SOUTH AFRICA REVISION NOTES
THEME 1 – the response to apartheid 1948-59
RACE SEGREGATION AND DISCRIMINATION
In 1948 south Africa’s population consisted of four racial groups
Black Africans were the largest group descended from the indigenous inhabitants
Coloureds or descendants of mixed marriages who lived mainly in the cape province, from around 1950 to
1990 under apartheid
Asians mainly of Indian origin who had grown into merchant and administrative class, they lived mainly in the
province of natal.
Whites comprised of Afrikaans and English speakers with tensions between them, until 1948 Afrikaners felt
that the English speakers dominated them both economically and politically
In 1946 there were around 7.8 million black Africans, 2.3 million whites, 930,000 coloureds and 290,000 Indians
within south Africa .
The different races lived a strictly segregated lifestyle, the whites were the only racial group that could vote. The right
of coloured people to vote was protected by the 1910 constitution however they were eventually disenfranchised in
1956. Black Africans in particular were treated as cheap labour and they were unable to compete with white folk for
whom jobs were reserved.
The pass laws that were introduced stated that all black male migrant workers had to carry passes, a type of internal
passport system, each province issued its own passes so there was no centralised system until 1952
1913 – natives land act, restricted African land ownership to 7%, often the worst quality land was delegated to them
1923 – urban areas act, stated that black Africans were only allowed to reside in townships in white areas which were
on the outskirts of the city.
1936 – native trusts and lands act, tribal reserves could be extended to 13.6% of total land area of south Africa.
Black Africans were overwhelmingly the largest racial group however all political and economic power was effectively
monopolised by the whites
Although mainly rural, white south Africa grew more urban and industrial as the 20 th century developed. This was
particularly as a result of the growth of the mining industry, gold, diamonds and precious metals for example which
south Africa relied on for much of its wealth, large quantities of diamonds had been discovered in the orange free
state in 1867 and gold in the Transvaal in 1887 which led to a huge demand for African transient migrant workers.
Elsewhere the south African economy remained mainly agricultural.
there was always a desire to prevent African workers from residing in or spending too much time in areas reserved
for whites however the desire for cheap labour often competed with this. In theory Africans worked on temporary
contracts and had to return to the tribal areas once these contracts ended, in practice it is estimated that in the
period 1919 to 1939 every African male went to work for whites at some point during his life. By 1946 23% of
Africans were living in urban areas opposed to 75% of whites 61% of coloureds and 71% of Indians.
Township life, transient workers either lived in single sex barracks or in townships. These were special settlements on
the edge of urban areas with basic homes and facilities for African workers. They were often highly overcrowded and
insanitary and existed up till the end of the apartheid period.
AFRIKANER CULTURE AND POLITICS
Afrikaners were descended from white settlers called Boers who came largely from Holland and Germany in the late
18th century, their language Afrikaans is derived from German and Dutch. As time went on, they developed their own
culture separate from British or European. They were conscious that they had no mother country and so their
advancements in south Africa was their only chance at success.
,As people Afrikaners were categorised by
Hard work, farming land that was usually infertile
Strict Christianity a belief in the literal truth of the bible and rejection of what they called pleasures of the
flesh for example alcohol
They were extremely racist, they believed that non white people were inferior and some even believe non
whites had been cursed by God.
The laager mentality refers to their determination to proceed with apartheid and white supremacy despite
opposition internally and internationally, the greater the opposition the greater the determination.
Relationship between the British and the Boers was always uneasy. When the British abolished slavery within the
British empire in 1833 many of the Boer settlers who kept slaves moved away into the vast hinterland which was
away from British rule, this was called the great trek and became a sacred event for future generations of Afrikaners,
on the eve of the battle of blood river with the Zulus in 1838 they were alleged to have a covenant with God asking
fro victory and this subsequently became the basis of their belief that God had granted them the land of south Africa.
Afrikaner history was based on the myth that they had marched onto empty land and that black south African
homelands was where they had all originally been based, they did not accept the notion that they had encroached
onto land which belonged to the natives as they claimed it was not inhabited when they arrived.
White people justified segregation in many ways, they claimed Africans were lazy, untrustworthy and potentially
dangerous, these views were based upon two main factors. One of these factors was ignorance and fear fr their own
safety if Africans were given their economic and political rights. Another reason was a belief that segregation from
whites was in the Africans best interests, that they were mostly happy and contented living separate and that they
liked living in simple pastoral environments.
Afrikaner politics before the second world war – all political parties vying for power were comprised exclusively of
whites, Afrikaners often felt excluded from power, the most successful parties were dominated by English speakers
and legislated they believed at least in the best interest of these citizens despite passing segregationist legislation.
However during the interwar years Afrikaners developed their own identity and institutions and this included the
Broderbund, a hugely influential movement set up in 1918 and dedicated to promoting Afrikaner interests. After
various mergers and struggles the main Afrikaner party emerged as the national party which promoted Afrikaner
identity and values and was intent on imposing de jure laws to implement segregation known as apartheid alongside
white supremacy and reducing ties with Britain.
South Africa had been a dominion within the British empire within 1910. English speaking parties dominated the
south African government during the interwar years although they were just as racist and segregationist as the
national party. Afrikaners resented British influence, they had been defeated in the Boer war of 1899 to 1902 to expel
the British and resented the settlement which saw South Africa created as a British dominion. They had resented
South Africa supporting Britain in the first world war, many had strong ties to Germany. They resented the dominance
of English speakers within the economy.
REASONS FOR NATIONAL PARTY VICTORY IN 1948
During the 1948 elections the national party won 79 seats to the united party’s 71. The new government was
committed to and extensive policy of apartheid in which races were segregated as far as possible. The national party
was to win every major election until the demise of apartheid in 1994.
The national party won the election for many reasons, the outgoing prime minister Jan Smuts was old and tired, and
his campaign lacked lustre, was unappealing to most. No new policies were on offer, there were some other
underlying reasons for the victory.
WW2 – the outbreak of ww2 divided the whites, English speakers were most likely to support the allies whilst
Afrikaners often felt affinity with Nazi Germany. Hendrik Verwoerd a future PM became the editor of Die Transvaaler
which was the newspaper of the national party, this became very well known during the war for its pro nazi stance as
well as its antisemitism.
,The economic effects of war – the need for labour meant that many of the laws relating to the employment of
Africans were relaxed, of the 125,00 extra workers that were employed in manufacturing during the war years just
25% were white. Although Africans received far less pay than whites, many Afrikaners feared that they would take
their jobs once the war was over, in particular they feared the ruling of the united party who proposed a more
moderate racial policy.
The growth of Afrikaner nationalism – Afrikaners were becoming more assertive and developing the national party,
they were organising at local levels to win support and developing strategies for the achievement of power. They did
not trust English speaking parties and in 1938 the Voortrekker monument, celebrating the victory at the battle of
blood river was erected, it created a real sense and represented Afrikaner pride and identity. Afrikaner finance
concerns were developed to help Afrikaners set up their own businesses. The Dutch reformed Church provided
Afrikaner schools and cultural activities to develop a pride in Afrikaner identity.
There was a fear that the united parties racial policies were far too moderate, during the election campaign smuts
suggested the influx of Africans into white areas of employment could continue. Although he emphasised Africans
should continue to live in strictly segregated and regulated communities, the national party focused much of their
campaign attacks on this policy.
Afrikaner support for the Nazis – while half of the white south African male population of military age joined the
allied forces, some Afrikaners worked actively for a Nazi victory, they would broadcast and publish pro-Nazi material,
and many joined pro fascist Grey shirt movement or supported the Ox wagon sentinel formed after the battle of
blood river centenary and modelled on the Nazi party, may was interned as potential traitors during the war years.
International pressure for change – the international response to the victory of the national party was muted
because many European countries such as Britain and France still had empires in which the indigenous populations
were subservient, and they could not say too much without being hypocritical. South Africa was surrounded by pliant
neighbours such as Rhodesia part of the British Empire and Angola and Mozambique governed by Portugal. South
Africa was itself in charge of South West Africa to its north east. International criticism grew particularly as anti-
colonial movements developed.
The UN – the first international discussion on apartheid had been initiated by India concerned about the treatment
of Indians in south Africa as early as 1946, thereafter the UN general council condemned apartheid every year until
1952. However the USA was very influential within the UN especially in its security council, south Africa avoided
pressure to change because it was seen as a reliable ally against the growth of communism and profitable for
investments. The situation was to change significantly towards the end of the 1950s but initially at least the south
African government was free to act without international coercion.
IMPLEMENTING APARTHEID – STRENGTHENING THE NATIONAL PARTY
The years 1948 to 59 saw the effective implementation of apartheid in all its forms and the development of the
national party as the natural party of government in south Africa. The new government sought to impose white
supremacy through an all-embracing system of apartheid.
Development of national party government control – the NP did not have precise blueprints for the implementation
of Apartheid but their main ambition within the early years was to stay in power, apartheid was the centre of their
platform and they managed to achieve apartheid through various strategies, they made the state more Afrikaner
dominated for example when English speaking civil servants retired, they were replaced by Afrikaners. All senior NP
members were expected to have close ties to the Broderbund, and they created new political constituencies for
example in west Africa, in 1956 they disenfranchised coloured voters.
Growth in NP support – the party grew in support, by the elections of 1958 and 1961 it had majority of over 50 seats
which it was able to retain during the apartheid period. This was due both to party organisation and control as well
as the development of a bureaucracy which became dominated by Afrikaners . Many Afrikaners were tied to the NP
because they relied on it for their livelihoods.
Grand and petty apartheid – grand apartheid was the overall term given to the strategy of keeping the races as
separate as possible by ensuring they lived in separate areas for example
, Petty apartheid refer to day to day restrictions such as separate facilities, many Africans found petty apartheid
restrictions more wearying than grand apartheid
Apartheid laws – race relations dominated South Africa’s govt during the apartheid period, while many acts were
introduced to cover every possible aspect of racial division, the cornerstone was the 1950 population registration act.
This act designated the racial category of everyone, divided initially into black, white and coloured with Indian added
later. It insisted the groups be kept strictly separate. Couples in interracial marriages were expected to divorce and
everyone was registered according to their racial group. There were tests created in order to categorise people into
races such as the pencil test which involved dropping a pencil through a persons hair to use their hair texture as an
indicator of their race, skull measurement and other methods were also used, and siblings of different colours were
often categorised differently despite having the same parents due to their differences in appearances.
The prohibition of mixed marriages act 1949 and the immorality act 1950- mixed marriages and sexual relations
(respectively) between two people of different races became illegal. Whites could be imprisoned for breaking this law
although their punishments were usually never as sever as for members of other groups including their sexual
partners.
Group areas act 1950 – this required the registration of all land ownership and authorised the government to
designate a particular area for occupation by one particular racial group as classified above, members of other groups
in this area would be forcibly evicted, this act was responsible for the forcible eviction of 3.5 million Africans between
1951 and 1986.
The destruction of Sophia town – Sophia town was a mixed-race blackspot noted for its vibrant culture, in 1953
forced removals began, with Africans being moved to a new township , meadowlands, when Sophia town was finally
demolished it was replaced by a white suburb called triomf.
PASS LAWS AND EDUCATION
the system of apartheid enabled the treatment of black Africans as a subservient race only tolerated through guest
work, seen most clearly though pass laws and education.
Native laws amendment act 1952 – this act was known as the abolition of passes act, it standardised the use of
passes throughout south Africa and replaced passes with reference books, it stated that al non-white people and for
the first-time women needed to carry these reference books to enter white areas. The act aimed to standardise the
use of pass books across South Africa, became more rigorously enforced.
Bantu education act 1953 -largely the brainchild of Verwoerd and the eiselen commission he appointed in 1949 to
investigate African education. Before NP victory the vast majority of education for Africans was provided by church
run mission schools. In 1945 there were 4360 mission schools and 230 govt run ones. By 1948 the system was
breaking down, with poor funding and insufficient resources the schools could no longer maintain their standards
and the rise in the African population meant that they were vastly overcrowded and regularly had to turn students
away the reality was that less than 33% of African children attended school at all. The 1953 act removed control of
African education from the ministry of education to the ministry of native affairs, removed subsidies from mission
schools so most were forced to close and expanded the govt run system and set a limited vocational based
curriculum. The work of the department of native affairs grew significantly for example the act gave them
management of 26,00 African teachers. In 1958 a separate department of bantu education was created to meet this
increased workload.
The Tomlinson report and Bantustans – the bantu authorities act 1951 reiterated that Africans could only live
permanently on their tribal reserves or Bantustans (these were areas where people supposedly were responsible for
their own affairs, name given to tribal homelands). These were to be governed by tribal leaders designated by the
government. However these could be deposed if uncooperative. Tribal leaders were ostensibly responsible for
allocation of land development programmes and welfare policies.
The Tomlinson report in 1956 reported on how the homelands might be developed, it reassured that homelands
could never support more than 2/3s of their populations and advised more land be allocated, policies of betterment
