CONCLUDING STUDY

RESISTANCE TO POWER: APARTHEID IN SOUTH AFRICA

The Development of Apartheid

Historical Perspective
Diamonds, Gold and War
The Foundations of Apartheid
Baaskap Apartheid 1948-1961
Separate Development 1961-1972
New Directions for Apartheid

Resistance

Resistance Groups
Opposition to Apartheid 1948-1960
Opposition to Apartheid 1960-1985
Opposition to Apartheid - International Reaction
Revolt and Reform 1984-1994

The Legacy of Apartheid

2
Historical Perspective

Watch section of video Bopha (1993) with Danny Glover and directed by Morgan Freeman.
(In his directorial debut, actor Morgan Freeman cast a knowing eye on the ways the racist
apartheid movement in South Africa divided South African blacks even from each other in
this story of a black policeman. Danny Glover plays the cop, who believes he's trying to
help his people, even while serving as a pawn of the racist government. When his son gets
involved in the antiapartheid movement, he finds himself torn between his family and what
he believes is his duty).

Discussion:
Apartheid, is an Afrikaans word meaning apartness, and is the name that was given to
the program of racial segregation implemented in South Africa after the Second World War.
Although it never developed into a genocidal system, apartheid is one of the best-known
examples of institutionalised oppression in the twentieth century. From 1948 onwards, the
people of South Africa lived under the most excruciating system of institutionalised
injustice. It was a system which kept the non-whites of South Africa essentially powerless,
poor and without basic civil rights. But let us begin by examining it historical origins.
In the mid-17th Century, a commercial trading company, the Dutch East India Company was
responsible for the first European settlement on the Cape Peninsula, when it set up a supply
station. Europeans, mostly of Dutch and German origin, began settling in the area and
referred to themselves as Afrikaners in order to make a distinction between themselves
and the trading company officials.
European settlement immediately began the gradual dispossession of the indigenous
people from their lands. The Khoi Khoi and San peoples were essentially farmers and
hunters but were subsequently pushed off their land as Europeans expanded their
settlement and extended agricultural activity. This period saw the beginnings of white
economic domination as Africans began working as labourers for the Afrikaners. These
relations were further reinforced as the settlers brought slaves form West Africa and the
East Indies to work the land in bondage.

Read Origins of the Racial Groups in South Africa and the rise of Afrikanerdom, pages
248-251 Legacies 3.
Questions:
1. Who comprised the racial groups in Africa by the mid 1800s?

Read British Colonies, the Boer Republic and African Kingdoms Booklet.
Questions:
2. Why did Europeans settle in southern Africa and how different was life in Dutch, German
and French settlements compared to British?
3. What was the Great Trek on 1853, and what did it achieve?

Complete Reading 14.4, questions 1-3.

3
Diamonds Gold and War

Discussion:
European economic activity had mostly been in the form of agricultural development;
however, the discovery of large deposits of gold and diamonds in the 19 th century led to the
rapid industrialisation of the country. Although mining had been carried out for centuries in
South Africa, the scale on which it now developed was enormous. The nature of the big
deposits called for mining at a deep level and hence for a large working force to mine the
minerals. This need for a cheap labour force was imperative but Africans, still living almost
exclusively through agriculture, were not attracted by the European mines. The shortage of
immediate labour, however, led to government passing such laws as the monetary tax laws
which forced the Africans down the mines. This began the foundation of an extensive
migrant labour system.
From this time onwards the economy of South Africa was shaped by the vested interests
and needs of two core groups: the industrial barons of the mining industries and the white
farmers. Colonial conquest and the exploitation of South Africas mineral resources had
resulted in an economic situation which sustained exclusive European ownership of the land
and European control of the African population through control of the labour force.

Read Diamonds, Gold and African Labour Transform the Veld Booklet.
Questions:
1. What impact did the discovery of diamonds and gold have on the African economy?
2. What impact did it have on African lives?

Read Impact of gold and diamond discoveries on British-Boer Relations Booklet.

