Segregation in South Africa, known as apartheid or aparthood known as a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s.
Apartheid: was characterised by an authoritarian political culture based on baasskap, also was a system of institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination that existed from 1948 until the early 1990s. It was implemented by the National Party government, which was dominated by the Afrikaner minority. Apartheid classified the population into racial groups: white, black (African), coloured (mixed race), and Indian.
Key aspects of apartheid included:
1. **Population Registration Act (1950)**: This act required all South Africans to be classified into one of the racial groups. This classification determined access to rights and services.
2. **Group Areas Act (1950)**: This act segregated residential areas by race, forcibly removing non-whites from "white" areas and relocating them to townships.
3. **Pass Laws**: These laws required black South Africans to carry passbooks (identification documents) that restricted their movement, particularly in urban areas.
4. **Bantu Education Act (1953)**: This act established separate and inferior education systems for black South Africans, aimed at limiting their educational and economic opportunities.
5. **Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act (1949) and Immorality Act (1950)**: These laws prohibited marriage and sexual relationships between people of different races.
6. **Separate Amenities Act (1953)**: This act enforced segregation in all public facilities, including schools, hospitals, beaches, and transportation.
The apartheid system also established Bantustans or "homelands" where black South Africans were forcibly relocated and stripped of their South African citizenship, making them citizens of these underdeveloped, segregated areas.
The apartheid regime faced both internal resistance and international condemnation. Prominent anti-apartheid leaders, like Nelson Mandela and organizations such as the African National Congress (ANC), fought against the system through protests, strikes, and other forms of resistance, often facing severe repression.
International pressure, including economic sanctions and cultural boycotts, increased during the 1980s. This, coupled with internal strife and economic issues, eventually led to negotiations for a new political system.
Apartheid officially ended with the election of Nelson Mandela as president in 1994, following the country’s first democratic elections, marking the beginning of a new era of multiracial democracy in South Africa.
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