What is apartheid and when did it end

Across the world, racism is influenced by the idea that one race must be superior to another. Such ideas are found in all population groups.

The other main reason for apartheid was fear, as in South Africa the white people are in the minority, and many were worried they would lose their jobs, culture and language. This is obviously not a justification for apartheid, but explains how people were thinking.

Original architects of Apartheid Image source. Numerous laws were passed in the creation of the apartheid state. Here are a few of the pillars on which it rested:. Population Registration Act, This Act demanded that people be registered according to their racial group.

This meant that the Department of Home affairs would have a record of people according to whether they were white, coloured, black, Indian or Asian. People would then be treated differently according to their population group, and so this law formed the basis of apartheid. It was however not always that easy to decide what racial group a person was part of, and this caused some problems.

Group Areas Act, This was the act that started physical separation between races, especially in urban areas. The act also called for the removal of some groups of people into areas set aside for their racial group. Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act, This Act said that different racial groups had to live in different areas.

Only a small percentage of South Africa was left for black people who comprised the vast majority to form their 'homelands'. This Act also got rid of 'black spots' inside white areas, by moving all black people out of the city. Well known removals were those in District 6, Sophiatown and Lady Selborne. These black people were then placed in townships outside of the town. They could not own property here, only rent it, as the land could only be white owned. This Act caused much hardship and resentment.

People lost their homes, were moved off land they had owned for many years and were moved to undeveloped areas far away from their place of work. Resistance to apartheid came from all circles, and not only, as is often presumed, from those who suffered the negative effects of discrimination.

As a result of a series of massacres and other human rights atrocities, the worldwide fight against apartheid grew increasingly fierce.

Especially during the , more and more people around the world spoke out and took action against white minority rule and the racial restrictions that left many non-whites in dire poverty. Influenced to an extent by the growing U. Finally, in , the U. Among other provisions, the Anti-Apartheid Act:.

The act also established conditions of cooperation under which the sanctions would be lifted. Reagan offered to impose similar sanctions through more flexible executive orders. Several days later, on October 2, , the Senate joined the House in overriding the veto and the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act was enacted into law.

In , the General Accounting Office — now the Government Accountability Office — reported that the Reagan administration had failed to fully enforce the sanctions against South Africa. In , President George H. Bush declared his full commitment to "full enforcement" of the Anti-Apartheid Act. The rest of the world began to object to the brutality of the South African apartheid regime in after white South African police opened fire on unarmed Black protesters in the town of Sharpeville , killing 69 people and wounding others.

The United Nations proposed economic sanctions against the white-ruled South African government. Not wanting to lose allies in Africa, several powerful members of the U. However, during the s, anti-apartheid and civil rights movements in Europe and the United States several governments to impose their own sanctions on the de Klerk government.

Congress in , drove many large multinational companies — along with their money and jobs — out of South Africa. As a result, holding on to apartheid brought the white-controlled South African state significant losses in revenue, security, and international reputation. Supporters of apartheid, both inside South Africa and in many Western countries had touted it as a defense against communism. That defense lost steam when the Cold War ended in At the end of World War II, South Africa illegally occupied neighboring Namibia and continued to use the country as a base to fight communist party rule in nearby Angola.

President Gerald Ford asked Congress for funds to expand U. But Congress, fearing another Vietnam-like situation, refused.

As Cold War tensions eased in the late s, and South Africa withdrew from Namibia, anti-communists in the United States lost their justification for continued support of the Apartheid regime.

Facing a rising tide of protest within his own country and international condemnation of apartheid, South African Prime Minister P. Botha lost the support of the ruling National Party and resigned in On February 11, , Nelson Mandela walked free after 27 years in prison. With growing worldwide support, Mandela continued the struggle to end apartheid but urged peaceful change.

When popular activist Martin Thembisile Chris Hani was assassinated in , anti-apartheid sentiment grew stronger than ever. De Klerk freed Nelson Mandela on February 11, A new constitution, which enfranchised blacks and other racial groups, took effect in , and elections that year led to a coalition government with a nonwhite majority, marking the official end of the apartheid system.

But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. The South African activist and former president Nelson Mandela helped bring an end to apartheid and has been a global advocate for human rights. A member of the African National Congress party beginning in the s, he was a leader of both peaceful protests and The formal end of the apartheid government in South Africa was hard-won.

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