Questions:
3. What role did the Uitlander (pronounced ootlander), Cecil Rhodes, play in deteriorating
British Boer relations?
4. How did the SAR President, Paul Kruger, retaliate?

Read page 252 Legacies 3 The Boer War from second paragraph.
Question:
1. Over what actions were the British criticised for their involvement in the Boer War?

Complete Source 4.6, questions (a) and (b) in booklet

Note-taking:
By May 1902 the British had exhausted the Boars, depriving them of food, ammunition and
support. The British and Boers signed the Treaty of Vereeniging (pronounced fereenihing) on
31 May 1902. Under the treaty, the British gained control of the South African Republic and
the Orange Free State.

Outline the other provisions of the treaty.

4
The Foundations of Apartheid

Read Afrikaner Nationalism and The subjugation pages 252-254, Legacies 3.

Complete Reading 14.5, questions 1 & 2.
Questions:
1. How and why was Afrikaner nationalism so difficult to achieve in the period 1902-1945?
2. How and why did Afrikaners further extend their economic and political advantage?
1. War, the destruction of Afrikaner farming livelihoods, the subsequent rural exodus and
being forced to compete with Blacks for jobs in the cities resulted in an Afrikaner
determination to protect their status, heritage and power. However, Afrikaners were not
united on how to achieve this. Jan Smuts felt the best way was to adopt a pro-British
attitude; James Hertzog had a more protectionist attitude towards Boer interests; and
the secret society, the Broederbond, advocated a lets infiltrate and advance Afrikaner
interests that way approach. This division lasted well until the end of WW2.
2. a) How Policies to control labour; Acts to prevent Blacks from owning land outside
Black native reserves; segregation legislation; the outlawing of Black unions; Whites
Only jobs; removal from the electoral roll in some areas
b) Why economic benefits of a cheap labour force

Note-taking:
Although there were many able, highly educated Afrikaners who held positions of power, in
general, Afrikaners had a lower position economically and socially among the white
population. Most Afrikaners lived in the countryside, many of who were poor in terms of not
owning land. Many of them moved into the industrial towns and cities where they lived in
slum conditions. It was this group of Afrikaners, more than any other, who feared being
swamped by Africans taking over whatever unskilled or semiskilled work that was available.
The Africans were prepared to accept low wages and poor working conditions. Politically,
the Afrikaners were an important group, as they were increasing their numbers more
quickly than the English South Africans. This meant that, in time, the Afrikaners would
markedly increase their proportion of the white population and come to dominate election
results.
In the meantime, Afrikaner voters were spilt between the two main parties the United
Party on one hand and the Nationalist Party on the other. Any political party which could
unite all sections of Afrikaner society behind one policy would take firm control of the
government of South Africa.
Thu, in the years after WW1, Afrikaner political strength began to grow and demands for
segregation laws were becoming louder. In 1926 the Mines and Works Amendment Act was
established, prohibiting both Africans and Asian from skilled employment. The Immorality
Act of 1927 made it illegal for whites to and Africans to have sexual relations outside
marriage. In the same year, the Native Administration Act gave the South African
government full control over Africans.
By 1938, laws had been passed which:

Prevented Africans from renting white farm land on a profit-sharing basis.

Set aside land reserves where Africans could only buy land
Established locations near towns where Africans could be segregated.
Restricted skilled jobs to whites (the civilised labour policy).
Limited the number of Africans ho could live permanently near towns and cities.
Gave the government more power to shift tribes onto reserves, and
Made it difficult to organise non-white political organisations and trade unions.

Essentially in the three decades after the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, the
white minority government consolidated its control of the country through white domination
of the administrative, legal and business sectors of the country. There were several reasons
why the black majority had been unable to prevent the growth of these segregation
measures.

One was the shortage of land to provide a livelihood and the resulting desperate need
for jobs to provide cash for food, goods and the payment of taxes.
Another reason was the lack of an educated middle class of Africans who could organise
and speak forcefully at the political level.
Underlying this political weakness was the fact that the Africans were not one group, but
several tribes, some of whom were traditional enemies.
Furthermore, the full power of the State had been used to make sure that the Africans
knew their place.

