Hello Goldsmiths~
The word ?apartheid? means ?apartness,? and was the title given to an
ideology that the National Party adopted in 1948. Essentially,
apartheid called for the separation of racial groups; this was given
the nice title of ?equal development? and the idea was touted that
such separation between the races would ensure cultural freedom of
expression. In reality, apartheid laws made racial groups live
completely separate lives, creating great inequality.
South Africa had, in essence, been a segregated society for some
time?-much as the American South once was. But apartheid made
segregation part of the law in South Africa. Interracial marriages
were forbidden, buildings were designated for blacks or for white, and
blacks were forced out of cities and into rural reservations.
In short, apartheid took a long standing social belief (that blacks
were inferior to whites) and tried to strengthen it with law. Some
speculate that because white people were the minority in South Africa,
fear spurred apartheid on: fear of loosing jobs, fear of loosing
language, fear of loosing culture, fear of loosing everything they
held dear.
Not all whites agreed with the policy, certainly, and many blacks
resisted, as well, resulting in a great deal of bloodshed in South
Africa. Other countries (and the U.N.) demanded an end to apartheid,
but rather than give in, South Africa withdrew from the Commonwealth
of Nations in 1961.
Arguably, it was economic pressures that lead to the demise of
apartheid. International sanctions had be placed on South Africa,
which raised the cost of living, reduced investment opportunities, and
lead to disinvesting in South African companies by people and
businesses of other countries. There also developed a shortage of
skilled labor in South Africa; black unions slowly gained power.
Gradually, apartheid law began to collapse. By 1990, inter-racial
marriages became legal and segregated buildings were a thing of the
past. In 1991, President F.W. de Klerk removed the remaining apartheid
laws.
In 1993 an interim constitution was formed, and by 1995, apartheid had
ended, although social changes are still forming.
Main Players:
* Daniel F. Malan included apartheid into the National Party?s policy.
(See Info Please, ?Daniel Francois Malan:
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0831318.html )
* Hendrik Verwoerd, Prime Minister, under whom apartheid developed
(See Info Please, ?Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd,?
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0850750.html )
* John Vorster, Prime Minister, under who apartheid continued. (See
Info Please, ?John Vorster,?
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0851168.html )
* P. W. Botha, Prime Minister, under whom apartheid relaxed slightly.
(See Info Please, ?Peiter Willem Botha,?
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0808455.html )
* F.W. de Klerk, President, removed remaining apartheid laws. (See
Info Please, ?F.W. de Klerk,?
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0815007.html )
* Thabo Mbeki, President, who announced that the government would pay
660 million rand (about 85 million US dollars) to approximately 22,000
people who were tortured, detained, or lost family members under
apartheid rule. (See Wikipedia, ?Thabo Mbeki,?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thabo_Mbeki
* Nelson Mandela, non-violent protestor to apartheid and Africa?s
first black President (See Encyclopedia.com, ?Nelson Rolihlahla
Mandela,? http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/m/mandela.asp )
* Desmond Tutu, religious leader and apartheid protestor. (See
Encyclopedia.com, ?Desmond Tutu,?
http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/t/tutu-d1es.asp )
* Steve Biko, a black resistor who died in police custody. (See
Encyclodepia.com, ?Steve Biko,?
http://encyclopedia.com/html/B/Biko-S1te.asp )
* Ford and General Motors, American car manufacturers, sued for
providing vehicles to the apartheid government. (See ?Apartheid
victims sue international businesses,? CyberDyaryo,
http://www.cyberdyaryo.com/features/f2002_1115_04.htm )
* Citigroup, American company sued for aiding apartheid government.
Also, J.P. Morgan, ExxonMobil, and British company British Petroleum.
(See ?Apartheid victims sue international businesses,? CyberDyaryo,
http://www.cyberdyaryo.com/features/f2002_1115_04.htm )
For more "main players," see "Key Figures in the
Apartheid/Anti-Apartheid Movement," by Dennis Williams:
http://david.snu.edu/~dwilliam.fs/f97projects/apartheid/KeyFiguresintheApartheid.htm
For more information on apartheid in general, see these great websites:
The website of The Apartheid Museum: http://www.apartheidmuseum.org
?The History of Apartheid in South Africa,? by Stanford:
http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~cale/cs201/apartheid.hist.html
?South Africa & Apartheid,? by Virginia Tech:
http://athena.english.vt.edu/~carlisle/Postcolonial/South_Africa_Apartheid.html
?The Long Walk of Nelson Mandela? by PBS,
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/mandela/
?Apartheid? by Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid
Regards,
Kriswrite
KEYWORDS USED:
"What was Apartheid"
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Apartheid
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Clarification of Answer by
kriswrite-ga
on
15 Mar 2004 07:58 PST
Hi again Goldsmiths~
One can only speculate why apartheid was so readily accepted. Some
people suggest that the seeds for apartheid began with South African
mines, which are well known for diamonds (discovered in 1900), as well
as gold and platinum. This drew many non-Africans to the country,
eager to strike it rich. In addition, South Africa was originally
colonized in the 17th century by the Dutch and English. Hand in hand,
white colonists and white miners lead to white dominance in the
country. Classism was the name of the game, and blacks were considered
by many to be the ?lowest class.? They were, the rational went,
uneducated, heathen savages. During the early 1900s, mostly white
males voted. In 1911, the Native Labor Regulation Act was passed,
which forbid blacks from striking and stated that skilled mining jobs
should only go to whites. In 1913 the Natives Land Act stated that 90%
of the land was for whites alone, and ?reserves? for blacks were
established. Blacks could no longer buy or lease land outside the
reserves, and the reserves quickly became overcrowded and
insufficient.
In the 1920s, laws continued to be added that restricted black
employment and movement around the country. In 1923, the Natives
Urban Areas Act was passed, which gave blacks no rights while they
were off the reserves; in 1930, an amendment to this act gave whites
the right to take away ?excess females? from the reserves. By the
1936, the Natives Representation Act, took away any remaining voting
rights of black males, insisting that they vote one last time to elect
three white males to represent them instead.
Not all blacks took this lying down, of course, and educated blacks
often tried to organize Africans politically. In desperation to
survive, many blacks moved back into the cities during WWII, despite
laws against it. Apartheid began with the 1948 election.
Regards,
Kriswrite
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