Intro to South African History Notes
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Dutch farmers migrated to South Africa in the 1700s, seizing land and displacing indigenous groups. Over subsequent decades and centuries, the British and Boers established control over much of the area, implementing racist policies and laws against non-white populations. Resistance to apartheid grew throughout the 20th century from groups like the African National Congress, with defiance campaigns and uprisings met with violent crackdowns. International pressure and economic sanctions against South Africa in the 1980s weakened the apartheid government, and democratic elections were held in 1994 with Nelson Mandela becoming the first black president of South Africa.
Intro to South African History Notes
- 3. Early History • 1700s – Dutch Farmers (Boers) migrate across South Africa and seize land use by indigenous people for cattle and sheep grazing (basis of their economy). Battles and smallpox push back the indigenous populations of the San and Khoikhoi. • Wars break out between the Boers and the Xhosa and Zulu • Europeans dominate the western half of the area by 1800.
- 4. Early Resistance • Shaka Zulu fights against Boers, ultimately unsuccessful, but most successful against the whites. http://www.south-africa-tours-and-travel.com/zulu.html
- 5. Early History cont. • 1806 – British seize and eventually annex the Cape Colony. In 1809, the British decree that the San and Khoikhoi must work for white employers and place restrictions on their travel. • 1810s – British missionaries arrive and criticize the racist practices of the Boers. They urge the Boers to treat the Africans more fairly, but the Boers believe that they are superior to the indigenous Africans. Illustration from Robert Moffat’s “The Missionary Hero”
- 6. Early History cont. • 1830s – In the hopes of escaping British rule, thousands of Boers leave the Cape Colony in the “Great Trek” and establish the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. The interior consisted of British colonies and protectorates, Boer republics, and tribal nations until 1867.
- 7. Gold rush • 1867 – Diamonds are discovered at Kimberley and mining begins • Mid-1880s, gold is discovered in the Transvaal, triggering the gold rush. Taken from http://www.miningartifacts.org/South-African-Mines.html
- 8. Beginnings of apartheid • 1908 – A constitutional convention is held to establish South African independence from Britain. The all-white government decides that non-whites can vote but cannot hold office. A few people in the government object, believing that South Africa would be more stable if Africans were treated better.
- 9. Union of South Africa • 1910 – The Union of South Africa is born under the British Commonwealth. It bands together the British colonies of Natal and the Cape with the Boer republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. The South Africa Act is also passed which takes away all political rights of Africans in three of the country’s four states.
- 10. Struggle for equality • 1912 – The Native National Congress is founded which later becomes the African National Congress (ANC). This political party organized Africans in the struggle for civil rights. • 1913 – The Native Lands Act is introduced to prevent blacks, except those living in Cape Province, from buying land outside their region (reserves). Africans were only allowed to be on white land if they were working for whites. This act gave 7.3% of the country’s land to Africans, who make up 80% of the population. • 1914 – The all-white Afrikaan National Party was founded.
- 11. Seeds of apartheid • 1918 – Secret Broederbond (brotherhood) is established to advance the Afrikaner cause. • 1920s – Blacks are fired from jobs which are given to whites. • 1910s to 1930s – Africans educated at missionary schools attempt to organize to resist white rule and gain political power. There efforts are weakened because – few Africans are literate, – communication is poor, and – access to money or other resources is limited. • By 1939 – Fewer than 30% of Africans are receiving any formal education, and whites are earning over five times as much as Africans. • 1936 – Representation of Voters Act is passed. This law weakens the political rights for Africans in some regions and allows them to vote only for white representatives.
- 12. Important Acts • 1948 – Urbanization and economic growth during World War II fuels white fears that South Africa’s racial barriers would collapse. The National Party introduces apartheid measures against blacks, Indian immigrants and those of mixed race. • 1951 -- The Group Areas Act is passed to segregate the different races. Specific communities were set aside for each of the races (white, colored, mixed race or Indian) and native (African/black). The best areas and the majority of the land was reserved for whites. Non-whites were relocated into “reserves”. Mixed-race families were forced to live separately. • 1951 – The Bantu Homelands Act was passed. Through this law, the white government declares that the lands reserved for black Africans were independent nations. In this way, the government stripped millions of blacks of their South African citizenship and forced them to become residents of their new “homelands.” Blacks were now considered foreigners in white-controlled South Africa, and needed passports to enter. Blacks only entered to serve whites in menial jobs. The homelands are too small to support the many people in them. In Soweto, for example, seventeen to twenty people live in a four-room house.