By World War Two, with so many whites out on active service, the number of Africans
working in factories rapidly increased. As a result, almost a quarter of all Africans were now
living in urban areas. One immediate effect was the awakening of black African nationalism.
Another important effect was the fear created among white South Africans, especially poor
white Afrikaner, of black people moving into the towns and cities. It convinced them of the
need to control and monitor the African population more effectively.

6
Baaskap Apartheid 1948-1961

Discussion:
The theory behind apartheid was that white people and the people of other racial origins
were so different culturally that they could never form a cohesive ad harmonious
community. It was believed that if there were attempts to integrate the races then the small
white population would be dominated by the majority race. Consequently, white South
Africans would lose their control over the political, cultural an economic life of the country.
The white solution was to separate the races and partition the country into area where
whites and other races could develop separately.

Read Source 3, Booklet. If relevant, do questions 1-4.

Note-taking:
The informal practice of segregation was apparent in South Africa by the beginning of the
century. It was not until 1948, however, when there was a major election in the country that
the system of apartheid became official government policy.
The National Party passed wide-ranging laws based on the belief that the Afrikaner nation
and white identity would only survive if their position was protected and safeguarded.
Equally, they claimed that the indigenous peoples identity and culture also needed to be
safeguarded and preserved. The concept was that the indigenous peoples would form selfgoverning but racially separate groups. In practice, however, apartheid was designed to
allow for the exploitation of black labour for the exclusive benefit of the white nation.
In the first five years of National Party government, a series of far-reaching laws were
passed to formalise the system of segregation in all areas of life. The laws were based on
the Afrikaner concept of Baaskap white supremacy. There were ultimately 317 apartheid
laws and security laws passed to ensure that opposition to these laws was prevented.

Look at the Acts of Apartheid Booklet

Read The Apartheid System in Operation, pages 256 260 (not Petty Apartheid)
Legacies 3
Note-taking:
The Group Areas Act handed approximately 84% of the nations territory to the minority
whites. Under enforcement of his law, it is estimated that over 3 million people were forced
to move from their homes into other areas according to their racial grouping. Africans were
allocated to areas known as homelands. Although the land was divided racially, it was not
done equally. 75% of the population were apportioned only 13% of the land in South Africa.
Separate townships were allowed to grow near major towns and cities, so as to provide
Afrikaners with a ready source of cheap labour for work in the cities and mines.

Look at Source 5 Cape Town divided, Booklet

Read Case study 5 Booklet
Note-taking:
To prevent large numbers of Africans entering the urban areas, a series of laws were passed
called the Influx Control laws. In 1952, the Consolidation of Documents Act meant that all
Africans over the age of 16 were required to carry a pass book at all times. It was illegal to
move from place to place without official permission a visa Whites, Asians and coloureds
were issued with identification cards. The South African police conducted regular pass raids
and pass checks in public places. Between 1948 and 1973 over 10 million Africans were
arrested over pass infringements.

Questions:
1. What factors might cause many sections of the population not to have their passes in
order?
2. How could the pass system be used to intimidate people?

Read Case study 7 Booklet

Read and define Petty Apartheid Page 260 Legacies 3.

Read Case study 8 Booklet
Read Education for Allotted Roles, Economic Apartheid pages 260-262 Legacies 3
Questions:
1. What was the effect of the 1954 Bantu Education Act?
2. How was Baaskap apartheid reinforced in employment and industry?

Read Case study 6 Booklet

8
Separate Development 1961-1972

Discussion:
The second phase of apartheid, called separate development began after 1961. There
were several external factors which influenced this new phase:
1. Many African countries were fighting for heir independence from white colonial rule.
Ghana, a former British colony, became independent in 1957, followed by Malawi,
Zambia, Botswana and Lesotho.
2. The South African economy needed to expand into thee new markets.
3. The United Nations and the Commonwealth began to direct criticism at South
Africas racial policies.
4. South Africa became a Republic in 1961.
Within South Africa, opposition groups were proving more difficult to control. It seemed that
white supremacy alone could no longer justify the strict segregation laws if South Africa was
to maintain apartheid.

