Apartheid in Africa

[sis_sarah]

Slmz

Just wanted to ask does anyone have any info. on the apartheid...

been studying interesting poetry by (code name) Tatamkhulu Afrika - his passionate concerns for the oppressed which drove his political life... in particular the poem 'the beggar' which outlines people who had a thirst/passion of having a chance in life and hatred of oppression throughout...
no this is not part of my homework but just out of genuine interest...
i also know that i could just google it and find out things in greater depth but i just want an overview...

i also dnt understand why other countries did not intervene and stop/prevent the apartheid? was there a particular reason?
and was/is there long term lasting effects of it still in Africa?

[Rosalie-Beauty]

My parents and grandparents lived through Aparthied. You could interview them if you want, I'm sure they would'nt mind.

[Rosalie-Beauty]

In realtion to other countries intervening: In the 1980's western countries (USA) boycotted all S.A goods. This was called economic sanctions because of the Apartied policy. They pressured the S.A government to bring about fair equaliy for all peoples.
Under Apartied the "non whites" e.i. the indiginoious black, Asians, "coloreds" were deprived of equal education, housing, education, healthcare and business opportunities.

[sis_sarah]

Jazakallah sister for the reply...

So apartheid basically split people within society up according to their skin colour and background racial heritage?

[GAL-actic]

Off topic: you know apartheid is a Dutch word...

[sis_sarah]

loll no i didnt actually

but thnx for the info ;)

so whats its literal meaning?

[GAL-actic]

loll no i didnt actually

but thnx for the info ;)

yw

Sometimes it's confusing I'll be reading something and see the word apartheid and be like what has Dutch to do with this :smack:


:o

[al_islam]

The History of Apartheid in South Africa

South Africa (see map) is a country blessed with an abundance of natural resources including fertile farmlands and unique mineral resources. South African mines are world leaders in the production of diamonds and gold as well as strategic metals such as platinum. The climate is mild, reportedly resembling the San Francisco bay area weather more than anywhere in the world.

South Africa was colonized by the English and Dutch in the seventeenth century. English domination of the Dutch descendents (known as Boers or Afrikaners) resulted in the Dutch establishing the new colonies of Orange Free State and Transvaal. The discovery of diamonds in these lands around 1900 resulted in an English invasion which sparked the Boer War. Following independence from England, an uneasy power-sharing between the two groups held sway until the 1940's, when the Afrikaner National Party was able to gain a strong majority. Strategists in the National Party invented apartheid as a means to cement their control over the economic and social system. Initially, aim of the apartheid was to maintain white domination while extending racial separation. Starting in the 60's, a plan of ``Grand Apartheid'' was executed, emphasizing territorial separation and police repression.

With the enactment of apartheid laws in 1948, racial discrimination was institutionalized. Race laws touched every aspect of social life, including a prohibition of marriage between non-whites and whites, and the sanctioning of ``white-only'' jobs. In 1950, the Population Registration Act required that all South Africans be racially classified into one of three categories: white, black (African), or colored (of mixed decent). The coloured category included major subgroups of Indians and Asians. Classification into these categories was based on appearance, social acceptance, and descent. For example, a white person was defined as ``in appearance obviously a white person or generally accepted as a white person.'' A person could not be considered white if one of his or her parents were non-white. The determination that a person was ``obviously white'' would take into account ``his habits, education, and speech and deportment and demeanor.'' A black person would be of or accepted as a member of an African tribe or race, and a colored person is one that is not black or white. The Department of Home Affairs (a government bureau) was responsible for the classification of the citizenry. Non-compliance with the race laws were dealt with harshly. All blacks were required to carry ``pass books'' containing fingerprints, photo and information on access to non-black areas.

In 1951, the Bantu Authorities Act established a basis for ethnic government in African reserves, known as ``homelands.'' These homelands were independent states to which each African was assigned by the government according to the record of origin (which was frequently inaccurate). All political rights, including voting, held by an African were restricted to the designated homeland. The idea was that they would be citizens of the homeland, losing their citizenship in South Africa and any right of involvement with the South African Parliament which held complete hegemony over the homelands. From 1976 to 1981, four of these homelands were created, denationalizing nine million South Africans. The homeland administrations refused the nominal independence, maintaining pressure for political rights within the country as a whole. Nevertheless, Africans living in the homelands needed passports to enter South Africa: aliens in their own country.

In 1953, the Public Safety Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act were passed, which empowered the government to declare stringent states of emergency and increased penalties for protesting against or supporting the repeal of a law. The penalties included fines, imprisonment and whippings. In 1960, a large group of blacks in Sharpeville refused to carry their passes; the government declared a state of emergency. The emergency lasted for 156 days, leaving 69 people dead and 187 people wounded. Wielding the Public Safety Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act, the white regime had no intention of changing the unjust laws of apartheid.

SOURCE: http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~cale/cs201/apartheid.hist.html

Apartheid Origins

The roots of apartheid go back long before the National Party came to power in 1948 with the idea of apartheid, a system for systematically separating the races.

In 1685, a law in the Cape Colony forbade marriage between Europeans and Africans, although it did permit Europeans and mixed race people to marry. Back in the 1850's, the missionary and traveler
David Livingstone , noticed the Afrikaner obsession with race. He wrote:

"The great objection many of the Boers had and still have to English law is that it makes no distinction between black men and white. They felt aggrieved by their supposed losses in the emancipation for their Hottentot slaves, and determined to erect themselves into a republic, in which they might pursue without molestation, the 'proper treatment of the blacks.'

