Tour Guide: Welcome to the historical tour of South Africa! We will now travel back in time to 1652 when the Europeans first began to settle in South Africa. Most of the Europeans were Dutch, and are now known as the Boers or “farmers” in Dutch.

Good morning, sir.  We are currently on a historical tour about South Africa, and our first stop is here in 1652.  Our tour group would like to ask you a question about South Africa during this time. Do you have some time to talk with us?

John: Well, yes I do!  I would really enjoy talking with you and giving you some information about the time and place I live in.  Is there anything particular you would like to ask me about?

Tour Guide: One important question is why did you decide to come to South Africa?  You are all the way from the Netherlands, and that is a long way away!  What made South Africa so attractive for you?

John:  Now that is a good question!  The reason we Dutch decided to come here was because this place is a very good port area. South Africa is right on the trade route to India, and that makes it quite profitable for us to live and work in this lovely country.  We might even have luck mining around these areas. Now that would be a bonus, wouldn't it?

Tour Guide:  Yes, it would be!  Thank you, John.  We have appreciated talking with you and now have an understanding of how groups of European people began to settle this area during this time. 

O.k. group!  John was able to give us some background information and now it is time to move on.  Let us take a look at what is happening between 1795 and 1910.  Initially, South Africa is prospering under the British rule. Even though the British conquered South Africa, the Boers refused to be under British control, and declared South Africa rightfully theirs, for they believed that they were the first “settlers.” 

This then led to the Boer war from 1899 to 1902, which resulted in a British victory. The British were now in complete control and this included ruling the former Dutch territory.

After 8 years of negotiation, the British finally agreed to make South Africa independent.  In 1910, South Africa was given independence, but, you may ask, what happened to the original people of South Africa?  That is a good question because the Europeans now had control of South Africa.  The first South Africans (the people living in South Africa before the Europeans arrived) were not given equal rights.  This was because governmental power was only given to white people in South Africa when it became independent.

Our tour is now scheduled to go to 1992 and meet a political scientist by the name of Dr. Bach. 

Hello Dr. Bach.  We are a tour group traveling through time to learn about apartheid.  We would like to ask you a few questions about apartheid during the years 1948-1992. 

Dr. Bach:  It would be my pleasure to talk with you about this today.  This period of time in South Africa was very tumultuous.  There were many laws and regulations put in place that divided the country into different areas and ideas.  The government became very strong and was able to influence all of the people positively and negatively. 

Tour Guide:  What laws and acts were created during this time, and what affect did they have on the people of South Africa?

Dr. Bach: There were many laws and acts that were passed during this time of apartheid; in fact there were at least 17. Here are some of the acts that were passed during this time period:

The South Africa Act, the Mines & Works Act, the Natives Lands Act, the Natives (Urban Areas) Act, the Natives Laws Amendment Act, and  the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act. There was also the Population Registration Act, the Immorality Act, the Group Areas Act, the Criminal Law Amendment Act, the Reservation of Separate Amenities Act, the Bantu Education Act, and the Natives Resettlement Act. Plus, the Industrial Conciliation Act, the Promotion of Bantu Self-government Act, the Bantu Homelands Citizenship Act, and the Constitutional Act!

That sounds like a lot doesn't it? It would take a long time to explain all of the acts in detail, so I will give a brief explanation on most of the acts, and give more detailed explanations on the acts that had a great effect on the people of South Africa. 

