Aparteid in South Africa

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Apartheid in South Africa

Apartheid ( apartness ' in Afrikaans ) is a state-sponsored racial discrimination system that allowed South Africa 's dominant white minority to ruthlessly segregate and exploit the country 's black majority (UN , n . pag . From 1948 to 1994 , millions of blacks (including Asians , Bantus and Coloreds ) were forcibly moved to government-controlled reservations (Africana , n . pag . They were also stripped of their rights as South African citizens - certain laws dictated where they could live , what jobs were open to them and the kind

br of education that they could access (MSN Encarta , n . pag . Those who were against apartheid were considered communists ' and were eliminated through strict security legislation , resulting in South Africa 's transformation into a police state (MSN Encarta , n . pag

South Africa already had a long history of white paramountcy and racism prior to the legalization of apartheid (MSN Encarta , n . pag . At the height of the South African gold rush in the late 19th century , unfair regulations were imposed on black miners to prevent them from enjoying the same labor standards that white workers enjoyed (Hazlett , n . pag The Pass Laws , for intance , prohibited black workers from travelling without passports , residing within the proximity of their workplace and bringing their families with them (Hazlett , n . pag

After his victory in the 1948 South African general elections , Prime Minister Daniel F . Malan (1948-1954 ) included apartheid in the platform of the Afrikaner Nationalist party (HighBeam , n . pag . As a result , the government forced large numbers of Asians and Coloreds to relocate to townships or black settlements (HighBeam , n . pag . It was said that between .1950 and 1986 , about 1 .5 million Africans were forcibly removed from cities to rural reservations (HighBeam , n . pag

During the regime of Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd (1958-1966 apartheid evolved into a legislation called the Separate Development Policy (HighBeam , n . pag . About 14 of the country 's land were granted to the Bantus as their homeland or Bantusan (HighBeam , n . pag However , they were still to be treated as aliens once they step outside of their respective Bantusans (HighBeam , n . pag

Blacks , Coloreds and Asians were under strict government survaillance whenever they travelled anywhere within the country (HighBeam , n . pag They were prohibited from voting or owning their own land (HighBeam , n pag . They were also provided limited residence and employment opportunities (HighBeam , n . pag . They were not allowed to live and or work in the city without a special work permit (HighBeam , n . pag . Even if they did have a permit , they cannot bring their families along with them , resulting in the breakup of many African families during apartheid (HighBeam , n . pag

Meanwhile , Blacks , Coloreds and Asians who were living in South Africa 's urban areas had to reside in city townships (HighBeam , n pag . They were also obliged to follow strict curfew and passbook regulations (HighBeam , n . pag . Failure to produce their passbooks whenever the authorities searched for them was punishable with arrest and imprisonment for at least...