Preview

Apartheid Legislation in South Africa

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
879 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Apartheid Legislation in South Africa
Nicolas Salamanca 10 A 17/12/2012
Apartheid legislation in South Africa
National Party leaders argued that South Africa did not comprise a single nation, but was made up of four distinct racial groups: white, black, colored, and Indian. These groups were split further into thirteen nations or racial federations. White people encompassed the English and Afrikaans language groups; the black populace was divided into ten such groups.
The state passed laws which paved the way for "grand apartheid", which was centered on separating races on a large scale, by compelling people to live in separate places defined by race (This strategy was in part adopted from "left-over" British rule that separated different racial groups after they took control of the Boer republics in the Anglo-Boer war. This created the so called black only "townships" or "locations" where blacks were relocated in their own towns). In addition, "petty apartheid" laws were passed. The principal apartheid laws were as follows:
The first grand apartheid law was the Population Registration Act of 1950, which formalized racial classification and introduced an identity card for all persons over the age of eighteen, specifying their racial group. Official teams or Boards were established to come to an ultimate conclusion on those people whose race was unclear. This caused difficulty, especially for colored people, separating their families as members were allocated different races.
The second pillar of grand apartheid was the Group Areas Act of 1950. Until then, most settlements had people of different races living side by side. This Act put an end to diverse areas and determined where one lived according to race. Each race was allotted its own area, which was used in later years as a basis of forced removal. Further legislation in 1951 allowed the government to demolish black shack land slums and forced white employers to pay for the construction of housing for those black workers who were

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Apartheid is a policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race. During apartheid, blacks suffered while whites lived a luxurious life.Whites lived in big houses with swimming pools while blacks were living in small townships or shacks. Having mixed babies was against the law. People had to get married according to their race. If someone had a mixed child, they would either be abused or taken away.…

    • 98 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    To quote Nancy Clark and William Worger’s book, South Africa: The Rise and Fall of Apartheid, “the policy of segregation generally separated races to the benefit of those of European descent and to the detriment of those of African descent.” Settlers of British and Dutch descent tried to keep their economic dominance over the Africans through segregation policies. Though white settlers accounted for less than twenty percent of South Africa’s population, they were in control of almost all economic resources. The way they were able to gain and continue their dominance was through the use of African labor at very low wages, and under extremely strict control. One of the first segregation policies was the Mines and Works Act of 1911. This act excluded Africans from most skilled categories of work in mines. By limiting Africans to unskilled jobs and positions in the mines, whites were able…

    • 1522 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Apartheid: Afrikaans for apartness, it was the segregation of blacks in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. It was created to keep the white minority in power and allow them to have almost total control over the black majority.…

    • 1089 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    South Africa Dbq

    • 1371 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In 1651, Dutch settlers first arrived in South Africa looking for slaves and goods, at the time they were known as Afrikaners. The Berlin Conference controlled the European colonization and trade in Africa by dividing the country into sections. The African efforts to resist European imperialism failed because they were unable to withstand the advanced weapons and other technology possessed by the Europeans. In 1948, a new system of racial segregation called Apartheid was founded, which caused whites to be superior and non-whites to be looked at as inferior, even though whites made up less than ten percent of South Africa’s population. During Apartheid, the African National Congress was formed, in response to the Sharpeville Massacre of 1960, and led by Nelson Mandela. The Afrikaners fiercely supported the Apartheid because they felt it was necessary for their self-preservation, some of the members of the ANC believed in violence to end the Apartheid because the excessive government violence towards them, and the United Nations condemned Apartheid because they felt it was oppressive.…

    • 1371 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mesmeric Revelation

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages

    With the enactment of apartheid laws in 1948, racial discrimination was institutionalized. Race laws touched every aspect of social life, including a prohibition of marriage between non-whites and whites, and the sanctioning of ``white-only'' jobs. In 1950, the Population Registration Act required that all South Africans be racially classified into one of three categories: white, black (African), or colored (of mixed decent). The coloured category included major subgroups of Indians and Asians. Classification into these categories was based on appearance, social acceptance, and descent. For example, a white person was defined as ``in appearance obviously a white person or generally accepted as a white person.'' A person could not be considered white if…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The topic of segregation in the United States has been a matter of great discussion since the Plessy Supreme court case in 1896. However, there is a much lesser talked about instance of segregation that occurred in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. That instance was called the Apartheid. Apartheid literally translates to “the status of being apart.” It was put into motion by the National Party as a way of upholding white supremacy after World War II. The inhabitants of South Africa were separated into four racial groups: native, white, colored, and Asian. If the groups did not conform voluntarily, they were often forced (sometimes physically) to do so. The segregation did not only end with the grouping of race. All services in South Africa…

