sharpeville

how did a split in the ANC cause protest?

when the ANC and the PAC split from each other, many young and dynamic members were forced to pick a side and were encouraged to try and shape the direction of the protests

what happened to many young and dynamic members when the ANC and the PAC split from each other? (2 things)

they were forced to pick a side and were encouraged to try and shape the direction of the protests

what were the 2 ways in which pass laws caused protest?

1. the pass laws made it difficult for africans to live and work in the cities

2. although it was possible to bypass the pass laws, it still led to frequent unpleasant, often violent, confrontations with the police

what did pass laws make it difficult for africans to do?

live and work in the cities

was it possible to bypass the pass laws?

yes

if an african was able to bypass a pass law, what did it still lead to?

frequent unpleasant, often violent, confrontations with the police

what were the 2 ways in which jobs caused protest?

1. although it was possible to bypass pass laws, they did mean that any african out of work could be fined between £5-8 and could spent between 5-8 weeks in prison, making it difficult to find alternative work

2. many africans lived on as little as £20 a month

how much would an african out of work be fined due to pass laws?

between £5-8

how much would an african spend in prison due to pass laws?

between 5-8 weeks

many africans lived on as little as how much a month?

£20 a month

what were the 2 ways in which PAC activism caused protest?

1. the PAC grew increasingly less bothered about creating a disciplined opposition, and more interested in activism

2. they assumed that anger would be enough to drive the movement forward and looked for ways to create a mass movement

PAC grew less increasingly bothered about what?

creating a disciplined opposition

what was the PAC more interested in now?

activism

PAC assumed that anger would be enough to do what?

drive the movement forward

what did the PAC look for now?

ways to create a mass movement

describe robert sobukwe's experience of political campaigning

it was limited

why did robert sobukwe announce that PAC would hold mass action on 21st of march, 1960?

the ANC had planned action for 31st of march, 1960

what tactics was the PAC going to use during the mass action on 21st of march?

similar tactics to the ANC's defiance campaign; offer themselves for arrest

what did robert sobukwe settle on being the focus of his campaigns?

pass laws

how did mandela describe PAC's planning mass action on march 21st?

as 'sabotage'

what evidence is there of vaal triangle's politicisation pre-sharpeville? (mention casualties)

bus boycott in 1956 - 15 had been killed in nearby evaton

how did group areas act impact vaal triangle?

population swelled up by 10,000 due to the group areas act in 1958

what connection did vaal triangle have to nearby lesotho?

pass raids stepped up in 1959 after many illegal migrants from lesotho

what is lesotho?

separate country from south africa

what was founded in vaal triangle in 1959?

the PAC had established a branch in 1959 under nyakane tsolo

what happened in the evening before sharpeville?

youths were on the streets and a policeman was stabbed to which police responded with force

how did police break up groups during the evening before sharpeville?

broke up groups with baton charges and gunfire

how many young protestors die during the evening before sharpeville?

2

where did protestors gather on the morning of 21st of march and how many of them were there?

5000 gathered around a police station

what did protestors request on the morning of 21st of march?

for all of them to be arrested

who made up the protest on the 21st of march?

not just PAC members - there were ANC members, journalists and many came out of curiosity

what was the mood like on the morning of 21st of march?

mood was referred to as relaxed and friendly by sobukwe's biographer

where is sharpeville?

south west of johannesburg

what kind of area was sharpeville?

heavy industrialised area inside the vaal triangle

what was sharpeville a home to?

state-owned iron and steel corporation factories

what was sharpeville set up as?

a model township

sharpeville had many benefits that other townships didn't, what is an example of one of the benefits?

a doctor's surgery

when did mood change?

when the police reinforcements arrived

how did the police reinforcements arrive?

in armoured vehicles with machine guns

why were police officers nervous?

they were inexperienced, thought there were more people there & they knew that 9 police officers had been killed a few weeks before at cato manor

why did the crowd surge forward towards the police station?

tsolo refused to order people to go home, so was arrested

were the protestors given a warning that there would be an armed response?

no - this was admitted by the police lieutenant, pienaar

was the shooting planned?

no - was said to be random after somebody shouted 'fire'

how many died during the shooting?

69

how many were injured during the shooting?

187

how did the police behave after the shooting? (mention exactly what they were doing)

they behaved poorly - placed stones and kicked dead bodies / killing the wounded instead of arresting protestors

what were the 3 impacts of sharpeville massacre, in terms of decreasing support for protests?

1. protests, intended to take place across south africa, failed to materialise

2. the PAC decided to avoid violence by not marching on parliament - they felt they didn't have the support

3. despite the outrage at the sharpeville shootings, the PAC believed it lacked support to go beyond peaceful protest

what happened to protests that intended to take place across south africa?

they failed to materialise

what did PAC not do in order to avoid violence?

they didn't march on parliament

PAC decided not to march on parliament to not only avoid violence but also because they felt what?

felt that they didn't have the support

despite the outrage at the sharpeville shootings, the PAC believed what?

they believed that they lacked support to go beyond peaceful protest

what were the 2 impacts of sharpeville massacre, in terms of increased protest?

