Apartheid

We explain what apartheid was and how the racial segregation system in South Africa was implemented. In addition, how was the resistance against this system.

What was apartheid?

It is known as Apartheid to the racial segregation system that was implemented in South Africa during the second half of the 20th century. The government controlled by the Afrikáner National Party defended the privileges of the White Population minority that lived in South Africa and established a system of legal, economic, social and political discrimination that limited the rights of the black population of the country.

Since its conformation as an independent state, South Africa was a multiracial country, that is, in it the population of different origins, ethnicities, communities and races. When the Afrikáner National Party assumed the government, it separated the different races legally and established a regulatory hierarchy that reserved privileges for white population of European origin and overwhelmed the rights of the rest of the population: blacks, Asians, bantu, mestizos or “colared”.

Through apartheid, The discriminated non -white population was forced to live in certain territories (called “Bantustanes”), he lost his citizenship rights, suffered persecution and repression, free mobility was denied, and his access to education, health and professional practice was restricted.

Nelson Mandela and other opposition leaders fought for apartheid for decades. All of them were arrested, killed or had to exile to organize resistance to racist government from abroad. Just around 1990, during a serious political and economic crisis, the resistance struggle achieved the abolition of discriminatory laws. In that context, Mandela and the rest of the opposition leaders were released or returned to the country and the transition process began to a democratic and multi -regular state.

• See also: Decolonization in Africa

The historical context of apartheid

During the end of the 19th century, The South African region had received great immigration from different parts of Africa and Asia to work in the gold mines that had been discovered in the Witwatersrand mountains. This immigration was promoted from the government, since it allowed to obtain an economic workforce and reduce the costs of production and extraction of gold.

In this way, the population of the region became increasingly heterogeneous. On the one hand, the black population originally from the region that was especially dedicated to agricultural work on small scale and rural life. On the other hand, there was the white population descended from the colonists of the Netherlands and the British empire, which (under the system of colonial domination) monopolized the positions of power and enriched themselves with the exploitation of the country’s resources. In addition, the new immigrant population that came from different parts of Africa and Asia was increasingly multiplied.

In 1910, Colonia del Cabo, Transvaal, Natal and the Free State of Orange (different countries that were in southern Africa) They signed the law of union and unified under a single country with the name “South African Union”. This new country was administered by the British Empire, but a part of the population, the Dutch Afrikaners (the population descended from the settlers from the Netherlands), managed to define some fundamental issues on the principles of government and the rights of the population.

Thanks to its control over the new government, Dutch Afrikaners prevented the black population from obtaining three elementary civil rights: Right to vote, to work in the public administration and apply as a representative in Parliament. These facts are constituted as the first antecedent of apartheid and respond to a common racist ideology among the white population of the time.

The ideology behind apartheid

The white population descended from the colonists of the Netherlands was known as the Afrikáners (By name in Dutch). Among this group was popular The idea that the white race was the only one capable of guiding the rest of the population to be able to live in a civilized way.

This idea was based on racist theories of the mid -nineteenth century, according to which within the human species, black and yellow races (referring to people of African origin and oriental Asian origin) belong to a lower evolutionary state than the white race.

Some of the most important exponents of racist ideas of the nineteenth century were Joseph Gobineau in his Essay on the inequality of human races (1855), who established biological differentiation between people by their skin color and karl Vogt in Man readings (1864), which linked black leather people with apes.

On the other hand, Ernst Haeckel wrote different works in which he argued that the white race had to supervise the actions of the non -white races, because these were in a children’s stage of evolution (a common idea of ​​the current of evolutionary thought, which assimilated the evolution of the human species to the life stages of an individual).

The Afrikaners of Dutch origin, who lived in a privileged situation regarding the rest of the population, They found in racist ideology a foundation to maintain their position of power. The political movement that brought together the defense of the interests of this sector of the population is known as “Afrikáner nationalism.”

Afrikáner nationalism argued that the evolution and development of South Africa depended on the races being separated. Thus, it could be ensured that racial groups deal with different sectors of economic production. In turn, this ideology argued that to achieve that it was necessary to establish an order with differential access to natural resources, goods and rights. And for them, The white race should be the one who took care of the managementthe organization, administration and making all kinds of decisions about the country and the rest of South African society.

