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South African Culture: South Africa History

South Africa History To 1840 | South Africa History 1840-1948

South African History

1948 Elections

The prevailing status quo of segregation of the races was institutionalized as Apartheid (pronounced "apart-hate") after the 1948 elections, which saw a National Party (NP) government lead by DF Malan sharing power in coalition with the even more extreme Afrikaner Party (AP). Malan's victory speech gives a clear idea of what was to follow: "We Afrikaners are not a work of man, but a creation of God. It is to us that millions of barbarous blacks look for guidance, justice and the Christian way of life."

Legislation was passed prohibiting mixed marriages, inter-racial sex became illegal and every individual was categorized by race. The Group Areas Act of 1950 banished blacks to the townships and the Separate Amenities Act created separate hospitals, buses, beaches, park benches and schools for the races. The evils of Apartheid can know be recalled in the fascinating Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, where members of the public are given a "race card" and have to enter the museum through an entrance corresponding to their "race." Only in Johannesburg Zoo was segregation not permitted by the requirements in its Deed of Gift, under which the land for the zoo and lake was acquired.

Blacks and coloureds were required to carry identification cards at all times and were sent from the towns back to the rural areas if they had no job. Families were divided and many of South Africa's present social problems can be traced back to the laws enacted in the late 1940s and enforced for the best part of fifty years.

ANC Youth League

The ANC Youth League was formed in 1944 by Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo under the leadership of Anton Lembede. The ANC as a whole had become increasingly impotent in the face of the rise of Afrikaner nationalism and these young men sought to reinvigorate the flagging movement. The African franchise for property owners had been lost in Cape Province in 1933 and pleas for equality for blacks were going nowhere. In 1945 the ANC annual conference adopted a document called Africans' Claims in South Africa calling for universal suffrage and the end to the colour bar in the labour market.

1950s

During the 1950s the ANC with Mandela to the fore began the Defiance Campaign, a non-violent challenge to the repressive laws of the new NP government. The white authorities responded with banning orders on ANC leaders. The 1955 multi-racial Congress of the People in Kliptown, Johannesburg, adopted the Freedom Charter calling again for equal rights for all national groups. It's leaders were charged with treason, but were later acquitted. In 1958 the Pan-African Congress (PAC), lead by Robert Sobukwe split with the ANC over its policy of co-operation with white anti-Apartheid activists.

Sharpeville & The 1960s

The 1960 Sharpeville massacre of peaceful demonstrators protesting the hated pass laws near Johannesburg resulted in the death of 69 protestors, most of them shot in the back. The ANC organized mass absenteeism from the workplace and pass-burning demonstrations in response. The UN Security Council called on South Africa to abandon apartheid. Undeterred, Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd banned the ANC and PAC and declared a state of emergency.

As international abhorrence of Apartheid increased after Sharpeville, South Africa was expelled from the Commonwealth and the Olympics and boycott movements of South African interests began overseas. Boycotts of South African sporting teams were particularly hard felt. Again the government pressed on regardless with Justice Minister John Vorster introducing ever more repressive laws.

Realizing that Sharpeville had been a turning point, the ANC abandoned its non-violent protest and set up an armed wing Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation) involving the ANC and the Communist Party of South Africa. Umkhonto we Sizwe was under orders to sabotage government facilities and not to cause loss of life, though later various bombings did result in civilian fatalities. The armed resistance was severely hampered by the fact that sympathetic white regimes in Rhodesia and Mozambique were still in power, so combatants could not infiltrate South Africa's borders.

In 1962 Mandela was arrested and in the 1963 Rivonia Trial he was sentenced to life imprisonment for treason and sent to prison on Robben Island off the Cape.

The 1970s

The early 1970s were in some ways the hiatus of the Apartheid regime. The ANC's leaders were in jail and new PM John Vorster used repression at home and diplomacy with client black leaders abroad to keep a lid on dissent and international outrage. The Soweto uprising of 1976 and the death of Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko in 1977 were to reignite the freedom movement. The death of 13-year-old Hector Pietersen, shot by police in Soweto for protesting the imposition of Afrikaans as the method of instruction in black schools and the murder of Steve Biko in police custody were landmark events in galvanizing opposition to Apartheid both in South Africa's major cities and overseas.

