I.

Introduction
This paper is entitled as “Apartheid Rule and African Resistance in South Africa”. I have divided
this topic in to five subtopics. The first sub topic deals about the general background of the topic
and how the British controlled South Africa after defeating the Dutch settlers at Boers war of
1899-1902.
The second sub topic deals about the nature of the British colonial rule and the struggle
movements made by the Africans. The third sub topic was concerned about the definition,
meaning and nature of apartheid in South Africa. The fourth topic deals about the formation of
the ANC and its struggle against apartheid. The last and the fifth topic, deals about the struggle
against Apartheid after 1960. It also deals how apartheid came to an end in South Africa.

1
 1.Apartheid Rule and African Resistance in South Africa
1.1. Background
The indigenous peoples of South Africa were: the Khoi-Khoi and San people. The first people to
arrive in South Africa were the Portuguese. In the 16 thc the Portuguese explorers came to the area
and made a settlement. The Dutch traders and missionaries also arrived in to that area in the
17thc. Following these traders and missioners, settlers came in to the area and began to settle.
South Africa was very rich in mineral resources. Especially after the mineral revolution took
place the region became a strategic area. The Dutch settlers benefit much from this. Attracted by
these mineral resources, the British fought against the Boers, to control the region. At the Boer
wars of 1899-1902, the British defeated the Boers (the Dutch settlers), and controlled the region
totally. The British established their colonial administration starting from this time 1.The local
peoples expected political and economic rights after the Boers war. But the British soon solved
their conflict with the Boers and established a firm control over the local African peoples 2.

1.2. The Struggle For Freedom In South Africa

In South Africa there was the largest white population settlement. This made the struggle against
colonialism very much difficult. In the 1870s, there were four million white settlers which made
the struggle against colonialism, that much difficult. In 1910, the British established the union of
South Africa by excluding the blacks3.
What made the difference in South Africa was the existence of a white community of
four million, by far the largest and longest established whole civil and military apparatus
of the state and was quite independent of any outside power. The white south Africans,
especially those of the Dutch descent, had long lose touch with relatives in Europe, and
they took it for granted that their children and grand children would remain in Africa
and continue to enjoy the same political and economic privileges had not needed to be
very forcefully asserted up to this time, all the rest of Africa, and much of southern Asia,
had been ruled by much smaller white minorities than their own, and south Africa, like
Rhodesia, had been regarded as an honorary number of the colonial club. Any
differences in the way Africans were governed in South Africa were regarded as matters
of methods and timing rather than of fundamental ideology. But when in 1945, Britain

1
W.D Kruger, Colonialism in Africa 1870-1960 (Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress, 1969), P. 348.
2
Kevin Shillington, History of Africa (London: Macmillan Press, 1993), P. 404.
3
Ibid, P. 333.

2
 announced her intention of withdrawing from her Indian empire, and when the
independence of some West Africa territories began to be talked of as none too distant,
white South Africans were quick to see that their privileges would either have to be
surrounded or else defended by the use of more and more coercion4.
In 1948, there was a general election in South Africa. The two main political parties that were
competing for the election were: the Afrikaner national party and the national party. The
Afrikaner national party had a pro-black political ideology. Because of this, the whites disliked
it. But the nationals political party was a more racist and anti-black political party. The blacks
disliked this party. The blacks during this time had no the right to elect. In the 1948’s general
election, the nationalist political party won the election and took power5.
1.3. The Nature Of Apartheid Ruling System In South Africa (1948-1991)
With the victory of the national political party in 1948, the word apartheid began to use in South
African politics. Even though, the world was used before this time, it is not used for political
agendas previously, but simply to show the concept segregation or separation. But after 1948 the
term apartheid began to use for political agendas in South Africa. But some historians argue that
the emergence of the concept apartheid traced back to the first Dutch governor of the Cape called
Jan Van Rieback against the blacks6
The world apartheid means separateness in Africans, one of the South Africa’s official
languages. Built on earlier South African laws and customs, apartheid classified every
South African (people) by race as either: (1) black, (2) white, (3) colored (mixed race) or
Asian. Apartheid required segregation in housing, education, employment, public
accommodations, and transportation. It segregated not only almost whites from non-whites
but also major non-white groups from each other. It also limited the rights of non-whites
to own and occupy land, and to enter white neighborhood. The South African government
tried to justify apartheid by claiming that a peaceful co-existence race was possible only if
the races were separated from one another. However, white South Africans used apartheid
chiefly as a way to control the vast non-white majority7.

