🇿🇦the response to apartheid 1948-59 Flashcards
4 racial groups in 1948
whites, Africans, coloured people, Indians
number of Africans in 1951
8.5 million
Africans
- Zulu biggest kingdom leaving a legacy
-Britain conquered Zulu kingdom 1878-1885
-Zulu identity and language strong force
-other centralised states- Sotho, Pedi, Tswana, Xhosa, Mpondo, Thembu
-shared sisal features but had distinct languages and cultures which was a challenge facing African nationalists as it would be difficult to create a common African identity
number of whites in 1951
1 million
whites
-Afrikaans
-British
-Dutch/German/French settlers (60% of whites in 1951)
-politically divided between the British Cape and two separate Boer republics
-whites who spoke English were descendants of British colonists who arrived after the Cape became part of the British empire in 1806
-Irish/Jewish/other minorities joined after the discovery of valuable minerals in the late 19th century
-wealthier, better educated, dominated businesses and professions
number of Coloured and Indian people in 1951
1.1 million
Coloured and Indians
-descendants of the San & Khoikhoi, slaves brought from south east Asia and Africa by the Dutch
-largely based in Western Cape and mostly Afrikaans speaking
-For 50 years settlers in Natal imported indentured Indians to work on sugar plantations
-Some Indian traders from Gujarat (3% of the population) were based in Natal and Transvaal
Segregation and Discrimination
-already existed
-SA self government in 1910
-Britain did not require whites to share power with Blacks
-MPs and most electorate were whites
-Some coloured and Africans in the old Cape Colony who met property and education qualifications were the exception
what year did white women get the vote
1930
what year were Africans completely disenfranchised
1936
who entirely decided the 1948 election
white people which represented only 2% of the population
urbanisation and industrialisation
-gold discovered in the Witwatersrand area of Transvaal
-Johannesburg grew to provide services to the miners
-mines needed workers and city grew to 100,000 by 1900
-some mineworkers were rural African immigrants
-temporarily living in male-only compounds
-by 1948 population of Joburg reach 1 mil
-Gold mines were the motor of the SA industrial economy up until 1920
-gradually industry was diversified to produce textiles, clothing, food, chemicals and machinery
-Major iron and steel industry developed generating electricity from coal
-WW2 meant it was difficult to import British goods so SA industry expanded to supply the home market
what year was gold discovered
1886
how many white men went to war
180,000
industrialisation and urbanisation 2
-job opportunities for blacks during war
-competition between space and jobs in city when war over
-majority of Africans lived in countryside and whites in towns/cities
-poor white Afrikaners were a growing concern to government and churches so they expanded state employment e.g. on railways
-whites wanted to avoid the ignominy of working for Blacks under their supervision or doing their kind of labour
how did nationalists appeal to poor whites who had the vote?
appealed to their sense of insecurity with the promise of protected employment in government service and factories
townships
-prior to 1948 governments and municipal councils wanted to maintain cities as predominantly white
-the influx of migrants was too large which led to informal/shack settlements
-townships were allocated to house black migrants
-poor healthcare and sanitation
-tenuous land rights
rural society
-in 1948 land ownership was divided by race and class
-although whites owned majority of land not all land was inhabited by whites e.g. on farms Blacks were wage labourers and tenants
-strict hierarchy between staff
-rural areas enabled whites to maintain authority more effectively
-wool from merino sheep most valued and exported to Britain for textile industries
-most African rural communities lived on white-owned farms or reserves
-missionaries started schools and many of the successful education establishments were in rural ares
-taxation forced africans into the cash economy and consumer tastes grew
-women worked hard for the rural economy: collected water, firewood, domestic and agricultural labour
-1948 those in African reserves produced 50% of their food
-men became migrant workers in the city
-economy of reserves led to a peasant economy supplemented by essential income of migrant workers with little local industry and few employment opportunities
what % of land did whites own in 1948
80
what years were the Boer war
1899-1902
who was the Boer war between
Britain and to Afrikaner republics to cement control of the region
Afrikaner culture and politics
-Boer war left a bitter legacy
-after union in 1910 politicians (Smuts) tried to unify the white population within the British empire BUT some Afrikaners were resentful about the imperial presence and English speaking South Africans who supported Britain
-Smuts was opposed by Hertzog who founded the Afrikaner NP
what year did Hertzog found the NP
1913
The NP won in 1924 and secured gains for Afrikaners:
-bilingualism in the national civic servies
-Afrikaans was made a national language rather than dutch
-compulsory teaching of Afrikaans and English in white Schools
what year did Hertzog and Smuts join together in a United Party
1934
Afrikaner politics
-Malan split from Hertzog and re found the NP causing a political division amongst Afrikaners
-1920s and 1930s saw an increase in Afrikaner pride
-in 1938 the centenary of the Great Trek was commemorated by a re-enactment showing the celebration of Afrikaner freedom
->in the 1830s 1/4 of Afrikaners left the British control in Cape Colony to establish independent republics in the Transvaal and Orange Free state
-Afrikaans bibles, newspapers, books
-Afrikaner press led to nationalism
-Created new communities in the towns in largely Afrikaans speaking suburbs
why was the Afrikaner vote significant by 1948
politicians could appeal to the Afrikaner rising sense of themselves
the influence of Britain