Apartheid implementation

When the South African union was created, Afrikaners of Dutch origin managed to impose their racist vision and They established the supremacy of the white population over the rest of the races, By denying them the right to vote, to work in the public administration and be elected as representatives in Parliament. At that time, whites integrated 21 % of the total population, while the black race reached almost 69 %, mestizos 8.5 % and Asians 1.5 %.

To maintain the separation of races and avoid miscegenation, in the first half of the twentieth century The South African government imposed two legal norms that were the essential components of the posterior apartheid. This first period is known as “Mini-Apartheid” and sought to control the movements of the non-white population and limit their access to the resources that were considered essential.

First half of the twentieth century: the mini-apartheid

Is known as mini-apartheid The first measures that were carried out in South Africa to control the non -white population and manage your access to resources. It is specifically two regulations that were approved in 1913 and 1923.

The land law forced the black inhabitants to live in territorial reserves. The black population reached 70 % of inhabitants of the country and the lands that were awarded to them less than 9 % of the South African territory.

This law had deep consequences on the socioeconomic structure of the population. On the one hand, he implied the forced mobilization of entire populations, with the consequent uprooting and separation of communities that were the fundamental source of identity of people.

On the other hand, the land law established the ban on the black population of rental lands, which prevented them from working as farmers, parking lots or farmers, activities that until then were constituted as the main means of life of the black population.

In this way the whites obtained all the fertile lands legally and a huge mass of unemployed labor was deprived of their main means of life and, therefore, She was forced to work under the direction of the white race.

A second regulation known as the Native/Urban Areas Law was approved in 1923. This law laid the basis for the geographical and housing segregation of the South African population. Both the capital city of the country and all important cities were reorganized to separate residential neighborhoods by races.

This was carried out through Forced displacements, evictions, proper appropriation and resistance repression. Since then, separate locations began to be built for whites, black and mestizos.

Second half of the twentieth century: the institutionalization of apartheid

In 1948, the National Party assumed the government of the South African Union with Daniel François Malan as Prime Minister. Malan was the greatest exponent of Afrikáner nationalism. The political platform that Malan defended during his campaign was based directly on the racial segregation for the economic development of South Africa. During his government, a number of laws that together were approved institutionalized the apartheid system.

Between 1949 and 1960, gradually, the freedoms and rights of the non -white population were limited and the privileges of the white population were growing. This was achieved through different laws of civil, geographical, labor, political, economic, social and educational segregation.

• Marriage prohibition law (1949), Immorality law (1950) and Population Registration Law (1950). These civil segregation laws legally classified people according to skin color and ethnic origin, and prohibited sexual and marital relations between people of different race.
• Group Law by Areas (1950), Native Law (1952 and 1956), Separate Public Services Law (1953) and Native relocation law (1954). These regulations delimited where each group could reside, where you could travel what public services could access. The urban areas were reserved for the white population, and non -white people had to carry a “pass” that enabled them to travel through the cities. In addition, the non -mandatory equity in the quality of facilities or services for each group was defined. In this way the geographical and residential segregation of South Africans was consolidated.
• Native Law (1953) and Modifying Black Labor Law (1954). These measures established labor segregation by prohibiting the participation of black workers in certain trades. In addition, they were deprived of the right to strike and demonstrations, and a regulation protocol for the use of black workers and the resolution of labor conflicts was established.
• Law of Suppression of Communism (1951) and Anti -Terror Law (1967). Through these laws, political persecution was organized for resistance against apartheid. On the one hand, the existence of communist parties and manifestations was prohibited. On the other hand, the fight against communism was used as an excuse for the repression of any type of demonstration against the National Party regime. In addition, the Government was granted to Afrikáner the right to arrest anyone who considers dangerous.
• Bantú Self -Government Promotion Law (1959) and Bantú Urban Mayor’s Law (1960). These laws defined the political segregation of the black population. Ten “Bantustanes” were created as new nations in the country and every non -white person was assigned to one of them. People were forced to settle residentially in the awarded nation, regardless of the origin, uprooting and the possibilities of life involved. These laws assumed that the non -white population did not have citizenship or representation rights.
• Bantú Education Law (1953) and University Education Extension Law (1959). Through these regulations, educational segregation was legalized. Special educational programs oriented to “the needs of the black population” were created, with the aim of achieving social subordination and preparing people to exercise the trades determined by apartheid. The entry of black people to educational institutions for the white population was prohibited.