- 13. Defiance • 1951 – Under the leadership of Albert Luthuli and Johannesburg law partners Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela, the African National Congress (ANC) organized a passive resistance campaign against apartheid known as the Defiance Campaign http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/5168176.stm
- 14. Resistance • 1952 – Abolition of Passes and Coordination of Documents Act was enacted. This misleadingly-named law required all Africans to carry identification booklets with their names, addresses, fingerprints, and other information. • 1953 – The Preservation of Separate Amenities Act was passed. It established “separate but not necessarily equal” parks, beaches, post offices, and other public places for whites and non-whites. • 1953 – Like the previous laws, the Bantu Education Act passed by the all-white National Party • 1955 – ANC gathers at Kliptown and creates the Freedom Charter to envision what ideal society would look like in an apartheid-free South Africa
- 15. Resistance - Sharpeville Massacre 1960 – A large group of blacks in the town of Sharpeville refused to carry their passes. The government declares a state of emergency and responds with fines, imprisonment, and whippings.
- 16. Resistance • 1961 – South Africa leaves the British Commonwealth and becomes an independent republic. Mandela heads the ANC’s new military wing, which launched a sabotage campaign. International pressure against the South African government begins and South Africa is excluded from the Olympic Games. • 1963 – ANC leader, Nelson Mandela, was jailed and one year later was sentenced to life imprisonment.
- 17. Resistance continued • 1970s – Resistance to apartheid increases. Organizing by churches and workers increased. Whites join blacks in demonstrations. • 1970s – More than 3 million people are forcibly resettled into black “homelands”. • 1970s– The all-black South African Students Organization, under the leadership of Steven Biko, helps unify students through the Black Consciousness movement. • 1976 – Thousands of students in the black township of Soweto stage protests to demand they be taught in English rather than the Afrikaans. Police fire on the demonstrators, sparking nationwide riots and more repression. Police kill more than 500 protesters within a year, including leading activist Steven Biko.
- 18. Change • 1980s – People and governments around the world launch an international campaign to boycott South Africa. Some countries ban the import of South African products and citizens of many countries pressure major companies to pull out of South Africa. These actions have a crippling effect on the South African economy and weaken the government. • Divestment (selling stock of companies who operate in South Africa) and disinvestment (companies leaving their operations in South Africa) has a big impact, especially during the 1980s http://africanactivist.msu.edu http://www.bdssouthafrica.com
- 19. • Late 1980s – Countries around the world increasingly pressure South Africa to end its system of apartheid. As a result, some of the segregationist laws are repealed. For example, the laws separating whites and non-whites in public places are relaxed or repealed. • 1990 – South African President F.W. de Klerk and the National party lift the ban on the ANC and its leader, Nelson Mandela is released from prison after 27 years. • 1991 – President F.W. de Klerk repeals the rest of the apartheid laws and calls for the drafting of a new constitution.
- 20. Success • 1993 – A multiracial, multiparty transitional government is approved. • 1994 – Elections are held. The United Nations sends 2,120 international observers to ensure the fairness of the elections. Mandela’s ANC wins 63 percent of the vote in April elections. World leaders gather on May 10 as Mandela is sworn in as president of the new South Africa.
Editor's Notes
- #4: 1867- Africans are given the most dangerous jobs, are paid less than white workers, and are housed in fenced, patrolled barracks. Africans were prevented from organizing for better wages and working conditions due to the oppressive conditions and constant surveillance.
- #15: 1951: . The charter stated “South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justify claim authority unless it is based on the will of the people.” The government reacted by arresting people and passing more repressive laws. -Pass Laws: Africans were frequently stopped and harassed for their passes. From 1948-1973, over ten million Africans were arrested because their passes were “not in order”. Burning pass books became a common form of protest. 1953: Through this law, the white government supervises the education of all blacks. Schools condition blacks to accept white domination. Non-whites cannot attend white universities. Africans were taught only in Afrikaans.
- #17: 1960- Seventy black demonstrators are killed. One hundred eighty-seven people were wounded. The African political organizations, the ANC, and the Pan-African Congress were banned.
- #18: Show the video now!
- #26: Show Xhosa clicks video