what was apartheid? O Apartheid, Afrikaans term meaning “separation” was a segregationist regime that took place in South Africa between 1948 and 1994. The main characteristic of this regime, as the name implies, is that it limited the right of the population black, to the detriment of the privileges of the white elite, which at that time, comprised less than 20% of the population total.
Segregation lasted more than 40 years, until Nelson Mandela, in 1994, was elected president of the country, putting an end to the regime and with the intention of establishing a democracy where everyone would be equal.
To understand Apartheid, it is necessary to go back a few years before its beginning, as the South African colonial period was fundamental for the origin of the racial segregation regime.
Index
- South Africa's colonization process
- apartheid
- End of apartheid
- Movies to understand apartheid
South Africa's colonization process
The history of colonization of South Africa it has its origins in 1488, when the Portuguese Bartolomeu Dias visited Robben Island, which later became the target of dispute between the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English.
In 1652, the Dutch took the lead in this dispute by founding Cape Town. From there, between the 17th and 18th centuries, thousands of Calvinist Europeans from all over the continent began to colonize the territory of South Africa.
A little over a hundred years later, in 1795, the British took over Cape Town. Some time later, they discovered the presence of diamonds in the region, and were involved in several conflicts, the most notable being the Boer War, from which the English were defeated.
However, between 1899 and 1902, the British returned, only this time, better prepared. Thus, in 1902, the Boers signed the Treaty of Vereeniging, consolidating the British rule in South African territory.
Here, it is worth explaining that the Boers are made up of Dutch settlers and the descendants of the French, Scandinavian and German Calvinists, who from the 17th century onwards began to populate Africa in the South.
The independence of South Africa was recognized on May 31, 1910, having its sovereignty made official only in 1931.
apartheid
During the colonization period, in addition to the European settlers and the local population, the Indians were also part of the population. That's because they were taken to the territories to work under slavery.
When the Cape region was taken by the British in 1892, they limited the right to vote for the black population, based on the level of education and the amount of possessions they had. A few years later, Indians lost the right to vote and in 1905 so did blacks.
In 1947 the South African National Party won the elections. Thus, in 1948, Prime Minister Daniel François Malan, who was a descendant of European colonizers, took office, thus making official the beginning of the Apartheid regime.
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Along with this new government, a series of segregationist practices were adopted, institutionalizing racist practices. At that time, many laws were established based on this policy, some of them even before 1948.
Among them, we can cite the prohibition of interracial marriage, division of land by racial groups, separation of public places, with places exclusively for the whites, implementation of identity card based on racial group, creation of different government structures for blacks and whites, housing with specific areas, among others.
Because of these laws, a series of daily practices could not be carried out by blacks. See some examples:
- education – because of segregationist laws, schools were differentiated between blacks and whites. In schools for the black population, education was of low quality and aimed to train people by keeping them in the working class. Going to universities, then, was unimaginable;
- Earth – in accordance with the Native Lands Act, in which the South African territory was divided according to the racial groups, blacks had 7.5% of the territory, which was basically composed of land unproductive. Which made it impossible for them to plant crops even for their own consumption;
- Personal relationships – if interracial marriage was not allowed, neither could people have sexual relations of this nature;
- Vote – As mentioned before, blacks and Indians lost the right to vote and were much less able to stand as candidates;
- public places – The coexistence between whites and non-whites in places and public transport became inadmissible. With this, establishments were created where only white people could enter. There was segregation in every possible place;
- Work – Non-whites were assigned the subordinate functions, most often the heaviest work.
One of the central figures in the struggle against this regime was Nelson Mandela (1918 – 2013). An important leader against Apartheid, in 1963 he was accused and sentenced to life in prison for treason.
He was imprisoned on Robben Island for 27 years, until in 1990, with the repeal of segregation laws, he was released and ended up becoming the country's president in 1994, the decisive moment in the foundation of a democracy equality.
End of apartheid
The segregationist regime ended up having serious consequences for South Africa.
In 1960, during a protest against the Free Traffic Laws, it ended up with 180 injured and 69 dead. Because of this, two years later the United Nations (UN), through Resolution 1761, declared itself against Apartheid.
With that, he ordered the member countries to end economic and military relations with South Africa. From then on, the country began to suffer from global isolation, in addition to several economic blockades.
In the early 1990s, under Frederik De Klerk, the country was already quite weakened. Klerk then repealed the Apartheid laws and with that, Nelson Mandela is released from prison after 27 years in prison.
In 1994, blacks were able to return and Mandela was elected president of South Africa, ending more than 40 years of racial segregation.
At that time, the white elite became quite fearful, fearing that Mandela would pursue a policy of revenge. However, the leader always made it clear that his main objective was to establish an egalitarian democracy, where all people could have the same rights.
Movies to understand apartheid
Are you interested and want to know more about Apartheid? Check out some movies to understand apartheid. These film productions are able to elucidate several situations faced by blacks during the segregationist regime.
Perhaps the most famous of them is Invictus (2009). Based on a true story, the film shows how Nelson Mandela, after winning the 1994 elections, uses sport to unite a nation divided for decades.
- Invictus (Warner Bros., 2009)
- A Cry of Freedom (Universal Pictures, 1987)
- Seraphina! The Sound of Freedom (Warner Bros., 1992)
- Mandela – The Fight for Freedom (Librisfilms, 2007)
- Stolen Childhood (Moviworld, 2005)
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