Note-taking:
A new approach to apartheid was developed in the 1960s. The Promotion of Bantu SelfGovernment Act, 1959, began this change. Under the Act, the existing 242 reserves were
grouped into eight homelands or Bantustans. According to the government, these
homelands were approximately the territories occupied by Africans after their southward
migration from Central Africa. The homelands would be guided by white authorities towards
self government. In the end they could become independent states. It was intended that
eventually all blacks whether they lived in homelands or in white areas of South Africa,
would become homeland citizens. Blacks would now have their own political system so
there was no need for them to have white representatives in the South African government.
So the Act, which set up the homelands, also abolished the representation blacks had in
parliament since 1936. It was hoped that this new policy would lessen world criticism and
be in line with the process of decolonisation going on in the rest of Africa.
In 1966, the eight homelands were granted self-government. However, this meant selfgovernment within certain limits. They were not enlarged to support the populations now
assigned to them. They were fragmented and the land was often infertile. The majority of
black Africans still had to work in South African industry outside of their borders. They had
little hope of gaining economic or political equality with the rest of South Africa, as the basic
segregation laws still applied outside of their homelands.
Relocations of Africans, coloureds and Asian proceeded on a huge scale in these years. A
stricter policy on the movement of African workers, the Influx Control Laws, prevented them
from bringing their families from the homelands with them to their place of work. This
meant that families were often separated for long periods of time and workers were
crammed into male-only hostel accommodation. Finally, in 1970, the National States
Citizenship Act made every black a citizen of one of the Bantustans. This was done even
though most blacks had been born and worked in white areas and had never lived in a
homeland. Any black could now be sent back to the Bantustans.

Read Grand Apartheid pages 264-267 Legacies 3

Complete Reading 14.16 Questions
Read The Creation of Tribalism Booklet

9
New Directions for Apartheid 1974-1986

Discussion:
A third stage in the development of apartheid dates from 1973-4. From this time, the South
African regime faced mounting international criticism, both in Africa and abroad.
International disapproval of the South African regime took many forms during this period,
but among the most popular was the practice of boycotting. Many early boycotts involved
leading cultural figuresmusicians, playwrights, actors, sports figures, academicswho
refused to provide their services to South African audiences or consumers. Other pressure
included economic sanctions. Until the 1980s, however, many Western nationsthe United
States and Great Britain in particularshied away from taking any action that might
destabilise the South African regime. They did so partly because the mining industry of
South Africa was believed to be important to the economies of Western Europe and the
United States, and partly because the rabidly anti-communist regime in Pretoria was seen
as a bulwark against communism in Southern Africa. Nonetheless, international disapproval,
combined with the gaining of independence of countries such as Angola and Zimbabwe,
saw the introduction of new directions for apartheid.

Read New Directions for Apartheid Booklet

Summarize the key changes to apartheid laws and the abolition of pass laws.

10
Resistance Groups

Put up OHT abstract from The Spear of the Nation

Discussion:
By 1960, the key building blocks of the apartheid system were in place:
Legislation existed that separated the races
The political and legal system was organised so that apartheid laws could be assed,
such as the Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act
And opposition was kept under control by armed police, and Acts such as the Riotous
Assemblies Act.
Obviously, apartheid was unpopular and many groups within society expressed their disgust
of the system. But how could they change it? There were many possibilities. Some were
peaceful ad legal, others were peaceful, but broke the law and other protests were violent.