4
Kevin Shillington, P. 404.
5
Ibid.
6
Robin Hallett, Africa since 1875: A Modern History (London: Heinemann, 1980), P. 671.
7
World Book of Encyclopedia: Volume 1 (Chicago: World Book Inc, 2001), P. 563.

3
The ultimate goal of apartheid was to make the blacks foreigners, or to marginalize them out of
the South African political life. Of course they cover eighty six percent of the total population of
South Africa. The blacks were restricted to live on the poverty stricken and overcrowded
reserved areas which were termed as homelands. The apartheid ruling system also put a strict
separatist law between the whites and the blacks socially, like that of its separatist police in
economic and political life of the people. Between 1948 and 1950 different laws were enacted
which prohibited sexual intercourse and marriage relationships between the whites and the
blacks. Individual were requires to got the national register without hybriding their races8
1.4. Resistance Of Apartheid Rule And The Formation Of ANC (The
African National Congress)
The ANC was the first political party that was founded on 8 January 1912 to struggle against
apartheid rule in South Africa. ANC originally was called as the South Africa National Congress.
The first founders of the ANC were: John Dube (the first president of the party, Sol Plaatje (the
poet and author) and Albert Luthuli (the future NobelPrize winner)9.
In 1913, a year after its formation, the ANC sent a delegation to protest the land act of 1913. The
members of the delegation wereMsane, Dube, Mapikela, Rubnusaa, and Plaatje. The members of
the delegation were the representatives from: the traditional and modern elements, from the mine
workers, from farmers, and from the urban population. But their mission was failed10.
In 1944 the Youth League was formed in the ANC. The members were young Africans like:
Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo. These young members of the ANC became
strong. ANC allied with the Natal Indian congress and Jansval Indian congress. In 1948 a general
election took place in South Africa. The Afrikaner National Political Party and the National
Party were the two most powerful parties during the election. The Afrikaner National Political
Party supported the struggle made by the ANC. But in the lection the Nationalist Political Party
became victorious and enacts a very harsh apartheid law against the ANC11.

In 1952, the ANC made a coalition with opposition groups including Indians, coloreds and the
radical whites against the apartheid rule in South Africa, and adopted a freedom character which
8
Kevin Shillington,P. 404
9
Molef: Kete Asante, History of Africa:The Quest for EternalHarmony (New York:
Rutledge, 2007), P.270.
10
Ibid.
11
MolefKete Asante, P.270.

4
was a basic document for the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. This document is the most
radical one, which was based on equality of rights without any difference regardless of race. It
was a non-racial document or charter12.
Some of the main points included in the character were: the people shall govern, all national
groups shall have equal rights, the people shall share in the country’s wealth, the land shall be
shared among those who work it, all shall be equal before the law, all shall enjoy equal human
rights, there should be work and security, the doors of learning and culture shall be opened, there
shall be houses, security and comfort, and there should be peace and friendship13.
The National Party passed different acts (passes), which segregated the blacks from the whites,
from these laws the first was: the population registration act of 1950. According to this act the
people in South Africa were divided in to whites and nonwhites, the non-whites again were sub
divided in to coloreds (mixed race), Indians and the Bantu. The Bantu were even divided in to
different types of ethnic groups like: Zulu, Xhosa, Iswannn, Venda, Sotho, and so on. The
ultimate goal of this division was to weaken African unity in South Africa 14.The other act that
was introduced during this time was the group act of 1950 which deliberately separated different
types if races in their own separate living spaces. This act was the corner stone of the apartheid 15.
People were also segregated based on their races and colures in public places, buses, and
sportcenters’, in recreational area etc. there were signs and written materials which indicated
areas that belong to the whites and the blacks. For example, there was a sign or written material
like “only for writers” and the like16.
In work places too, the blacks were segregated. Black workers were forced to work more with
little payment. The white workers were paid ten times greater than the blacks with equal work
and educational status. The blacks were also forced to work very difficult works17.
In 1952, the abolition of passes and coordination of documents act was introduced. The aim of
this act was to restrict or control the entrance of the blacks from the rural to urban areas. In order

12
April A. Gordon and Donald L. Gordon, Understanding Contemporary Africa (London: Lynne Rienner
Publishers, 1996), P. 350.
13
MolefiKete Asante, P. 270-273.
14
Ibid.
15
Bill Freund, The Making of Contemporary Africa: The Development Of African Society Since 1800
(Bloomington: Indian University Press, 1984), PP. 265-270.
16
Bill Freund,PP. 265-270.
17
Roland Oliver and Anthony Atmore, Africa since 1800 (Cambridge: Cambridge University press,
1996), P. 253.

