Petty Apartheid and Grand Apartheid legislation Notes

Petty Apartheid and Grand Apartheid legislation

Nature and characteristics of discrimination

1. The second case study for this Prescribed Topic in Paper 1 focuses on Apartheid (“apartness” in Afrikaans), the legal and political system in South Africa (1948-1994) that enforced strict racial separation between Whites and non-Whites, especially Black South Africans.
2. It gave political power, economic privilege, and social rights almost exclusively to the White minority, while denying basic rights like voting, land ownership, and freedom of movement to the majority Black population and other non-Whites.
3. Through laws and policies, apartheid controlled where people could live, work, go to school, and whom they could marry-based solely on race. These laws were put forward by the National Party (NP)
4. Even though Apartheid ended in 1994, the events for this Prescribed Topic focuses on the period between 1948 and 1964.

Colonization

1. South Africa was colonized by the Dutch in the late 1700s and the British in the 1800s.
   1. During that time, there were clashes with the native groups of South Africa as well as fighting between the British and the Dutch, especially after the discovery of gold towards the end of the 19th C.
2. Tensions escalated into the South African War (1899-1902), where the Boers fought a guerrilla campaign until brutal British tactics forced their surrender.
   1. A political union followed, creating the Union of South Africa in 1910 under White rule.
3. Only white men could vote (and white women after 1931).
   1. Even when there were some provisions for non whites to vote, in practice they were virtually impossible to meet and political participation was restricted to whites.
4. Early 20th-century politics saw Afrikaner nationalism strengthen.