    • 300 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Vocab for Ap Human Geography

    • 6104 Words
    • 25 Pages

    Laws (no longer in effect) in South Africa that physicall separated different races into different geographic areas.…

    • 6104 Words
    • 25 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fundamental to Apartheid and Jim Crow were values and habits that supported the oppression of groups of people who were perceived to be inferior. These systems take on different forms, but essentially have same structure. The implementation and maintenance of legislation passed during these eras allowed for the continued degradation of minorities. Many external factors aided in keeping these laws afloat and ensuring the dominance of the oppressors. Political, economic and societal pressures allowed for the enforcement of racially charged legislation systems.…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The system of the Apartheid was also enforced by a series of laws passed in the 1950’s. The Group Areas Act of 1950 assigned races to different residential and business sections in urban areas and The Land Acts of 1954and 1955 which restricted non-whites residence to specific areas. These laws restricted the already limited rights of black Africans to own land, while the white minority’s control over 80 percent of South Africa. Another law passed was the Bantu Authorities Act in 1951. It established a basis for ethnic government in African reserves, known as “homelands”. All political rights, including voting, held by an African were restricted to the designated homeland. South Africans lost their citizenship and any right of involvement with the South African Parliament. Africans living in homelands needed…

    • 787 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    So to begin at the beginning, during the lead up to the 1948 elections the national party began to campaign their ideas on Apartheid and began to pass legislation on their laws shortly after to coming onto power. Classifying individuals began by segregating everyone into black, white coloured or Indian. Those in the coloured group included those of Bantu and European descent. Officials would perform tests to determine which group someone belonged to and often members of the same family ended up in different groups. The East Asian population was the hardest to classify because the just didn’t seem to fit into any group. The descendants of the chinese who came to Johannesburg in the late 19th century were classified as Indian and hence, non-white. In contrast, immigrants of Japan and South Korea were considered honorary whites and were given the title “worthy oriental gentlemen” and given the same privileges as whites.…

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The term "apartheid" was one of the most politically charged words in the second half of the 20th century, and still remains notorious today. Apartheid translated from Afrikaans means "separateness" or "apartness". However when the National Party came to power in South Africa in 1948, it took on a much more sinister meaning and today is associated with racial and ethnic discrimination. The roots of apartheid stem deep into South African history. It started way back during European settlement, and was enforced and maintained right up until the end of the 20th Century. It will forever leave a mark on South Africa and indeed the world; a dark period in human history from which we have and will continue to learn.…

    • 1600 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In 1951, the Bantu Authorities Act was established. This act forced all non-whites to move to reserves known as "homelands" or Bantustans. These homelands were independent states to which every African was assigned by the government according to the record of origin (which was often inaccurate). All political rights, including voting, were restricted to the designated homeland. The idea behind this was that non-whites would be citizens of their homeland, losing any right of involvement with the South African Parliament that held complete control over the homelands. From 1976 to 1981, four of these homelands were created, denationalizing nine million South Africans. Africans living in the homelands needed…

    • 1651 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1948 Apartheid was introduced. The main purpose was to legally and physically separate different racial…

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This law officially began after the Reunited National Party won the elections in 1948. Only the ‘white’ South Africans were allowed to vote and be part of the government, whilst ‘black’ Africans were completely forbidden.…

    • 665 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Role of women in Apartheid

    • 2186 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Twentieth century South Africa was an unforgiving, unrighteous and primitive-like society. Cruel, repressive laws casted a non-negotiable boundary around Black, Coloured and Indian people. These laws restricted their movements, opportunities and all round lifestyle. A white minority was in utter control of a vulnerable South Africa, and this control was being maintained in the worst possible way. This method is known as Apartheid. In 1948, the Afrikaner National Party rose to power with their policy of Apartheid and implemented laws that were far more severe and brutal than before. Their laws touched every aspect of social life, including prohibition of marriage between blacks and whites, and the sanctioning of “white-only” jobs. The various races were also forbidden from mixing socially and were forcibly moved to separate living areas. In 1960, the Population Registration Act required that all South Africans be racially classified into one of three…

    • 2186 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays