IB History HL South African Flashcards

When did the Dutch East India Company establish itself in South Africa?

1652

Why did the English take control of South Africa in the 1800s?

Due to increased population, need for land, and South Africa being a strategic trading route to India.

What natural resource was found in Transvaal, attracting British settlers?

Gold in Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

What was the South African War (1899-1902) about and who won?

Conflict between the British and Boers over control and voting rights; the British won.

What ideology did both Afrikaners and British settlers believe in?

White supremacy

What was the South African Party (SAP) known for?

Segregating the nation and benefiting white people

What did the Act of Union (South Africa Act) do?

Restricted voting rights to white people with minor exceptions

What did the Natives Land Act (1913) do?

Prevented Africans from owning/renting land outside reserves (only 7.5% of land)

What was the Native (Urban Areas) Act (1923)?

Limited city access to whites; Africans needed passes to live in cities

What did the Industrial Conciliation Act (1924) do?

Allowed only whites to be in legal trade unions

Who founded the National Party in 1914 and why?

J.B.M. Hertzog, to rally Afrikaners against the government

What was the purpose of the Wage Acts (1925)?

Prioritized white workers in hiring (“civilized labor” policy)

What did the Mines and Works Amendment Act (1926) do?

Created a color bar by requiring certificates for skilled jobs, disadvantaging non-whites

What parties merged to form the United Party (UP) in 1934?

SAP and NP

What was the Purified National Party (GNP) known for?

Promoting Afrikaner nationalism and alienating poor Afrikaners from the elite UP

What did the Representation of Natives Act (1936) do?

Removed Africans from the electoral roll in Cape Colony

What did the Native Trust and Land Act (1936) do?

Extended native reserves to 13% of land (never fully implemented)

What did the Native Laws Amendment Act (1937) do?

Enforced and regulated pass laws more strictly

What was the Broederbond?

A secretive group of radical Afrikaner nationalists

What led to the formation of the Reunited National Party (NP)?

Merger of Hertzog and Malan’s parties during WWII, supported by pro-Nazi Afrikaner

What was the African Mine Workers’ Union (AMWU) strike in 1946?

Illegal strike of 100,000 gold miners; suppressed by police, killing nine

What did the Fagan Commission recommend?

Loosening pass laws and accepting African urbanization

What was the Sauer Commission’s conclusion?

To reverse Black urbanization and preserve White identity through apartheid

What does “Black Peril/Red Peril” refer to?

NP slogan warning against Blacks and communism

Who became prime minister in 1947 and what era did he lead?

DF Malan; era of petty apartheid (baasskap)

What did the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act do?

Made interracial marriage illegal

What did the Immorality Act do?

Banned extramarital sex between Whites and non-Whites

What did the Population Registration Act do?

Required all South Africans to be racially classified

What did the Group Areas Act do?

Restricted city centers to Whites, led to forced removals

What did the Suppression of Communism Act do?

Banned the CPSA and broadened “communism” to include anti-apartheid activities

What did the Separate Representation of Voters Act do?

Removed Colored people from the electoral roll

How did the NP pass the Separate Representation of Voters Act after it was overruled?

Packed the Senate with NP members

What did the Bantu Amenities Act do?

Segregated public facilities, limiting interracial interaction

Who succeeded Malan and what was his approach?

SG Strijdom; more radical and uncompromising

What were “Black spots” and how did the government address them?

Black areas in white suburbs; resolved by forced removals

What did the Native Resettlement Act (1954) do?

Allowed removal of Blacks from areas near Johannesburg

What did the Group Areas Development Act (1955) do?

Aided in enforcing racial segregation in housing

What was the Native Resettlement Board?

Body coordinating forced removals in Johannesburg

Who was known as the “architect of apartheid”?

HF Verwoerd

What was “grand apartheid”?

Policy of total racial separation and creation of homelands (Bantustans)

What did the Extension of University Education Act do?

Limited university admissions by race

What did the Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act do?

Created independent Black homelands (Bantustans)

What did the Transkei Act do?

Established the first Bantustan, with limited self-governance

What is the difference between petty and grand apartheid?

Petty apartheid = racial segregation in daily life (e.g. benches)

Grand apartheid = complete territorial segregation via homelands

African National Congress (ANC) → South African political party and Black nationalist organization. Goals: maintain voting rights for non-Whites and fight to eliminate apartheid. Formerly an organization led by middle class liberals, it became a militant liberation movement.

Youth League’s Programme of Action → Caused by the NP’s determination to implement apartheid. Inspired by the desire to achieve national freedom. It called on the ANC to embark on mass action, involving civil disobedience, strikes, boycotts and other forms of nonviolent resistance.

Defiance Campaign → Coordinated nationwide protests to pressure the NP to end apartheid. Protesters used civil disobedience, broke unjust laws in public, aimed to fill prisons, and involved multiple racial groups.

Stock Limitation Act → Forced Africans to sell excess cattle. Unpopular in rural areas. Included in Defiance Campaign to draw rural Africans into the movement.

Criminal Law Amendment Act → Government response to Defiance Campaign. Allowed longer prison sentences and flogging for protest-related offenses.

Congress Alliance → Anti-apartheid coalition led by the ANC. Included SACP, SAIC, SACTU, CPC, and COD. Created the Freedom Charter and organized the Congress of the People.

Congress of the People (COP) → Mass gathering organized to unite all racial groups against apartheid and draft the Freedom Charter. Aimed to expand the movement to the masses.

Freedom Charter → A draft constitution for a democratic South Africa. Demanded an end to apartheid, a non-racial government, and equal distribution of wealth.

Kliptown → Site where the Freedom Charter was read aloud. Police raided the gathering, arrested leaders, and disrupted the Congress of the People.

Alexandra Bus Boycott → Mass protest against bus fare increases. Showed the power of unified resistance and received wide media coverage.

Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) → Formed by Africanists who split from the ANC. Believed in Black self-reliance and aimed to hijack ANC campaigns.

Sharpeville Massacre → On March 21, 1960, police opened fire on peaceful PAC protesters, killing 69. Sparked global outrage and shift to armed resistance.

Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) → Armed wing of the ANC, formed after the Sharpeville Massacre. Led sabotage against apartheid structures.

Liliesleaf Farm → Safe house and headquarters for ANC and MK leaders. Raided by police in 1963, leading to major arrests.

Rivonia Trial → Trial of ANC/MK leaders after Liliesleaf raid. Government sought death penalty for sabotage; defense argued for moral legitimacy of resistance.

Robben Island → Prison where most Rivonia Trial defendants were sent. Symbolized government crackdown and the end of an era of open resistance.

How effective were nonviolent protests in South Africa? → Nonviolent protest had limited success. Some protests like bus boycotts worked, but most led to harsher laws and government crackdowns like the Criminal Law Amendment Act.

What roles did the ANC and PAC play in violent protest? → After Sharpeville, the ANC formed MK for sabotage operations. Before that, they relied on civil disobedience. The PAC also took a more radical stance early on.

How did the apartheid government react to protest movements? → The government responded with new laws, mass arrests, banning orders, and violent crackdowns to suppress opposition.

What was the significance of the Rivonia Trial? → It marked the government's attempt to destroy the armed resistance. Though leaders avoided the death penalty, it ended public ANC operations in South Africa.

What was the effect of ANC leaders’ imprisonment? → ANC activity moved underground or abroad. The imprisonment marked the end of public anti-apartheid resistance and strengthened the NP’s power.