Transcript Apartheid in

Apartheid in
South Africa
The Apartheid Era
• The policy of consistent racial
separation was introduced in 1910
through a group of laws that further
curtailed the rights of the black
majority
• policy.
• This policy set blacks and other
nonwhite South Africans apart from
whites.
• White South Africans refused to give
black and other nonwhite people any
political, economic, or social rights.
• Whites (Afrikaans ) did not allow
nonwhites to vote. Whites decided
where nonwhites could live.
•Great Britain and other nations protested this apartheid
policy. South Africa then withdrew from the British
Commonwealth. In 1961, South Africa became a republic.
How Did Black South Africans
Fight Apartheid?
• In 1976, a protest against apartheid
turned into a riot.
• More than 500 people—mostly blacks—
were killed. In 1983, a car bomb near a
military base killed or injured more than
100 people.
• The African National Congress (ANC),
a black nationalist group, said it had
done the bombing.
• As black South Africans struggled for
equal rights, some used violence.
• Others did not.
• Bishop Desmond Tutu led nonviolent
protests against apartheid.
• For his efforts to free South Africa from
apartheid, Tutu was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1984.
Soweto Uprising
• When thousands of pupils,
demonstrating against Afrikaans
as a compulsory school subject,
were brutally shot,
• After the Soweto uprising of 1976
the unrest spread over the whole
country.
• The ANC struggle became
militant and South Africa
developed fully into a police state.
• This situation lasted a few years,
until in 1989 the last president of
the old South African
government,
New Government
• The new government
under F. W. de Klerk
decided to change the
atmosphere in South
Africa.
• F. W. de Klerk, openly
admitted the failure of
apartheid policies.
• - An important reason for
the collapse of the old
regime was- after many
years of economic and
trade embargo - the
desolate state of the
economy.
• Eventually negotiations
opened the door to the
first general elections in
South Africa.
Sanctions
• White South African government responded
harshly to black resistance
• many Western nations didn’t agree with
apartheid and said it violated human rights.
• To discourage this abuse many nations imposed
sanctions on South Africa
– Sanctions are laws prohibiting a nation’s businesses
from trading goods to a country that violates
international law.
• As poverty increased violence between blacks
and whites became frequent
The New Democratic Republic of
South Africa
• Only months after taking up
office, Frederik Willem de Klerk
rang in the end of Apartheid in
an historic speech in Parliament
in February 1990, and declared
himself in favour of a democratic
South Africa.
• The ANC was unbanned.
• Some days later, Nelson
Mandela, the President of the
ANC, was released from prison
on Robben Island, after 27 years
behind bars.
•
New Government
• Earlier, in secret negotiations the
ANC and the government had
agreed to refrain from violence
and work for a peaceful
transition and a new
constitution.
• The process of rapprochement
was slow in the beginning,
particularly because of
differences and power struggles
between the Xhosa-dominated
ANC and the Zulu-led Inkatha
Freedom Party, resulting in
violence in the townships.
New Era, New Government
• After a further two turbulent years, eventually a new
constitution was drafted.
• In April 1994, the first democratic elections were held in
South Africa.
• As expected, the ANC gained the overwhelming majority.
• Nelson Mandela was inaugurated on the 10th of May
1994 as the first black African President of the New
South Africa.
• The first Vice-President was Thabo Mbeki.
• F.W. de Klerk, whose National Party had gained 20 per
cent of the votes, became second Vice-President of the
Interim Government.