South Africa 1948-94 Flashcards
(20 cards)
What was the attitude like before Apartheid in South Africa
- Very few non-whites had the vote
- Each state had its own ‘pass laws’, which controlled and restricted the movement of blacks
What were the most significant laws between 1900 and 1947
- 1911 Mines and Works Act
- 1923 Natives Land Act
- 2923 Natives Urban Areas Act
- 1924 Industrial Concilliation Act
- 1936 Representation of the Natives Act
What was the 1911 Mines and Works Act
Reserved skilled (and well-paid) jobs for the whites
What was the 1913 Natives Land Act
Restricted black ownership of (the most fertile) land
What was the 1923 Natives Urban Areas Act
Established that Africans working in unskilled jobs in mines or industry must live in townships on the outskirts of the city, and leave the area once their contracts expired
What was the 1924 Industrial Concilliation Act
Denied blacks trade unions or workers’ rights
What was the 1936 Representation of the Natives Act
Removed voting rights from 10,000 blacks living in the Cape who met the property qualification
Who won the 1948 election
The Nationalist Party (D.F Malan)
Who did the Nationalists beat in the 1948 election
Smuts, the grand old man of the South African politics was defeated, even in his own constituency (a group of voters in a specified area who elect a representative to a legislative body)
Why had the Nationalist Party not have a worked-out plan for apartheid after the 1948 election
They were surprised by the result, therefore they had not properly worked out the plan of apartheid that was promised to supporters
What were the reasons of the Nationalist’s victory in the 1948 election
- Fear of job losses to blacks (following WWII)
- In post-war atmosphere of the recovery of Afrikaner nationalism, the Nationalist’s policy on race contrasted favourably with United Party policy
- Electoral system gave 15% weighting to the rural constituencies than the urban ones (Benefited NP, more of their supporters lived in the countryside)
- Many Afrikaners believed that 75 yr old Smuts was out of touch and a traitor to his race
How did the fear of job losses contribute to the Nationalist Partys victory
- During WW2, labour shortages led to the relaxation of employment and settlement laws
- Even though blacks were paid less than whites, many whites feared their jobs and status in peacetime, thinking that economic equality would lead to social equality
How did the post-war atmosphere of the recovery of Afrikaner nationalism help the Nationalist’s victory in 1948
- Smits favoured continuing the wartime relaxation, which allowed black workers into white areas to fill job vacancies
- This alarmed many white voters, who were attracted to the Nationalist Party’s slogan of Apartheid
How did the 15% electoral system weighting to the rural constituencies than the urban ones help the Nationalist Party’s victory in 1948
- More of the Nationalist Party’s supporters lived in the countryside
How did the attitude of many Afrikaners to Smuts help Nationalists win in 1948
- Believed Smuts was out of touch, and a traitor to his race
- Many of Smuts older generation voters had died out
- Many distrusted Smuts likely successor
What did Malan do first in the development of Apartheid
He appointed a white academic, Professor F.R. Tomlinson, to chair a Commission of Investigation into how a system of Apartheid might work
How long did Tomlinson and his team work before submitting their findings about apartheid
4 years
What did Tomlinson conclude about Apartheid
- It could work, but only if the government was prepared to pay - a systematic policy of ‘separateness’ would be expensive
- If blacks were to be kept outside the cities, 104 million pounds (over 10 yrs) would have to be invested into improving the conditions on the homelands so that there were enough jobs to keep them there
What laws were the ‘first phase’ of apartheid
- Population Registration Act (1950)
- Prohibitions on mixed marriages (Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act (1949), Immorality Act (1950))
- Group Areas Act (1950)
- New Pass System
- Creation of reserves
- Separate Amenities Act (1953)
- Bantu Education Act (1953)
What was the population registration act (1950)
