Apartheid (1948–1994)
The Apartheid (Afrikaans: "separateness") was not a sudden break but the systematization of an already existing racial segregation. From 1948, when the National Party won the election, racial segregation was legally enshrined in every aspect of life:
- Population Registration Act (1950): Every South African was classified as "White," "Coloured," "Indian," or "Bantu" (Black) — with the infamous "pencil test" (a pencil in the hair: if it falls out = white, if it sticks = non-white)
- Group Areas Act (1950): Forced relocation by skin color. Bo-Kaap in Cape Town, District Six, Sophiatown in Johannesburg — entire communities were destroyed
- Pass Laws: Blacks had to carry a "Dompas" (passbook) at all times. Being caught without a pass in a "white area" meant arrest
- Bantu Education Act (1953): Blacks were to be educated only for menial work. "What is the use of teaching a Bantu mathematics?" (Hendrick Verwoerd, architect of apartheid)
- Separate Amenities Act: Separate beaches, park benches, toilets, entrances, buses, hospitals — "Whites Only" and "Non-Whites"
Resistance
The African National Congress (ANC) under Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, and Oliver Tambo led the resistance — initially non-violent, from 1961 with the armed wing Umkhonto we Sizwe. Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964 and spent 27 years in prison, 18 of which were on Robben Island.
On June 16, 1976, the Soweto uprising broke out when students protested against Afrikaans as the language of instruction. The police shot hundreds — including 12-year-old Hector Pieterson. The photo of his dying body went around the world.
International pressure (sanctions, sports boycotts, divestment campaigns) and internal resistance eventually brought the regime to its knees. On February 11, 1990, Mandela was released. On April 27, 1994, the first democratic elections were held. Mandela became president.