1. 300,000 africans marched in an orderly and non-violent demonstration along 6 miles of main high way

2. the ANC staged their own pass-burning event on 28th of march which was pictures by the media + the ANC called for a 'stayaway' at the end of march, where all the workers refused to go to work, even to picket

how many africans marched in an orderly and non-violent demonstration along how many miles of main highway?

300,000 africans & along 6 miles

what did the ANC stage on 28th of march and who was this pictured by?

their own pass-burning event which was pictured by the media

what did the ANC call for at the end of march?

called for a 'stayaway' where all workers refused to go to work, even to picket

what were the 6 impacts of sharpeville massacre, in terms of increasing political repression?

1. the government declared a state of emergency in march, 1960

2. public meetings were outlawed by the state of emergency, and people could be detained without restriction

3. armed forces of the police and the army were deployed to break up strikes and protests

4. thousands of opposition leaders were arrested across south africa, including mandela and luthuli (leader of the ANC), as well as slovo (a white lawyer defending black miners)

5. in response to a mass demonstration, the police promised to meet the PAC leader, kgosana, but instead, they arrested him

6. the national party passed the unlawful organisations act, banning parties that threatened public order (the ANC and the PAC primarily)

what did the government declare in march, 1960?

a state of emergency

what 2 things did the state of emergency result in?

public meetings were outlawed & people could be detained without restriction

who was deployed to break up strikes and protests?

armed forces of the police & the army

how many opposition leaders were arrested across south africa?

thousands

name 3 of the main opposition leaders that were arrested

mandela, luthuli & slovo

who was luthui?

leader of the ANC

who was slovo?

a white lawyer that defended black miners

in response to a mass demonstration, what did police promise the PAC and, did they follow through with this promise?

they promised to meet the PAC leader, kgosana, but instead, they arrested him

what was the unlawful organisations act?

banned parties that threatened public order (primarily the ANC and the PAC)

what were the 4 impacts of sharpeville massacre, in terms of international impact?

1. many photographs were taken at sharpeville and printed in the world's media

2. the british and the US both supported the condemnation of the sharpeville shootings at the UN after it was passed

3. the UN demanded a reversal of apartheid, and the US supported a resolution declaring apartheid to be against the UN charter

4. the UN security council passed a resolution condemning the sharpeville shootings

what happned to many photographs that were taken at sharpeville?

they were printed in the world's media

what did the british and the US both support?

the condemnation of the sharpeville shootings at the UN after it was passed

what did the UN demand?

a reversal of apartheid

what resolution did US support?

one that declared apartheid to be against the UN charter

what resolution did the UN security council pass?

one that condemned the sharpeville shootings

what happened to john vorster in july of 1961?

he became the minister of justice

what did john vorster establish?

a police reserve unit which quickly developed into the security police

what was the police reserve unit tasked with?

'dirty tricks' and the assassination of opposition leaders

what was the police reserve unit placed under control of in 1969?

the bureau for state security (BOSS)

when was the sabotage act?

1962

describe the sabotage act (3 details)

- this act carried the death penalty for any act of sabotage, but also made it so that the defendant was assumed to be guilty and had to prove themselves innocent

- this is the opposite to normal legal processes

- this act also legalised the use of torture

when was the general law amendment act?

1963

describe the general law amendment act (3 details)

- this law allowed the government to keep anybody arrested for 90 days without charge, and without access to a lawyer

- it could be extended for another 90 days, and continue to be extended

- new police communications in the same year made coordinating this easier

when was the sobukwe clause?

1963

describe the sobukwe clause (3 details)

- the sobukwe clause was added to the law to allow them to keep people in prison beyond the end of their sentence if they were suspected of causing more problems

- robert sobukwe was the first victim

- his sentence was over in 1969, but was not allowed to leave house arrest up until his death in 1978

when was the bantu laws amendment act?

1964

describe the bantu laws amendment act (2 details)

- this allowed the authorities to deport any african from an urban area or white farming area for any reason they wanted

- it also allowed the minister for bantu affairs to establish quotas in particular industries or areas and deport africans back to their homelands

what did the sabotage act carry out?

death penalty

what did the sabotage act legalise?

the use of torture

what did the sabotage act introduce which was opposite to normal legal processes?

it made it so that the defendant was assumed guilty and had to prove themselves innocent

the general law amendment act allowed the government to keep anybody arrested for how many days and without what?

for 90 days, without charge nor access to a lawyer

the general law amendment act could be extended for how many days and continue to be what?

90 days and continue to be extended

what made coordinating the general law amendment act easier in 1963?

new police communications

why was the sobukwe clause added to the law?

in order to allow to keep people in prison beyond the end of their sentence if they were suspected of causing more problems

who was the first victim of the sobukwe clause?

robert sobukwe

when was robert sobukwe's sentence over vs when was he allowed to leave house arrest?

his sentence was over in 1969 but he was not allowed to leave house arrest up until his death in 1978

what did the bantu laws amendment act allow authorities to do?

to deport any african from an urban area or white farming area for any reason they wanted

what did the bantu laws amendment act allow the minister for bantu affairs to establish?

quotas in particular industries or areas and deport africans back to their homelands