in Black Schools (2 reasons)
- Education to an extent was valuable in building up a workforce good for roles such as factory workers who were needed
- There were fears of the rise of street gangs and improvements in education were aimed to prevent this