Apartheid

James Bond
April 29, 2013
Professor: Jacqueline A. Ascione
Research Paper: Apartheid

During the nineteenth century, South Africa became almost entirely colonized by Europeans. South Africa was highly populated by the Europeans because; South Africa contained an abundant supply of natural resources including land for farming, and mineral resources such as mines. These mines consisted of diamonds, gold and platinum. Europeans recognized the abundance of wealth South Africa had to offer and took full advantage of the opportunities. Once these Europeans, also known as Afrikaners, settled in South Africa, they drove many South Africans out of their homes and enforced the rule of Apartheid, creating a separation in society between the Afrikaners and South Africans. In Afrikaans, it stands for apartness. Along with separating the whites from the non-whites, it separated the blacks from everyone else, including coloreds. The main goal of apartheid was to maintain the amount of blacks in government less is more it was set out to insure that whites would remain in power over the blacks.

The Apartheid was an experience that left thousands of Black/Colored South Africans without rights, property, and even their lives. Although original in its name, the ideas were not original in itself. The ordeal dates back to 1652 when the early Dutch settlers moved into Black territory on a mission to "change the order of civilization"( Rotberg, R. I. (2002). Ending Autocracy, Enabling Democracy. Cambridge: World Peace Foundation.
). "Boers" (Rotberg) as Dutch called themselves, took up "an extreme fundamentalist Calvinist interpretation of religion" (Rotberg). In 1795, conflict arose between the English Settlers and the Dutch settlers; both groups empowered South Africa and did not share the power equally. In the early 1900s there was a heated battle over the discovery of diamonds which marked a victory for the Dutch (Rotberg). Black South Africans assisted the Dutch in winning this war. After the war the Dutch felt they needed to reform stricter prohibitions for the Blacks to follow. This resulted in separation of the Whites from the Non-Whites and the first stepping stone to the Apartheid. British Native Administrator said, "…it was needed to transform warriors (Blacks) into laborers working for wages"( Dugard, J., Nicholas, H., & Gilbert, M. (1992). The Last Years of Apartheid: Civil Liberties in South Africa. United States: Ford Foundation.
).Blacks were considered warriors because of their "battle with the British and Dutch" (Dugard, Haysom, and Marcus). The Dutch soon became known as the Afrikaner National Party. This effectively separated themselves from the English and the Black/Colored South Africans and also ensured social and economic dominance over the Black/Colored South Africans. In 1948 the Afrikaner National Party of South Africa constructed the Apartheid which cast racial and economic discrimination against all Non-White South Africans which eventually led to a reform in 1994. The National Party was founded by General J.B.M. Hertzog, a leader in a leader in the war against the English. General Hertzog felt the "dominance of the European population in a spirit of Christian trusteeship, with the strictest avoidance of any attempt at race mixture" (Rotberg). The National Party made sure that Black South Africans didn’t dictate in anyway, they started by racially separating. People were categorized by color, The Population Act, helped The National Party divide the Non-Whites which was used to divide them into three main categories: Whites, black (African), and Colored (persons of mixed descent) (Dugard, Haysom, and Marcus). Appearance, social acceptance, and descent were the criteria used to determine a person 's racial identity (Dugard, Haysom, and Marcus). Whites were obviously white because they appeared white and Blacks "who is, or generally accepted as, member of any aboriginal race or tribe of Africa" were obviously black (Dugard, Haysom, and Marcus). The National Party also separated Whites from Non-Whites based on your hair type. Called the "hair test”( Neame, L. (1962). The History of Apartheid. New York: London House and Maxwell) a person of The Party would insert a pencil through the subject 's hair. If the pencil could comfortably stay within the subject 's hair, then they were considered Black because it signified nappy hair. A person could tell with a White individual with ease, however with a Colored individual it was much different. If the pencil went through a Colored 's hair easily, The Party would then consider their "skin color as well as their background history" as a basis to precisely tell what category they were supposed to be in (Neame). "We thought our hair was inferior, we thought that our hair wasn 't as good as theirs," quotes a mother who experienced the Apartheid (Neame). Individuals were classified by the government 's Department of Home Affairs (Dugard, Haysom, and Marcus). This system of bureaucratic race classification which often separated families into different racial groups, without doubt caused untold suffering (Dugard, Haysom, and Marcus).