-1948 SA was a self governing part of the British empire
-A Governor General was the representative of the British monarch
-a parliament imitated the British system
-British investors dominated industries and mines
-English was the join official language
-British sports were popular
-Strong cultural and political links
-by 1948 these ties provoked strong reactions among Afrikaners attracted to the possibility of a Republican government
% of British descent making up the white population
40
Why was the NP victorious in 1948
1) Afrikaner nationalism
2) NP’s campaign and voting system
3) impact of WW2
4) White workers wanting protection from competition for jobs
1948 election
-Afrikaner votes split between United Party (Hertzog and Smuts) and the National Party (Malan) in 1938
-In 1939 parliament voted to support British war effort
-Hertzog resigned leaving Smuts in control of the UP
-The NP mobilised Afrikaners for their vision for the future of SA and an idea on how they could survive in a culturally mixed society
Afrikaner nationalism
-more extreme ideas about racial destiny/supremacy
-opposed British war effort- launched a mass anti war movement of 300,000 the Ossewabrandwag
-more rural population which are Afrikaner nationalists
-NP were not necessarily campaigning for Afrikaner nationalism but benefitted from it as they had similar ideology
-Broederbond was a society of selected Afrikaner men with Christian/Nationalist/Republican ideology
-After 1939 the idea of Afrikaners becoming a distinct separate identity from other South Africans gained political currency
-by 1948 the Afrikaner influence within society was sufficient to provide a formidable base upon which to contest the election
Afrikaner nationalism links to religion institutions
had nationalist ideology
-Calvinist Dutch Reform Church believed Black and white people played separate roles in God’s plan
-boundaries between races had to be strengthened to prevent racial impurity and inter-marrying
-NP appealed to this idea because they ensured the total regulation of African movement and employment
international context
- Prior to WW2 legal discrimination/segregation by race was uncommon in countries including the British colonies
- In the US southern states had ‘Jim Crow’ (disparaging term for black people) laws which restricted registration for the franchise and segregated schools/public facilities
- SA’s early segregationist legislation was harsh but not different from elsewhere
- Following WW2, the war against fascism and the holocaust, major powers increasingly raised concerns about basic human rights
- From 1947 the colonial empires were dismantled when India became independent which affected SA’s policies
- In the US segregation still had supporters in the southern states in the 1940 and 1950s
- White South Africans stood for western, Christian and anti-communist values and found international sympathy
NP victory: whites wanting protection from job competition
-war stimulated SA industry-> higher demand for armed forces-> less available abroad
-expansion of factories
-manufacturing developed so Black unskilled workers needed
-higher wages
-money invest in basic black education to ensure educated workers
-money invested in segregated healthcare to ensure healthy workers
-whites lost education advantage heightening the threat and competition
-70% increase in black men in industry but only 30% of white men
-Np exploited fear and insecurity by promising to protect employment ingot services and factories and avoid them the ignominy of working under black supervision
industry and faming yearly wages
£128 and £32
NP victory: NP’s campaign and voting system
-NP campaign exploited whites grievances
-Black wages risen from one fifth of white wages to a quarter
-white farmers resented black workers in city as they could earn more rather than acting as cheap labour for farmers
-campaigning took advantage of white concerns: promised to remove threat of African workers, move blacks to reserves
-campaign appealed to different groups: NP promised white farmers a supply of cheap black labour and white industrialists a flexible apartheid enabling blacks to work in cities temporarily
-Westminster constituency system meant rural areas had more seats per person so the NP acquired a majority of seats despite having 38% of the vote compared to 49% UP
NP’s Sauer report
established they offered voters total regulation of African employment and movement and defined Apartheid in vague terms
UP’s Fagan report
-business as usual
-total segregation is impractical
-African urbanisation needed to supply workers
How did the NP use the Fagan report to manipulate voters
portrayed the UP as pro-integration
this was believable because of the changed that took place during WW2 and that the UP was generally more liberal e.g. their minister of health aimed to build a healthcare system serving all races
1948 election votes %
NP- 38%
UP-49%
NP victory: impact of WW2
-intensified the whites pre-existing concerns
-job competition
-186,000 white fought in war and 300,000 total SA
-boosted industry as difficulties importing
-Black urbanisation
-Blacks took the opportunity of being needed by the white economy to demand improvements:
->poor conditions/overcrowded squatter camps
->organised trade unions (allowed) and boycotts
-black activism scared whites
Black male manufacturing figures
200,000 in 1933 and 300,000 in 1945
How was apartheid implemented and codified 1948-59?
- Racially defined groups within South African society deserved tailor-made facilities and through separate development all racial groups would progress
- Already were laws removing blacks from the franchise (right to vote) and limiting where they could buy land
- The National Party gradually instigated apartheid through parliament and legislation
- Not all laws could be passed quickly as some required a greater understanding of the fine distinctions within South African society therefore commissions (a group of people entrusted by the government) were formed to advance the apartheid
Strengthening the NP
narrow victory so prioritised maintaining political power