5
to identify the people, the act forced men and women to carry a reference book that can be used
as an identification card18.
The last but not the least act that segregated the blacks from whites was the Bantu education act
of 1953. These acts exclude the blacks from missionary school. The blacks were only allowed
schooling in government schools. And the curriculum was designed to show the superiority of
whites over the blacks. It aimed to equip the blacks, nothing except bare skills to work for the
whites19
In addition to the above major acts, the following acts were also introduced to segregate the
blacks from the whites. These acts were: the 1953 criminal law amendment act, the 1957 native
laws amendment act, and the 1960 unlawful organizations act were the main once. Totally these
acts (passes) were aimed for the suppression and segregation of the blacks by the whites20.
The introduction of new acts (passes) introduced by the governments aggrandize the resistance
movement in South Africa. The people opposed these acts. Because of this, continuous uprisings,
riots and demonstration became common in the towns. These opposition movements were
initiated by the young leaders of the ANC like: Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo and Walter
Sisulu21.
In 1952, the ANC made “a Defiance campaign” by opposing the segregationist acts against the
blacks. As a result thousands of members of the NAC were killed and arrested. Later the ANC
made an alliance with other groups like: Indians, colored’s (mixed race) and radical whites and
adopted the Freedom Charter. In 1956 the government took a repressive measure against the
leaders of the opposition. After this the ANC was splited in to two groups. The first group
believed that freedom could be achieved only by the blacks themselves. This group opposed non-
blacks to be involved in the struggle against apartheid rule, and called as the Pan Africans
Congress (PAC). The second group believed that all supporters of the anti- apartheid movement
should be involved in the struggle22.

1.5. The Struggle Against Apartheid after1960

18
Kevin Shillington, P. 405.
19
Robin Hallet, P. 671.
20
Kevin Shillington, P. 405.
21
Roland Oliver and Anthony Atmore, P. 253.
22
Kevin Shillington, P. 405.

6
The year 1960 was the Year of Africa because at this year many African countries gained their
independence from colonialism. Inspired by this the leaders of ANC and PAC were committed to
push forward their questions by peaceful protests, but the response of the police was harsh and
repressive23.
On 21 March 1960, the members of the PAC made a peaceful demonstration by opposing the
pass laws introduced by the government. But police fired on these unarmed and peaceful
demonstrations. As a result sixty nine people were killed and more than one hundred people were
wounded. This event was called as the Sharpeville massacre which marked a new phase of
struggle for freedom in Africa24.
After the Sharpeville incident the government banned the members of the ANC, and thousands
were killed and arrested, as a result the South African government got international
condemnation. The newly independent African nations asked the imposition of economic
sanctions on the South Africa government by the UN. But the USA and Britain reject it by using
their veto power in the UN25.
Later the ANC leaders believed in an armed struggle and they formed an armed wing of the party
which was led by UmrhontoWezizwe. Oliver Tambo exile abroad to get support. In 1963 after a
successful attacks and sabotages, the commander of the army, Umbronto was captured in the
Northern part of Johannesburg. Mandela, Sisulu, Govern Mbeki and Six others were sentenced to
life imprisonment. When Mandela was in a trail in a court, he said the following:
During my life, I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have
fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have
cherished the idea of a democratic and free society in which all people live together in
harmony with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve.
But it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.
In the 1960s the Nationalist Party was divided in to two 26. These were: the Progressive Groups
called Verligtes and the Conservative Group Verkramptes. The Vertigtes were in a position to
develop positive polices for the blacks.But the Verkramptes were highly concerned to uphold
existing apartheid ruling system. In 1969, the extreme Verkramptes formed a new political party
which was called as Hersionale National (Reconstituted National) party. The HerstigeNational
23
Ibid, P.406.
24
D.J. Fage, AHistory of Africa (London: Rutledge, 1995), P. 472.
25
D.J. Fage, P. 472.
26
Kevin Shillington, P. 406.