Brainstorm ways to appose apartheid on the blackboard:

Read opposition to apartheid Booklet and Complete mind mp of Internal Opposition to

Apartheid The Groups:
Internal Opposition to Apartheid
- who was involved
- aims and methods

11
Opposition to Apartheid 1948-1960

Discussion:
The movements for national liberation in South Africa developed in response to the
segregationist and exploitative policies of successive white minority governments. With
each major piece of segregationist legislation or violent crackdown against peaceful
protests, African nationalism becomes increasingly radicalised. Although these resistance
movements were not solely responsible for apartheid's downfall, they did provide a
foundation for that event.
The liberation movement in South Africa can be traced to the foundation of the South
African National Congress (later renamed the African National Congress, or ANC) in 1912.
Modelled on the Indian National Congress, the ANC began as a moderate protest group led
by mission-educated professionals (such as Nelson Mandela). Their immediate motivation
was the 1910 Act of Union, which threatened to disenfranchise the few Africans who were
eligible to vote. However, the ANC remained a moderate and ineffectual body during the
1920s and 1930s, and its well-reasoned arguments and non-violent protests failed to derail
the passage of segregationist legislation. An important turning point for the movement was
the victory of the National Party in the 1948 elections, which prompted younger ANC
members like Oliver Tambo, Govan Mbeki and Nelson Mandela to call for more radical
action. An increasingly militant ANC organised several protests against segregation during
the 1950s, and in 1955, it helped to draft the Freedom Charter, a document that committed
the ANC to work in the name of political groups representing all of the communities of
South Africa. (In 1959, rejecting this commitment to cooperation, a group of ANC dissidents
led by Robert Sobukwe split off to form the Pan-African Congress, or PAC.)

Read Opposition to Apartheid Booklet

Note- taking:
The Defiance Campaign was inspired by the non-violent non-cooperation campaign that the
Indian Congress had initiated in 1946. Based on defying law by passive resistance, the June
1952 Defiance Campaign targeted six laws including the pass laws and the Group Areas Act
to defy openly. The campaign involved seven months of civil disobedience, including strikes,
stay-at-homes, boycotts, burning passbooks and deliberately disobeying the Separate
Amenities Act. Over 40 Africans were killed and over 8,000 arrested. The campaign
provided the forerunner to some highly successful campaigns conducted by women, as well
as the emergence of the Freedom Charter of the ANC.

Questions:
1. What type of South Africa did the ANC demand?
2. How did the government answer the Defiance Campaign?
3. What other examples of popular resistance occurred in this period?

12
Opposition to Apartheid 1960-1985

Discussion:
The growing militancy of these liberation movements were met with violent government
repression. In 1960, at a protest in the Sharpeville area of Johannesburg, police fired on the
crowd, killing sixty-nine protestors. Sharpeville became a symbolic moment in the liberation
struggle: the massacre drew worldwide attention to South Africa and inspired the ANC to
create Umkhonto we Sizwe (spear of the nation), a guerrilla army committed to fighting
apartheid through sabotage and military resistance. The government responded by
cracking down on the ANC and PAC leadership. Sobukwe was arrested and spent the
remainder of his life in prison or under banning orders. Mandela and other key ANC leaders
were convicted of treason and sentenced to life in prison. By 1965, virtually all of the
leaders of the movement were either in prison or in exile.

Read from By 1960 in Legacies 3 pages 271-273.

Complete Reading questions 1 & 2.
Note-taking:
The beginning of the 1960s marked a point in the resistance campaign in which armed
resistance and terrorism became key features of opposition to and enforcement of
apartheid. The massacre at Sharpeville was responsible for that turning point. The pas laws
had been essential to the control of the movement of Africans. These laws were targeted for
direct action by the Pan African Congress. The aim was to defy the laws deliberately.
Sharpeville, a township near Vereeniging, 80 kilometers from of Johannesburg, was the site
of one such defiance. A large crowd gathered at the Sharpeville Police Station on the
morning of 21 March, 1960, many without passes to offer themselves for arrest. In the
chaos of protestors refusing to move, a policeman was knocked over. The police opened fire
on the crowd, killing 69 and wounding nearly 200. 18,000 were arrested in the days that
followed and, in the face of escalating violence, the government declared a state of
emergency.