It is almost needless to add that the 'proper treatment' has always contained in it the essential element of slavery, namely, compulsory unpaid labour…"
Extract from David Livingstone's Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa.

THE LAW

By the mid-19th century, equality for all before the law was, in theory, a principle established by the British, regardless of the race or religion of the litigant.

In 1853, a franchise was established in the Cape, determined by a person's wealth, but not restricted in any way by race; as long as you were rich enough, you could vote whether black, white or mixed race.

RESTRICTED FRANCHISE

In the 1870's, Rhodes changed the franchise to exclude 'unwesternised' peasant farmers. Natal also briefly had a nonracial franchise, although this ended in 1896.

In the run up to the creation of the Union of South Africa, the Cape Colony was alone in sending delegates who weren't European to the constitutional conference. But the Afrikaners were determined to deprive Africans and people of African ancestry of political power.

LAND STOLEN

A turning point in African European relations was reached in 1913 when hundreds of thousands of Africans were forced off land which they either owned or were squatting on. It became compulsory to live in African 'reserves' (Natives Land Act).

Around the same time, segregation began to be introduced into the mines so that Africans were barred from taking jobs involving any skilled labour.

ANC

The ANC (African National Congress) was formed largely in response to these early segregation laws. But the momentum proved impossible to stop. In 1936 the African and mixed race people of the Cape lost the right to vote. From here on the majority of people in South Africa lost any control over the running of their country.

SOURCE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/12chapter6.shtml

[al_islam]

See also:

The Journal of African History publishes articles and book reviews ranging widely over the African past, from the late Stone Age to the present. In recent years increasing prominence has been given to economic, cultural and social history and several articles have explored themes which are also of growing interest to historians of other regions such as: gender roles, demography, health and hygiene, propaganda, legal ideology, labour histories, nationalism and resistance, environmental history, the construction of ethnicity, slavery and the slave trade, and photographs as historical sources. Contributions dealing with pre-colonial historical relationships between Africa and the African diaspora are especially welcome, as are historical approaches to the post-colonial period.

SOURCE: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=AFH

Editor(s):
Emmanuel K. Akyeampong, Harvard University, USA
Andreas Eckert, Humboldt University Berlin, Germany
Anne Mager, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Justin Willis, University of Durham, UK

ISSN: 0021-8537
EISSN: 1469-5138

The Journal of African History, Volume 47, Issue 03, Nov 2006, pp 517-519
The Journal of African History, Volume 46, Issue 03, Nov 2005, pp 532-533
The Journal of African History, Volume 47, Issue 02, Jul 2006, pp 334-335
doi: 10.1017/S0021853706262066, Published online by Cambridge University Press 14 Jul 2006
The Journal of African History, Volume 47, Issue 02, Jul 2006, pp 338-341

Let me know if you need anymore.

[sis_sarah]

Jazakallah Khair for all the info.

I dnt think i need anymore - was just personal interest on the subject.

However, i was gonna ask, was Nelson Mandela around at this time? or did he come about after apartheid?

[the_middle_road]

Jazakallah Khair for all the info.

I dnt think i need anymore - was just personal interest on the subject.

However, i was gonna ask, was Nelson Mandela around at this time? or did he come about after apartheid?

He was the leader of the ANC. He lived during apartheid and eventually led us out of it and into a democratic South Africa. But before that he was jailed in Robben Island for something like 27 years I think.

[sis_sarah]

Quite a few people tell me this: is it true? to a certain extent?

The 'Whites' kept the 'Blacks' as lowest of status/rank and purposely made sure they kept them uneducated so they could prevent an uprising/opposition to this injustice and inequality...

So basically, education and knowledge is a very powerful tool...

[the_middle_road]

Quite a few people tell me this: is it true? to a certain extent?

The 'Whites' kept the 'Blacks' as lowest of status/rank and purposely made sure they kept them uneducated so they could prevent an uprising/opposition to this injustice and inequality...

So basically, education and knowledge is a very powerful tool...

Yes, its true. There were separate curricula for whites and blacks. Blacks were taught stupid and menial subjects. And they were also forced to learn in Afrikaans which was not their native language which placed them at a huge disadvantage. That particular policy caused a lot of troubles.

[sis_sarah]

Yes, its true. There were separate curricula for whites and blacks. Blacks were taught stupid and menial subjects. And they were also forced to learn in Afrikaans which was not their native language which placed them at a huge disadvantage. That particular policy caused a lot of troubles.

omg its so frustrating that no-one else would interfere and stop it!
okay i know its in the past n stuff but i just... dnt get it... ppl should get together and fight for whats right... this may sound naiive and cliche but seriously...

[Mohammed S C]

Its what the Israelies are doing now.

And yet the South African government still insist on afrikaans being in our school cirriculum("Cultural Heritage"). It was the dutchman h.f verwoerd who was the creator of apartheid and yet they insist on afrikaans still eventhough it is an off-sring of the dutch language.

http://www.rebirth.co.za/apartheid.htm

[Mohammed S C]

omg its so frustrating that no-one else would interfere and stop it!
okay i know its in the past n stuff but i just... dnt get it... ppl should get together and fight for whats right... this may sound naiive and cliche but seriously...

Yes they were uprisings in SA though it took very long.
One of the major turning points was the 16 June(now youth day) 1976 Soweto Riots

Type Soweto_uprising in wikipedia

[sis_sarah]

Jazakallah Khair for the info.