Discrimination didn’t stop at just dividing the races. Under apartheid, blacks were assigned to low paying jobs; they had no education, and thus were illiterate. Non-Whites were also discriminated economically. Since Non-Whites were unable to vote, The Party established "Bantustans"( Pomeroy, W. J. (1986). Apartheid, Imperialism, and African Freedom. New York: International Publishers.
) to allow them to vote. From 1958-1966, "homelands" were created to accommodate the political side of Blacks ' and Coloreds ' rights. This conspiracy designated each Non-White dweller with a homeland where he or she could vote, losing all possibilities of voting in the "White Parliament as well as their citizenship" (Rotberg). Four homelands were created "Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda, and Ciskei" (Rotberg).In these homelands they were treated like foreigners, they didn 't have the right to travel freely in their own land; therefore they had to carry passbooks with their picture and fingerprints and had to get permission from authorities before they went anywhere into the non-black areas. The reasoning behind giving the blacks/colored rights in homelands was to terminate political affliction with them and to kind of “give a dog a bone”, just to keep them at bay and to effectively terminate their citizenship outside their homelands, "If our policy is taken to its logical conclusion as far as the Black people are concerned, there will be not one black man with South African citizenship...Every Black man in South Africa will eventually be accommodated in some independent new state in this honorable way and there will be no longer a moral obligation on the Parliament to accommodate these people politically," quotes Dr. P. Mulder, then minister of Bantu Administration and Development (Rotberg). Black/Colored South Africans didn’t only have to deal with low paying jobs; laws were in place that effected employment and public conveniences. Non- Whites were unable to work anywhere near white employees unless the Blacks were the employees and were working for Whites. During the 1970s, segregation continued on buses, trains, and swimming pools (Dugard, Haysom, and Marcus). "We were made to walk, not smile, to not do anything that look like we were having fun. They treated us like animals. To them, we were," quotes a young girl who thought of the Apartheid as the normal way of life. "It was just the way it had to be, we did not understand"( Gordime, N., & David, G. (1986). Lifetimes Under Aparthied. New York: Alfed A. Knopf.).
While the South African government were arrogant in their ruling of all, many other countries were skeptical of their doings. Because of this, the United States ceased all trade to South Africa. In 1985, the United States and Great Britain enforced "economic sanctions" towards South Africa (Rotberg). Several businesses that were associated with South Africa began to sell out and leave the area. Many countries wanted South Africa to "produce a safer place for their people without the segregated control" (Rotberg). This sudden lack of support caused the National Party to reevaluate their purposes. The National Party knew that further involvement with the Apartheid would destroy the entire county. They knew the country would start to suffer economically; it was just a matter of time. As the pressure of having an equal country escalated inside and outside of the South Africa government, a decision of termination began to rise. Led by President F.W. Klerk, the government began to dismantle the Apartheid organization in the early 1990s. The fact that South Africa could have loss all trade put things back into perspective. This change brought along a National Party government committed to reorganization. They stopped all segregation, freed many Black prisoners, and got rid of the old constitution. Finally in 1994, South Africa 's constitution was rewritten and Non-Whites were granted an opportunity to vote. Free-elections were held and a new president was elected (Rotberg).
For many years, Non-White South Africans tolerated many unjust circumstances. To most, it seems highly unethical and morally wrong. The National Party was developed to ensure power both during the early times of the Dutch as well as with the founders of the Apartheid. Through influence from both early settlers, to the positive influence of the United States and other countries, South Africa became a free nation, free of segregation, and overbearing power.

Works Cited
Dugard, J., Nicholas, H., & Gilbert, M. (1992). The Last Years of Apartheid: Civil Liberties in South Africa. United States: Ford Foundation.
Gordime, N., & David, G. (1986). Lifetimes Under Aparthied. New York: Alfed A. Knopf.
Neame, L. (1962). The History of Apartheid. New York: London House and Maxwell.
Pomeroy, W. J. (1986). Apartheid, Imperialism, and African Freedom. New York: International Publishers.
Rotberg, R. I. (2002). Ending Autocracy, Enabling Democracy. Cambridge: World Peace Foundation.

Cited: Dugard, J., Nicholas, H., & Gilbert, M. (1992). The Last Years of Apartheid: Civil Liberties in South Africa. United States: Ford Foundation. Gordime, N., & David, G. (1986). Lifetimes Under Aparthied. New York: Alfed A. Knopf. Neame, L. (1962). The History of Apartheid. New York: London House and Maxwell. Pomeroy, W. J. (1986). Apartheid, Imperialism, and African Freedom. New York: International Publishers. Rotberg, R. I. (2002). Ending Autocracy, Enabling Democracy. Cambridge: World Peace Foundation.