• First of all, the South Africa Act, established in 1909, was to ensure that an all-white government ruled the country.
• Next, the Mines & Works Act, which was passed in 1926, was an act that banned certain jobs for certain races, and also made sure that white people always had a higher salary than black people.
• The Natives Lands Acts was an act that gave the whites over 90% of the land of South Africa, leaving only about 10% of the land for the other races.
• The Natives (Urban Areas) Act was an act that declared residential segregation, and forced blacks to carry a paper that allowed them to stay in the cities.
• The Natives Laws Amendment Act, which was created in 1937, established a system of pass-laws, where the blacks had to carry a special identification pass if they wanted to enter white areas.
• Next, there was the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, established in 1949, and this act forbid marriages between blacks and whites.
•  The Population Registration Act was an act that made everyone register by color.
• The Immorality Act was an act, which banned sexual relationships with blacks and white people.
• The Group Areas Act, created in 1950, was an act that caused a lot of pain to the people of South Africa.  The purpose of this act was to segregate the four races and create geographical borders between the people. This meant that people of different races were not allowed to live, work, or even enter a property that belonged to a person of a different race. Also, the Group Areas Act forced all the non-white people over the age of 16 to carry a pass.  This pass stated their address, age, name, and other important information. This pass enabled the non-whites to travel on white areas.
• The Criminal Law Amendment Act's purpose was to give permission for the police to give severe punishment to those who protested against apartheid.
• The purpose of the Reservation of Separate Amenities Act, which was passed in 1953, was to segregate people on buses, schools, parks, and many other places.
• The Bantu Education Act was an act that forced racial segregation in schools.  The standard of education for the black students wasn't as good as the education for the white students.
• The Natives Resettlement Act was an act that relocated the majority of the blacks into their ethnic backgrounds.
• There also was the Industrial Conciliation Act.  This act allowed jobs to be reserved for certain races and gave white people priority for jobs.
• The Promotion of Bantu Self-government Act was an act that replaced the small amount of black representatives in the South African Parliament with white people.
• The Bantu Homelands Citizenship Act was created in 1970 and its purpose was to make every black person, rather than a civilian of South Africa, a civilian of a homeland.
• Finally, there was the Constitutional Act. This act divided the South African parliament into three groups of representatives. These groups were the whites, the colored, and the Asians. This act denied any representation of blacks in the parliament of South Africa.

Tour Guide: How did these acts affect the people of South Africa? Also, how did the people respond to these acts?

Dr. Bach: Well, as I said before, most of these acts caused much pain and misfortune to the non-white people of South Africa. One example was the Natives Resettlement Act.  The purpose of this act was to relocate, and to resettle, the black into their so called "home lands."  You could also explain this as being separated into their ethnic backgrounds. Many families and friends were separated due to this act, and many people had to start a new life from scratch when they shifted. Also, the Group Areas Act, and the pass-system, caused much harm to people. If people accidentally forgot their passes, they were heavily punished. Even though passes were for people over 16 years, police sometimes accused children of being over 16 years old and punished them for not having passes.

Day by day, the black people of South Africa slowly got angrier and angrier at the situation. Soon, their frustration against the police and the government turned into violent protests that not only killed and injured many blacks, but also many white people.

There was a famous protest, that is now called the Sharpeville Massacre, that I should tell you about. During this protest, a large group of black people refused to carry their passes. This protest was declared an emergency situation, and lasted for 156 days.  During this time 69 people were killed, and 187 people were wounded. Still, the government did little to change the apartheid laws. 

Tour Guide: That leads me to numerous other questions.  What was the government of South Africa like? What were its priorities and what did it ignore? How did their policies lead to apartheid?

Dr. Bach: The National Party was led to power in South Africa when Daniel F. Malan was elected in 1948. They then introduced apartheid, a new political system, designed to segregate the people of South Africa into a hierarchy. The National Party believed in white superiority. The National Party also strongly disagreed with communism, and believed in self-development. This meant that the blacks and coloreds had little chance of getting ahead, as they would receive very little help from the government. This government was also the same one that created the hierarchy, sending them into poverty in the first place. With the new policy came new laws, acts, and organizations to fight against the implementation of these laws.

Tour Guide:  What kind of situation were the people of South Africa in now? How were the people treated?

Dr. Bach:  Apartheid was created to segregate all of the people of South Africa into different levels. In this hierarchy, black people were at the lowest level. They were often forced to live in unproductive farming lands, and faced extremely hard times during the National Party's reign. Coloreds were given more rights, but still nothing in comparison to the white people.  They were allowed to hold jobs but they were generally small businesses, or they were minor employees. Many lived in poverty and received no, or little support from the government. The white people had all of the political power in South Africa. They were the only ones allowed to vote and were the only ones in parliament. Whites also owned all of the larger businesses. Apartheid caused the whites to inherit the power and wealth of South Africa.

Tour Guide: What sort of groups protested against apartheid were there? I know that somebody would have to protest against apartheid.

Dr. Bach: Many people disagreed with apartheid's laws and many groups were formed to fight the government's new system. These bands included the African National Congress (ANC), the ANC Youth League, and many more. Originally, these organizations led peaceful demonstrations and protests. When these failed to have an affect, a new plan was introduced  to the ANC. The Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) was formed. This group was used to draw attention to the ANC's antics. This worked, although the attention the MK brought also led to the banning of the ANC in 1961. This wasn't the ideal situation but the protests continued. The ANC had placed itself in neighboring countries such as Namibia and Angola and it continued all of its operations from other countries.