7
Party (HNP) never got votes in the Parliament but its political activities played a key role in
breaking the government’s positions27.
In the urban areas the middle class Africans elites made the oppositions. But independent of the
ANC and PAC there are resistance movements in the rural areas which were difficult to control
for the government. Among these, the people of Pondo were the main once. But the resistance of
the people of Pondo was crushed28.
During its thirty years rule, the national party could be able to raise the economy but most of the
beneficiaries of the economic growth were the whites. But starting from the mid 1970s, because
of the increase in oil price, the economy started to decline. The years from 1976-1977 should the
lowest economic growth since 1945. Unemployment was the basic problem during this time.
Two million South Africans were unemployed. Many of the unemployed people were returned to
the rural areas29.
In June 1976, the African language became a medium of instruction in the schools of the blacks
both at primary and secondary levels. There was also inequality between the schools of the
whites and the blacks in allocation of resources and budgets. The budget that will be allocated
for school of the whites was fifteen times more than the school of the blacks. The black students
finally made a demonstration by opposing this. But police crushed the demonstration and many
students were killed. Although the students’ demonstration was crushed, the government
dropped its plan to make African language a medium of instruction in the schools of the blacks30.
The university students formed the South African students’ organization (SASO), which was
followed by the formation of a political party called the Black People’s Convention (BPC). Both
SASO and BPC continued their struggle. In august 1977, the leader of SASO, Steve Biko was
arrested at the town of Grahams, and was imprisoned at the town of Port Elizabeth31.
Generally from 1948-1991, the blacks in South Africa made Protest, boycotts and
demonstrations by opposing apartheid. The international community also condemned apartheid
in South Africa. As a result of democratic and international pressures the South African
government introduced different concessions from the 1970s up to the 1980s. Finally, in 1991,

27
Roland Oliver and Anthony Atmore, P. 254.
28
Ibid, P.289.
29
D.J. Fage, P. 472.
30
Roland Oliver and Anthony Atmore, P. 289.
31
Ibid.

8
apartheid was officially abolished. But its effects of the policies of segregation and separations,
still exists in South Africa between the blacks and whites32.

II. Conclusion

32
World Book of Encyclopedia: Volume 1 (Chicago: World Book Inc, 2001) P. 563.

9
The first people to put their feet in South Africa were the Portuguese travelers. After the
Portuguese, the Dutch settlers (Boers) came to the region. South Africa was very rich in mineral
resources. Specialty after the mineral revolution took place, the region became a very strategic
place. Inspired by this the British defeated the Dutch settlers (Boers) in the Boers war of 1899-
1902. Then the British established their colonial administration in South Africa.

The British policy of colonial rule in South Africa was called as apartheid, literally means
separation or segregation. By the apartheid ruling system the blacks were marginalized both
economically, politically and socially from the whites. To struggle against apartheid different
political parties were formed at different times. ANC was the one and the most popular political
party that was formed in 1912. Finally because of the domestic and antinational pressures the
South African government officially abolished apartheid in 1991.

Bibliography
10
Asante, MalefiKete. History of Africa: The Quest for Internal Harmony. New York: Routledge,
2007.
Fage, D.J. A History of Africa. London: Routledge, 1995.
Freud, Bill. The Making of Contemporary Africa: The Development Of African Society Since
1800, Bloomigton: Indian University Press, 1984.
Gordin, A. Apriland Dohald L. Gordon. Understanding Contemporary Africa. London: Lynne
Rinner Pubslihers, 1996.
Hallet, Robin. Africa since 1875: A Modern History. London: Heinemann, 1980.
Kruger, W.D. Colonialism in Africa 1870-1960.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969.
Oliver, Rolandand Anthony Atmore. Africa since 1800. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1996.
Shillington, Kevin. History of Africa. London, Macmillan Press, 1993.
World Book of Encyclopedia: Volume 1. Chicago: World Book Inc, 2001.

Table of Contents
11
Contents Page

I. Introduction ………………………………………………………………………..1

1. Apartheid Rule and African Resistance in South Africa …………………….….…2

1.1. Background …………………………………………………………………….2

I.2 The Struggle for Freedom In South Africa ……………………………………..2

I.3 The Nature Of Apartheid Ruling System In South Africa (1948-1991)………...3

I.4 Resistance of Apartheid Rule andthe Formation ofANC

(TheAfricanNationalCongress) ………………………………………….….…4

I.5 The Struggle against Apartheid After1960 ………………………………….…..7

II. Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………11

III. Bibliography ……………………………………………………………….……12

BAHIR DAR UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
12
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY AND HERITAGE MANAGEMENT

PROGRAM- MA (IN SUMMER)

YEAR- II

COURSE TITLE: PATTERNS AND PROCESSES IN AFRICAN HISTORY

SINCE 1850S (HIST 522)
A TERM PAPER ON THE TITLE:
APARTHEID AND AFRICAN RESISTANCE IN SOUTH AFRICA

SUBMITTED TO: Dr. Temesgen Gebeyehu

BY: YOSA ABIYE

ID NO. - BDU 07053362 PK

AUGUST 2016
BAHIR DAR
ETHIOPIA

13