The apartheid regime in South Africa, which lasted from 1948 to 1994, was a profoundly discriminatory political and social system that institutionalized racial segregation and oppression. This era in South African history was marked by intense racial division and brutal enforcement of policies designed to maintain white minority rule over the majority black population. Understanding the backstory of the apartheid regime requires an examination of its origins, implementation, resistance against it, and its eventual dismantling, all of which are pivotal in understanding contemporary South Africa.
Apartheid, an Afrikaans word meaning "apartness," was officially implemented in 1948 when the National Party (NP), dominated by the Afrikaners (descendants of Dutch colonists), won the national election and started legislating its policy of racial separation. However, the roots of apartheid can be traced back to earlier colonial times and the policies of the Union of South Africa formed in 1910 following the British victory in the Second Boer War. Even before apartheid, racial segregation and economic discrimination against non-whites were prevalent, including laws that restricted black South Africans from owning land outside designated reserves (the 1913 Land Act) and required them to carry pass books (identification documents limiting their movement).
The formalization of apartheid began with the Group Areas Act of 1950, which segregated residential and business areas, each race group living in designated areas. This was followed by a barrage of laws, including the Population Registration Act, which classified every South African by racial group, and the Pass Laws, which controlled the movement of non-white South Africans. Other laws included the Bantu Education Act, which curtailed educational opportunities for black children, ensuring their education was limited to what the state deemed suitable for their racial group, essentially to keep them in a position of servitude.
Under apartheid, the government also implemented the Bantustan policy, which created ‘homelands’ designated for major black ethnic groups in an attempt to cement the separation of races. These areas were often economically unsustainable, lacked proper infrastructure, and served as reservoirs of cheap labor for white-owned businesses and farms. Blacks were stripped of their South African citizenship when these homelands were forcibly declared independent states, an action that was almost universally unrecognized by the international community.
The implementation of apartheid policies led to widespread international condemnation and increasing domestic unrest. The African National Congress (ANC), initially founded in 1912 to secure voting rights for black South Africans, became the leading organization in the struggle against apartheid by advocating for a non-racial, unified South African state. Resistance took various forms, from peaceful protests and strikes to armed resistance, as exemplified by the formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the armed wing of the ANC, in 1961, led by Nelson Mandela among others.
The apartheid government responded to resistance with harsh crackdowns, detentions, and bannings of anti-apartheid organizations. Notable incidents such as the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960, where 69 protestors were killed by police, and the Soweto Uprising in 1976, which began as a peaceful protest by students against the mandatory use of Afrikaans in schools and ended with several hundred dead, drew international ire and heightened calls for sanctions against South Africa.
By the 1980s, the apartheid regime faced increasing internal pressure and international isolation. Economic sanctions by countries around the world, combined with widespread internal civil unrest and the ungovernability of many black urban areas, put immense pressure on the South African government. The cost of maintaining apartheid became unsustainable, and the regime began to negotiate with imprisoned ANC leaders, including Nelson Mandela.
The process of dismantling apartheid began in earnest with the election of F.W. de Klerk as State President in 1989. De Klerk moved to repeal most of the legislation that constituted apartheid, lifted the ban on the ANC and other anti-apartheid organizations, and in 1990 ordered the release of Nelson Mandela after 27 years in prison. These actions set the stage for multiracial negotiations which led to the drafting of a new constitution.
In 1994, South Africa held its first multiracial elections, resulting in Nelson Mandela’s election as the country’s first black president. The establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) under Archbishop Desmond Tutu was a crucial step in the process of reconciling the divided nation, as it attempted to uncover the truth about past abuses and facilitate a restorative justice approach to healing the nation.
The apartheid regime in South Africa was characterized by its brutal policies of racial segregation and economic disenfranchisement, which have left a lasting impact on the country’s social and economic fabric. Its backstory is a complex interplay of colonial history, racial ideology, economic exploitation, and the indomitable spirit of resistance by those who suffered under and fought against the regime. The dismantling of apartheid marked a significant chapter in the global fight for human rights and continues to serve as a poignant example of what can be achieved through determination and collective struggle.