Apartheid South Africa (1948–1964)
Nature and characteristics of discrimination
• “Petty Apartheid” and “Grand Apartheid” legislation
• Division and “classification”; segregation of populations and amenities; creation of townships/forced removals; segregation of education; Bantustan system; impact on individuals Protests and action
Protests and action
• Non-violent protests: bus boycotts; defiance campaign, Freedom Charter
• Increasing violence: the Sharpeville massacre (1960) and the decision to adopt the armed struggle
• Official response: the Rivonia trial (1963–1964) and the imprisonment of the ANC leadership
The role and significance of key actors/groups
• Key individuals: Nelson Mandela; Albert Luthuli
• Key groups: the African National Congress (ANC); the South African Communist
Party (SACP) and the MK (Umkhonto we Sizwe—“Spear of the Nation”)
Key Readings:
The Role & Significance of Key Individuals and Groups
Choices Apartheid:
Pillars of Apartheid Investigations
Major Event in the Apartheid struggle
We must find new lands from which we can easily obtain raw materials and at the same time exploit the cheap slave labor that is available from the natives of the colonies. The colonies would also provide a dumping ground for the surplus goods produced in our factories.
Cecil John Rhodes
There is no place for him [the African] in the European community above the level of certain forms of labor. Within his own community, however, all doors are open. For that reason it is to no avail for him to receive a training which has as its aim absorption in the European community, where he cannot be absorbed.
Hendrik F. Verwoerd (1954)