Read What happened at Sharpeville Booklet

Summarise what the state of emergency entailed (use Legacies 3)
Note- taking:
At the Rivonia Trials in 1963, Mandela and nine other leaders, including Umkhonto We
Siswe, were charged with sabotage and high treason. Eight were fond guilty and Mandela
and his colleagues were sentenced o life imprisonment. They were sent to Robben Island,
just off Cape Town, where Mandela was to remain in prison for the next 27 years until his
release in February 1990.

Discussion:
For the next ten years, it appeared that the government's repressive policies had
succeeded. With the PAC and ANC leadership gone, political protests diminished during the
1960s. It is true that during the late 1960s and early 1970s the National Party faced
challenges from African trade unions, which successfully agitated for government
recognition. But militant nationalism subsided, replaced to some extent by Steve Biko's
Black Consciousness movement. Inspired in part by the Black Power movement in the
United States, the Black Consciousness movement aspired to increase the confidence and
pride of the non-white communities in South Africa. Biko's followers were initially less
focused on wresting power from the white government than the ANC had been, but they
became radicalised in response to the government's savage repression of their activities.
For instance, in 1976 student followers of Biko's movement in Soweto (pronounced so wey
toe) led a protest against the government's attempt to impose Afrikaans as the language of
instruction in schools; police overreaction to the peaceful march set off an extended
uprising, in which township youth fought pitched battles with white police, and supporters
of the government became the targets of boycotts and violence. Ultimately, the Soweto
uprising claimed over six hundred African lives, and once again violence in the townships
drew international attention to apartheid and forced the government to back down from its
new educational policies.

13

Read from Revolt of the School Children pages 273-274 Legacies 3.

Note-taking
In 1976, school authorities were pressured to ensure that subjects were being taught in
Afrikaans. For many African teachers, students and parents, this was unacceptable. The
standard of their education would fall even more given that most African teacher could
barely speak Afrikaans, let alone teach it. The introduction of Afrikaans consequently
became the overriding issue of resistance to apartheid for young black students in the late
1970s.
School students in Soweto, a large separated township on the outskirts of Johannesburg,
began their campaign of resistance. On 16 June 1976, students from the South African
Students movement organised a protest march through the streets of the township. 10,000
to 15,000 students demonstrated against the introduction of Afrikaans, and the march was
met with brutal force by the police.

Read Sources 17 & 18 (orally do questions 1, 2 and 3 of Source 18); Read Source 19 (do
question 4 orally); read Source 23 and look at Sources 21 and 25, Booklet
Note-taking:
The brutal response by the South African police served to unite the African community, not
only in Soweto but across the country. Sowetan teachers resigned in their hundreds to
protest the continued ill treatment o students. Students continued their stayaways from
schools and workers went out on strike in support of the students. By the time the conflict
was exhausted in 1977, 250,000 had boycotted classes in townships, 1000 had been killed
and 21,000 had been prosecuted for offences related to the protests and rioting.

Read Source 26 Booklet

Discussion:
Resistance continued within the population, including resistance among sections of the
white population, but this was made difficult because of the enormous powers the National
government had given itself to control the population. Other South African laws virtually
allowed the government and its security forces to detain and imprison people without trial;
to ban people from being in public; to ban demonstrations and organisations; and to
confiscate property and identity papers without authorisation. Consequently, any opposition
to apartheid was made illegal. Those who opposed the system risked imprisonment and
often torture. Large numbers of South Africans died in opposing the system. The following
sources provide some perspectives on the nature of resistance which continued into the
1980s.

Read Sources 27-32. Complete questions 1&2.Booklet

14
Opposition to Apartheid International Reaction

Discussion:
The issue of race relation in South Africa has been the focus of much international
attention. Organisations such as the UN, the Commonwealth, the EEC and sporting bodies
have worked towards isolating South Africa economically, politically and culturally. But the
response from governments has not been as uniform, and indeed, many nations have been
reluctant to take action for a variety of strategic, economic and political reasons.