The resistance fight against apartheid

The era of civil disobedience (1912-1960)

The resistance against racial segregation ideology began since the first racial measures were implemented at the beginning of the 20th century. When the South African Union and Afrikáners groups were founded, they managed to deny the political rights of the black population, There were general protest movements and the first defense groups of equal rights began to be organized.

In 1912, John Langalibalele Dube founded the National Native Congress of South Africa with the aim of organizing the fight against racial discrimination measures and achieving recognition of the right to vote of black and mestizo Africans. In 1923, the organization took the form of a political party with the name of the National African Congress (CNA).

In these years, The resistance was peaceful And it was aimed at fighting specific measures, such as the Land Law (1913) that began the geographical segregation of the population and the Native Urban Areas (1923). In this period, among the main leaders of the CNA were Pixley Simo and Josaiah Gumede. During the 1930s, internal differences led the CNA to weaken.

However, in 1944, Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela created a more radical wing within the CNAwhich became the platform for the renewal of the party. In 1948, Mandela was appointed Vice President of the CNA.

When the National Party came to power with Malan’s segregationist campaign, the CNA sought to massively promote the demonstration against the attacks on the rights of black South Africans. Its leaders called on the population to make different boycott and strikes against the Government, under what was known as a campaign of civil disobedience.

However, The Afrikáner government repressed the demonstrations and promulgated new political containment laws (such as the law of suppression of communism) through which it sought to prohibit different resistance activities. In 1955, the CNA allied with different political organizations of the opposition and signed a letter of freedom, which promoted the creation of a plurirracial state that fully eliminated segregation. The government denounced this activity as “communist” and arrested opposition leaders.

The Sharpeville massacre (1960)

In 1960, a resistance group organized a manifestation in Sharpeville to protest against the obligation to carry “passes” that will enable the transit of black people. The demonstration ended in a massacre at the hands of police repression: 69 people died and more than 180 were injured. All victims were black people. Then, immediately the CNA and other organizations that fought for the rights of the black population were illegalized.

The Sharpeville massacre led to resistance groups changing strategy and abandoning the peaceful fight. A direct armed struggle began against government forces. The call to civil disobedience became a call to violence against government.

The organization of armed resistance against apartheid

After the Sharpeville massacre, The different opposition groups began to see violence as the only means of facing government oppression And, in that context, different guerrilla organizations were created. Among the most recognized, is the “Lanza de la Nación”, created by Nelson Mandela (vice president of the CNA). However, the scope of these guerrilla groups was very limited since they lacked sufficient resources, weapons and techniques to face the State Police.

In 1963, The Government proclaimed the “state of emergency” and enabled the arrest of people without court order. In July, the wave was generalized and the police imprisoned 18,000 protesters. The resistance leaders were taken to prison, among them was Mandela. The following year, Mandela and seven other political leaders were sentenced to life imprisonment.

During the 1970s, manifestations of resistance against apartheid intensified. One of the main leaders of this period was Steve Biko, who directed the organization Movement of Black Consciousness.

The Soweto massacre (1974)

In 1974, the Government of the National Party approved A law that established the obligation that in all schools the Afrikáans language was spokenwhich was the tongue of white oppression. Two years later, Soweto schools declared themselves on strike against the implementation of the white language.

The march organized by the students ended in violence. While black students threw stones at the police, the police shot with firearms. Soweto’s massacre, in which more than 500 black minors died, generated a wave of violence throughout South Africa.

The radicalization of violence (1974-1990)

The consequence of the Soweto massacre was a general radicalization of the violent struggle against the apartheid government. On the one hand, Many militants were exiled with the aim of getting tactical and military training. On the other hand, guerrilla groups began acting autonomously generating terrorist attacks in government buildings and public facilities.

In 1977, Steve Beko was arrested, arrested and tortured until death. It became a martyr and symbol of the armed struggle that a new generation of young blacks began under the motto “Liberation before education.” During the 1980s, resistance against apartheid remained through attacks by guerrilla groups.

With the struggle of these years, it was shown that although the guerrilla groups could not defeat the government, the authorities also did not have the power to repress the rebellion or eliminate the protests of the South Africans. In that context, the Government decided to abolish a series of segregationist laws such as the prohibition of interracial marriages. However, these measures were insufficient since they did not attacked the real inequality generated by the system.

International condemnation of apartheid

The establishment of apartheid in South Africa was given In the international context of the Cold War. During the 1950s and 1960s, the Western powers (specifically the United States and the United Kingdom) criticized the apartheid segregationist system but supported with armaments and resources assistance to the government of the National Party because it promulgated the fight against communism.