The Beginning of the End

The 1980s saw Pieter Willem (PW) Botha assume control of the National Party and use the powerful South African Defence Force (SADF) to attack its enemies both at home and in neighbouring countries. The SADF was involved in wars and covert operations in Angola, Mozambique, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) replied with a series of sabotage attacks including the bombing of an oil refinery at Sasolburg, its most notable success and a bombing of a Durban bar by controversial ANC cadre Robert McBride.

Botha's granted the vote to Coloureds and Indians in 1983 but only for representatives in powerless chambers. The pass laws were repealed in 1986 but by this time South African society was fragmenting. The neo-Nazi Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) threatened civil war if Botha's reforms went too far, while the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) lead by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Rev. Allan Boesak called for the government to dismantle apartheid and abolish the homelands.

International pressure grew with both the US and Australia cutting air links to the country and the US Senate voted for a policy of disinvestment in South Africa. After another wave of state repression was launched by PW Botha, he suffered a stroke and was replaced by Frederik Willem (FW) De Klerk. With much of the country now in chaos, De Klerk, though no supporter of majority rule, unbanned the ANC, PAC and the Communist Party of South Africa.

Mandela Free

In February 1990 after 27 years behind bars, Nelson Mandela was released from Victor Verster Prison and negotiations began between the ANC and the white government. The legal framework of apartheid was gradually dismantled and the ANC renounced the armed struggle. Over the four years of negotiations until the first free elections in 1994, political violence continued with a sinister "Third Force" in the security services behind a series of assassinations and massacres. Serious rioting also broke out between supporters of the ANC and the Inkatha Freedom Party in KwaZulu-Natal. After the assassination of Chris Hani, the leader of the Communist Party, only the intervention of Nelson Mandela managed to keep the lid on the powder keg.

1994 Election

In a largely peaceful election, the ANC won 62.7% of the vote with the National Party becoming the opposition party after capturing the majority of the white and coloured vote. The 1993 draft constitution was adopted and the new rainbow flag and national anthem Nkosi Sikelel i Afrika (God Bless Africa) were introduced.

Truth & Reconciliation Commission 1994-1999

Chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu the Truth & Reconciliation Commission (TRC) sought to heal the wounds of apartheid by hearing the confessions of those responsible on both sides for the bloodshed and brutality. Amnesty was granted to those who made a full confession. Over 21,000 testimonies were heard including those of ex-president F.W. De Klerk but not P.W. Botha, who refused to show up. The TRC found the apartheid regime responsible for "gross human rights abuses" during its period in power.

Mandela Presidency

The period of Nelson Mandela's presidency from 1994-1999 saw an attempt to provide housing, education and health care to the masses, issues which are still ongoing to this day. Reconciliation was another key theme, typified by Mandela donning a Springbok jersey as South Africa lifted the 1995 Rugby World Cup on home soil - a story brilliantly told in John Carlin's book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation.

Mbeki & Zuma

Mandela was succeeded in 1999 by the far from charismatic Thabo Mbeki, who is probably best remembered for his stance against introducing anti-retrovirals to fight AIDS in South Africa's hospitals. South Africa has the highest rate of AIDS/HIV infection in the world, with 11% of the total population HIV positive. Mbeki was forced to stand down as President of South Africa in 2007 after a power struggle with his deputy, the controversial Jacob Zuma. The 2009 general elections saw the ANC remain as the majority party with the Democratic Alliance lead by Helen Zille in opposition. Jacob Zuma, South Africa's third president since the end of apartheid, has survived a corruption scandal and stood trial for the rape of an HIV positive woman, a case for which he was acquitted. Modern-day South Africa faces huge problems of AIDS, inequality and violent crime but remains Africa's most developed country and a far more optimistic and vibrant country than in the dark days of apartheid. In 2010 South Africa will become the first nation in Africa to host the World Cup.

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