Read World Attitudes to Apartheid pages 275-276 Legacies 3

Note-taking:
From its inception, apartheid faced vociferous criticism from the international community:
the United States, China, the Soviet Union, Great Britain and the member nations of the
British Commonwealth, as well as much of the non-aligned world, all publicly criticised
South Africa's segregationist policies. However, during the Cold War, Western nations
proved unwilling to pressure the white minority regime for fear of destabilising it. Virulent
anti-communism was an important component of apartheid ideology (the government gave
itself the power to crush any political dissent with The Suppression of Communism Act), and
Cold War rivalry with the Soviet Union drove the United States to support similarly
repressive anti-communist governments throughout the world. Further, South Africa was a
mineral-rich nation that many considered important to both the economy and nuclear
defence of the United States.
Thus, successive U.S. presidential administrations chose to keep their criticism rhetorical,
effectively ignoring the repressive policies of the apartheid regime and generally failing to
support economic sanctions against South Africa. In fact, it was not until Jimmy Carter's
election in 1976 that such sanctions would be imposed by an American leader; of course,
when Reagan followed Carter in 1980, these sanctions were lifted, but Congress finally
forced the Reagan administration to reinstitute the sanctions in 1985.
For its part, the Soviet Union proved a willing supporter of liberation movements such as
the ANC, thereby using the struggle over apartheid as a context for an international rivalry
between the two superpowers. It would not be until the rapid and unexpected demise of the
Eastern Bloc in 1989, and the ensuing dismantling of the Soviet Union, that the way was
paved for Western action against apartheid. During the 1990s, the United States began reevaluating its support of corrupt or despotic anti-communist regimes. It was in this context
that American and British diplomats encouraged the negotiation of a democratic
constitution, the holding of free elections, and the end of racial segregation in South Africa.

Read World Attitudes to Apartheid pages 275-276 and Increasing World Opposition
pages 278-, Legacies 3
Questions:
1. How did international organisations respond to the system of Apartheid in South Africa?
2. Why were international governments reluctant to take action against South Africa?
3. What factors led to the beginning of the end for apartheid?

15
Revolt and Reform 1984-1994

Discussion:
Despite this history of resistance to oppression, it seems likely that in the end the National
Party's capitulation was not the direct result of internal pressure from South African antiapartheid groupsindeed, the powerful state security apparatus had demonstrated its
ability to fend off internal (and external) enemies of the regime quite effectively. Apartheid's
demise was more directly attributable to the fact that the economic problems of the nation
could not be solved without external assistance, which by the late 1980s could no longer be
counted upon. However, anti-apartheid groups, and particularly the ANC, were able to
articulate an argument for democracy and social equality that resonated with Western
nations. They were also able to offer leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki,
whose great personal sacrifices on behalf of the freedom struggle gave them credibility and
legitimacy among a wide spectrum of the diverse South African electorate.

Read The Economics of Apartheid Booklet

Question:
What is the argument that economics was the cause for the ending of apartheid?

Discussion:
Thus, Faced with an untenable internal situation and an increasingly hostile international
community, the new South African President, F. W. de Klerk in 1989 began dismantling
apartheid, repealing many of its most important acts and ending the national state of
emergency. In 1990 he removed the ban on the ANC and released several of its leaders
from prison, including Nelson Mandela. In 1994 the ANC, led by Mandela, dealt the National
Party its first defeat in forty-six years, winning the national elections and ending the era of
apartheid in South Africa.

Read The 1990s Pages 282- 289 Legacies 3.

Summarize the steps taken to end apartheid.

16
The Legacy of Apartheid

Discussion:
Under apartheid, South Africa had become one of the most violent countries in the world
with an average of 20,000 people murdered each year. 10% of South Africans still hold gun
licences. Generations of poverty and resistance have produced a culture of violence. It is a
culture where young children in townships play games called funeral and AK-47.

Read Source 37, Booklet

Read Apartheids Legacy, Booklet
Summarise the key legacies.