The Rise of Apartheid
Racial segregation in South Africa has deep historical roots. As early as 1685, laws were passed forbidding interracial relationships, showing early signs of white supremacy policies. After the British seized South Africa from Dutch settlers in the Boer War, colonization intensified when Great Britain established the Union of South Africa in 1910, giving governing power exclusively to whites.
The system of apartheid (literally meaning "apartness" in Afrikaans) was formally implemented in 1948 when the National Party came to power. This comprehensive system of racial segregation restricted where Black South Africans could live, work, travel, eat, and even use the bathroom. Multiple laws enforced this separation, including the Population Registration Act (assigning each citizen a single racial identity), Mixed Marriages Act (criminalizing interracial relationships), and Group Areas Act (dividing living areas by race).
The government created segregated "homelands" (Bantustans) for Black South Africans in the 1950s. These areas lacked basic amenities like electricity and plumbing. Though whites represented only 10% of the population, they controlled 80% of the country's land. Every Black person over 16 had to carry passbooks at all times or face arrest.
Did you know? Signs in public spaces during apartheid sometimes literally read "WARNING BEWARE OF MONKEYS" to dehumanize Black South Africans and reinforce racial segregation.
In response to this oppression, the African National Congress (ANC) began actively fighting apartheid in 1950. Led by activists like Steve Biko and Nelson Mandela, the ANC advocated resistance through strikes and protests. Mandela, who became South Africa's first Black lawyer and opened the country's first Black law firm, initially favored non-violent protest inspired by Gandhi's methods in India.