Tour Guide: Can you tell me more about the MK?

Dr. Bach: As I said above, the MK stands for Umkhonto we Sizwe, or Spear of the Nation. It was a branch of the ANC and the South Africa Communist Party. It was a group whose main aim was to make the government and other countries aware of the situation in South Africa. In the mid 1970's the MK launched its government sabotage campaign. The sabotages then became more sophisticated and bombings were introduced. These new tactics were very successful with the youth and general population.

Unfortunately, a peace agreement was created between Namibia and South Africa, meaning that the MK could no longer continue operations from there. On the other hand, the MK had done its original objectives of attracting attention and weakening the government.

Tour Guide: What other protest bands were there? The ANC probably wasn't the only one fighting against apartheid.

Dr. Bach: Other groups included the Pan-Africanist Congress. This was an organization that had broken away from the much larger ANC. The PAC believed in African nationalism as opposed to the ANC's multi-racial approach. The PAC also believed the Freedom Charter was a betrayal of African nationalism. The PAC failed to operate after its banning in 1961. Although it still had bases in Zambia and offices in the US and England, it suffered from weak leaders and assassinations. It rejoined the ANC in 1990 but again broke away after the Conference for a Democratic South Africa was proposed.

Tour Guide: Were there any other protest parties?

Dr. Bach: The South African Communist Party (SACP) was created in 1953. This organization worked with the ANC. In the 1960's the two groups created the MK. While the ANC's sole objective was to destroy apartheid, the SACP tried to cope with the new laws and create a welfare program and nationalize the leading industries. Since the SACP and the ANC worked so closely together, the SACP had a smaller sense of identity.

Tour Guide:  Dr. Bach, would you please tell us a little about Nelson Mandela?  We know that he was very important in the fight against apartheid, but we would like to know some specific details about him. 

Dr. Bach:    Nelson Mandela was one of the most powerful people for the resistance against apartheid. He, along with many others, joined together to create a group that was called the African National Congress (ANC). The ANC was first founded in 1912 to help prevent racial discrimination against the black people during apartheid.  If you would like to know about Mr. Mandela in depth, I suggest you join the Nelson Mandela tour because they will tell you many informative and interesting facts about this amazing man!  

Tour Guide:  Thank you Dr. Bach.  You have been most informative and we appreciate the time you took to talk with us. 

We must now ask ourselves, “How did apartheid end?” Let's travel to 1992 to answer this question because it was around this time that apartheid was dismantled.  As you can see most (if not all) non-white people (and many white people) are very, very, very happy with this result! Now, let’s see if we can ask a couple of questions to one of these celebrating people.

Excuse me, Ma'am.  Do you have any idea why the government decided to put a stop to apartheid?

Stephanie: There are many reasons why the government has put an end to apartheid. One of the main reasons has been the protests. There are many groups that have been formed that are against the government and apartheid. These groups include people of all ethnic backgrounds. Through uniting together they have become a powerful voice that the government has had to listen to.

For example, Nelson Mandela became a symbol in the fight against apartheid. Following his lead, black and white people started to fight against apartheid, especially in churches.

The world's attention has been on South Africa for some time now, and many people from around the globe have been able to help us gain freedom and peace. Also, a lot of pressure was put on the South African government from other governments. South Africa had become the object of international scrutiny, and the government needed to make changes for the good of all of South Africa. The African National Congress, a group created to stop racial discrimination against the blacks of South Africa, had placed itself in countries other than South Africa, and became more active world wide. Many countries supported equal rights and representation. This too put a lot of pressure on the government of South Africa, and because of this, apartheid began to collapse.

Another reason that the government put a stop to apartheid was that the economy of South Africa was failing. The majority of the black workers were not skilled in the necessary areas, and there was a scarcity of skillful white workers. If the economy was to grow and prosper, it needed many good workers, despite their race. Also, ever since apartheid laws had been put into place, other countries worldwide had ceased importing/exporting goods with South Africa, and trading relationships with South Africa also became scarce. South Africa was not investing money, so finally, the government of South Africa decided that it was better off without the apartheid laws, and with apartheid gone, South Africa was back to being a peaceful country.

Tour Guide: It has been a pleasure talking with you today, and I would like to thank you very much for using our travel agency. This will be the end of our Historical Tour. I hope you enjoyed our tour and learned new facts about apartheid. To learn more about human rights and how they were violated during the time of apartheid, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (U.D.O.H.R.) join our next tour called U.D.O.H.R..