Besides, South Africa was one of the countries with the best economic and technological development in the regionso many African countries maintained their bilateral relations although they openly criticized segregationist policies. Another of the main allies of the South African government was the state of Israel, created in 1948 in Palestine. In this way, the National Party government maintained the necessary international support to consolidate its power at the national level and stay within the international community.

During the 1970s, Western powers were increasingly difficult to justify their support for the National Party Government against public opinion, even if they presented South Africa as a bastion to fight communism. This led to the country to begin to be increasingly isolated from the international community.

In 1984, Desmond Tutu (a South African pacifist clergy) was awarded the Nobel Peace for his fight against apartheid. In that context, The popular opinion of Western societies began to explicitly condemn South African segregationism. The governments of the United States and the United Kingdom are forced to limit their relations with South Africa and publicly censor discriminatory policies.

In short, the apartheid system was criticized by the international community and South Africa was receiving increasing censorship, especially since the 1970s. Among the main actions of international organizations are:

• 1961: South Africa was expelled from Commonwealth (the International Organization of countries linked to the United Kingdom).
• 1964: The International Olympic Commission prohibited South Africa from participating in the Olympic Games (the ban is maintained until the fall of the apartheid system).
• 1973: The General Assembly of the United Nations Organization (UN) denounced apartheid.
• 1977: The UN Security Council imposed the mandatory embargo on the export of weapons to South Africa.
• 1985: United States and the United Kingdom imposed economic sanctions on South Africa.

The fall of Apartheid

At the end of the 1980s, South Africa entered a deep economic crisis and the national party government was severely weakenedeither. The constant disturbances of the resistance struggle generated a constant state of violence in the streets and the government had shown that it could not stop them, even after decades of repression.

South Africa’s economic system entered into crisis. The main income of the country was the export of gold, platinum and diamonds. However, during the 1980s the price of minerals descended and export was paralyzed, which caused a serious economic recession.

On the other hand, the majority of the South African population was black and the segregationist productive system condemned her to stay as a cheap labor, so South Africa did not have a national domestic market that could keep economic circulation afloat.

In the midst of this crisis, in 1988 the president of South Africa, Pieter W. Botha suffered a brain attack and was replaced in 1989 by Minister Frederik de Klerk. De Klerk was a conservative politician of the National Party, but believed that the situation that South Africa was going through could only be reversed with the abolition of apartheid, because it no longer had the international support of the United States and the situation of internal violence was uncontrollable.

Therefore, when the government assumed, Klerk began the process of abolition of apartheid: he announced the elimination of discriminatory laws, repealed the prohibition of the CNA, proclaimed the release of Nelson Mandela, which, although he was in prison since 1963, remained one of the main resistance leaders. This situation lifted the state of emergency.

On February 11, 1990, Mandela and other eleven leaders of the CNA were released. Between 1990 and 1991, all segregation laws were eliminated And, instead, the system for the political participation of the black population was reorganized.

Given the criticism of some conservative sectors, by Klerk he called a referendum in 1992 so that the white population rectified their support for the government in the dismantling of apartheid. This was The last event in which only the white population votedand almost 70 % did it in favor of ending discrimination.

On the other hand, the government established negotiation tables with the CNA and other resistance groups, with the objective of Determine the way to the creation of the multirracial democratic state. By 1993, the parties managed to reach an agreement and laid the foundations for the new National Constitution.

In April 1994, free elections were held, with full participation of the entire South African population. It was the first time in the history of the country that the black population could exercise its right to vote representatives. The CNA won the elections and Nelson Mandela became the first black president in the country.

Continue with:

• Decolonization in the twentieth century
• Decolonization in Asia
• Globalization
• International policy in the change of millennium (1990-2010)

References

• Barraza, HV (2014). “The culture of violence in the last phase of Apartheid: South Africa, C. 1984-1994 ”. Asia and Africa Studies255-300. https://estudiosdeasiayafrica.colmex.mx/
• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia (2023). “Apartheid”. Britannica Encyclopedia https://www.britannica.com/
• Denegri, GA (2015). South Africa: its difficult path to freedom. International Relations.
• Lefort, R. (1986). South Africa: History of a crisis (Vol. 73). 21st century.
• RÉSERVE, R. (2004). South Africa: ten years after apartheid. Reality: Magazine of Social Sciences and Humanities, (98), 243-252.