1. Nature and characteristics of discrimination
After 1910, the new Afrikaaner government established a system to segregate the races of South Africa and to establish the supremacy of the white population. This would be carried to a more sophisticated level with the policy of Apartheid introduced after 1948. This is discussed on the next page: The system of apartheid.
In pairs brainstorm everything that you know about South Africa; this can be recent information on politics, economy, social issues, sport, key events and personalities as well as any history that you are aware of. Each pair should then share its ideas and thoughts with the rest of the class.
In 1910 the Union of South Africa was established as a dominion of the British Empire. Tension existed between the British and the White South Africans who were descended from the Dutch settlers - known as the Boers or Afrikaaners; this tension had led to war between them from 1899 – 1902. After this the British were determined to avoid further conflict with with the Afrikaaners, and despite disagreeing with the Afrikaners over the treatment of the black population, they effectively handed over control to them in the constitution of 1910. South Africa was a multicultural society and had been since the seventeenth century, but after 1910 the Afrikaners were free to pass laws which reflected their belief in white supremacy and protected their own status in South Africa.
Divide the class into six groups.
Each group should research one of the following and present their findings to the rest of the class who should take notes. The presentation should include a PPT with clear images and maps where appropriate. Each group should also produce one to two side of notes on their topic to distribute to the class after their presentation.
- The original inhabitants of southern Africa before the arrival of the Dutch; the impact of the arrival of the Dutch
- Causes and impact of The Great Trek
- The discovery of gold and diamonds in South Africa and how this impacted the peoples of South Africa
- Causes of the Boer War of 1899 – 1902 and its impact
- The establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1910, the political system established including laws setting out voting rights and representation (1936: The Natives Representation Act)
- Laws that were passed after 1910 setting up segregation in terms of land, housing and employment 1911: Mines and Works Act, 1911: Natives’ Labour Regulation Act , 1924: The Industrial Conciliation Act , 1926: The Mines and Works Amendment Act, 1913: The Natives Land Act , 1923: Natives (Urban Areas) Act , The Immorality Act of 1927
The laws passed up to 1940 all served to increase segregation between whites and non-whites, but the inability to vote left them without any ability to influence government decisions. A white government could do whatever it liked regarding non-whites as they couldn’t be voted out by them.
Some of the consequences of the laws passed are given below:
- The Land Act of 1913 meant that approximately 68% of the population (indigenous African) were forced to live on reserves which made up only 8% of the total land. Inevitably therefore, the reserves were over-crowded. Farming became almost impossible as there wasn’t the space for cattle to graze, water sources dried up and the soil eroded, so that growing crops became very difficult. Although this increased to 13% in the Native Trust and Land Act, it was insufficient to make a material improvement to the lives of non-white peoples.
- On top of this, the law itself aimed to force black farmers to work for white people rather than to work for themselves. Sharecropping was outlawed and tenants were no longer allowed to pay rent to farmland belonging to whites. As a result, not only were large numbers of people forced to move from the places they called home, but they also became much poorer, and their health consequently deteriorated
- The Native Urban Areas Act of 1923 led to the strict segregation of housing for whites and non-whites in towns and cities. Black people were required to work for white people, so new black townships were built on the edge of towns, but they were not permitted to go into white areas unless they were there for work. Housing in the townships was of inferior quality to white housing
- The pass system tightly restricted the ability of males over the age of 16 to travel through South Africa. This system did not apply to women. There were attempts to extend it to women, but the government backed down in the face of protests.
- Segregation in employment made it easy to treat Blacks and Whites differently in terms of pay and conditions s well as opportunities for promotion and benefits
Watch the following video, People's Century, Skin Deep from 4 minutes 30 seconds – 8 minutes.
If you cannot access it on YouTube, try vimeo here (You will need to set up an account). It is also Daily Motion here
What was the justification given by white South Africans for setting up a system of segregation?
TAsk On
As segregation became more effective and more widespread, black people increasingly organised themselves to resist it:
- in 1912 the the first national black association was created, the South African Native National Congress (SANNC). The name was changed to African National Congress (ANC) in 1923
- the Industrial and Commercial Workers' Union (ICU) was established which, between 1926 and 1928, became a mass protest movement
As conditions for blacks deteriorated in the 1920s and 1930s with the economic crises of these years, and the impact of the Second World War, there was an increase in black resistance. This included refusal to pay taxes, anti-pass law demonstrations, and strikes such as the 1920 miners' strike. Another less direct form of protest was abandoning the white churches for more African forms of Christianity.
However, as you will read below, alongside the growing organisation of black resistance, and indeed partly because of this, Afrikanner nationalism was also developing and leading to stronger racist ideology.
Research further the actions of the ANC and ICU in the years before 1948.
- What tactics were used to resist government policies?
- Who were the key individuals involved in organising protest?
In 1948, there were three main parties contesting. Since 1934, South Africa had been ruled by the United Party. However, Afrikaaners decided in 1948 that the Nationalist Party was better able to protect their interests.
Why was this?
The Second World War led to big changes in South Africa as many white people were called to fight in the army. Furthermore, the demands of war meant that more workers were needed than normal. Therefore, colour bars had to be dropped and Pass Laws relaxed. The number of black men working in industry increased by 70%. This had a very visible impact as black men had to move to urban areas to do this work and they started to outnumber the white people.
As black people realised their importance to the economy and experienced some freedom from the pass laws and colour bars, they gained in confidence and took parts in demonstrations and strikes, demanding further rights and a better future. The ANC became more active and in 1943 claimed that all races were equal. This led to fear amongst white people and to the growth in Afrikaner nationalism. Many felt that the United Party was not taking their concerns seriously enough.
Many Afrikaners were shocked by the growing numbers of black people in urban areas and their growing willingness to take action to improve their treatment. As a result, they became more extreme in their attitudes and more determined to suppress non-white peoples.
The National Party had been established in 1914 specifically to protect the rights of Afrikaners. They encouraged solidarity and a sense of their own superiority. An Afrikaner newspaper, De Burger (The Citizen), was first published in 1915 and a secret society the Broederbond was set up to look after Afrikaner interests in businesses and the professions.
The main Afrikaner church, the Dutch Reformed Church also turned to the National Party.
Afrikaners no longer trusted Smuts to protect their interests; they wanted segregation, whereas Smuts seemed to be suggesting that, whilst he believed segregation to be ideal, it was not realistic. Indeed, Smuts supported the ideas of equal human rights and liberty in the United Nations Charter, something which clearly did not exist in South Africa, and many Afrikaners were opposed to these ideas.
He was seventy-five, and although previously successful, he now seemed to lack a sense of clear direction and no longer saw eye to eye with most Afrikaners. He had been so involved with the war that he had lost touch with people at home.
His campaign lacked energy. However, it must be remembered that the United Party did win the most votes even though they lost the election because of the way seats were allocated.
The Nationalist Party criticised the racial policies of the United Party. They set up the Sauer Commission in 1947 to examine the way ahead for segregation. The Sauer Report concluded that segregation should be maintained and extended across all areas of life. This was particularly attractive to the Afrikaners but also appealed to some of the English-speaking population as well.
They ran an effective, energetic campaign, building up support at local levels, for example through Herztog’s mineworkers union in the Transvaal.
The United Party actually won more votes than the National Party, but the system of ‘first past the post’, meant that they these votes did not automatically translate into seats. The National Party were successful in some smaller rural constituencies which had fewer voters, but which still represented a seat. This meant that they did not need to win as many votes in order to get a majority of seats.