Review
Parties / Groups Table
Party / Group | Origins (how/when formed) | Support Base | Core Beliefs & Goals (1948–1964) | Notes / Splits |
National Party (NP) | Formed 1914 by J.B.M. Hertzog; reconstituted as Herenigde Nasionale Party (HNP) in 1934, then regained “NP” name. Won 1948 election under D.F. Malan. | Afrikaner farmers, rural voters, Afrikaner Broederbond network, Calvinist churches. | - White Afrikaner nationalism. | In coalition with Afrikaner Party in 1948 to form government. NP stayed in power until 1994. |
Afrikaner Party (AP) | Breakaway from the United Party in 1941 led by Nicolaas Havenga. Joined NP coalition in 1948. | Conservative Afrikaners dissatisfied with Smuts’s UP. | - Same as NP but even more explicitly Afrikaner nationalist. | After 1951, AP merged into NP; ceased to exist separately. |
United Party (UP) | Created 1934 by merging Smuts’s South African Party with Hertzog’s National Party (pre-HNP split). In power until 1948. | Moderate Whites, urban professionals, some English-speakers. | - Favored segregation but in a more gradual, less extreme way. | Lost power 1948 but continued as main parliamentary opposition until 1977. |
African National Congress (ANC) | Founded 1912 (as South African Native National Congress). By 1940s under new generation (Mandela, Sisulu, Tambo, Luthuli). | Black South Africans (esp. urban workers, students), allied with some Indian Congress groups. | - Nonviolent protest to achieve full political and economic rights for all races. | In 1961 created Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), armed wing, after Sharpeville massacre and banning of ANC. |
South African Communist Party (SACP) | Originally Communist Party of SA (1921). Banned in 1950 but operated underground. | Multiracial, radical workers, intellectuals. | - Class struggle, end to capitalism and apartheid. | Many MK leaders were also SACP members. |
Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) | Formed December 1961 as ANC’s armed wing (with SACP input). | ANC militants who lost faith in nonviolence. | - Sabotage and armed struggle to undermine apartheid infrastructure. | Leaders (Mandela, Sisulu, etc.) arrested at Rivonia 1963. |
Timeline
Year/ Date | Events | Government / NP Actions & Laws | Opposition / Resistance Events |
1948 (May) | • Petty Apartheid: everyday segregation (buses, toilets, beaches) starts being enforced more strictly. • Cause → Effect: NP electoral win (cause) → formal adoption of apartheid policy (effect). D.F. Malan → begins formal apartheid (“Grand Apartheid” = long-term separation of races in all spheres). | • NP wins election (with Afrikaner Party) What happened: The Herenigde Nasionale Party (usually called the National Party) led by D. F. Malanwon the Whites-only election and formed a government (in coalition with the Afrikaner Party). Significance: This victory marks the formal beginning of apartheid as government policy. The NP’s platform combined Afrikaner nationalism, Calvinist moral ideas, and social-Darwinist racial thinking. Province note / support base: Strong rural NP support in Orange Free State and parts of Transvaal; the United Party kept urban & some Cape Province / Natal support. | — |
1949 | Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act: bans marriage between White and non-White South Africans. What: Banned marriage between Whites and non-Whites. Effect: Criminalised interracial marriage and made social mixing illegal; legal foundation for later tightening of social control. Immorality Act (amendment, 1949–50) What: Strengthened laws criminalising sexual relations across racial lines. (The Immorality Acts were updated to align with the NP’s racial policy.) Effect: Further policed intimate relations; increased state surveillance of everyday life. | Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act. | — |
1950 | • Population Registration Act (sometimes called Population Classification Act): every citizen classified as White, African, Coloured, or Indian. Foundation of all apartheid laws. • Group Areas Act: creates racially segregated residential and business zones. Basis for forced removals and creation of townships (e.g. Sophiatown in Transvaal later bulldozed). • Bantu Authorities Act: sets up tribal authorities in African “homelands” = start of the Bantustan system. • Pass Laws Act strengthened: all Africans over 16 must carry passes. • South African Communist Party (SACP) banned under Suppression of Communism Act. | Population Registration Act; Group Areas Act; Suppression of Communism Act. Cause → Effect: Population Registration + Group Areas + Bantu Authorities (cause) → forced removals and separate “homelands” (effect). | ANC & SA Indian Congress strengthen cooperation. |
1951 | Bantu Authorities (implementation continues) What: Further institutional steps to create homeland political structures — a long-term policy to remove Black South Africans from national political life. | Bantu Authorities Act; Separate Representation of Voters Act. | — |
1952 | • Defiance Campaign: first mass, nonviolent civil disobedience against apartheid laws —> entering “Whites-only” areas, burning pass books, refusing to comply with discriminatory laws. Led by African National Congress (ANC) in cooperation with the South African Indian Congress (SAIC): Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Albert Luthuli. 8,000 arrested. | Public Safety Act, Criminal Law Amendment Act. Cause → Effect: Harsh apartheid laws (cause) → launch of Defiance Campaign (effect). Effect: Thousands arrested (≈8,000). Brought mass mobilisation and national / international attention to apartheid. Demonstrated ANC’s shift to mass politics. | Defiance Campaign (ANC + SAIC); 8,000 arrests; Mandela emerges as leader. |
1953 | • Bantu Education Act: transfers African schooling to state; curriculum limited to manual/menial work. Effect: Deep educational inequality; provoked sustained opposition from parents, teachers, and students. • Reservation of Separate Amenities Act: legalises segregation of public facilities (petty apartheid). Legalised “separate but not equal” Effect: Reinforced Petty Apartheid — everyday segregation. | Bantu Education Act. Significance: Education as an instrument of apartheid. | Boycotts of state schools; Federation of South African Women forms (1954). Bus Boycotts in Alexandra and elsewhere (Transvaal): protests against fare increases and apartheid transport policies.— Bantu Education Act (1953) Significance: Show the local, everyday resistance dimension. |
1954 | National Action Committee (NAC) Established by the ANC and allies to plan the Congress of the People (Kliptown). Coordinated various groups (ANC, SAIC, Coloured and Indian Congresses, Congress of Democrats). | DF Malan retires and JG Strijdom is | Federation of South African Women created (Natal, Cape Province, Transvaal branches) to fight passes and Bantu Education. |
1955 | • Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act passed: lays groundwork for full independence of Bantustans (Grand Apartheid). Creation of Townships / Forced Removals — Sophiatown example (mid-1950s) What: Sophiatown (Transvaal) — a mixed and culturally rich area — was declared a Group Area for Whites; residents forcibly relocated (to Meadowlands in what became Soweto). This was typical of Group Areas implementation. Effect: Urban social disruption; growing resentment in townships. | Forced removals under Group Areas Act accelerate. Significance: The Charter became the ANC’s moral/political blueprint and also evidence used against leaders in later trials (state accused the ANC of Communist-inspired revolution). Cause → Effect: Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act (cause) → move towards dismantling Black representation and pushing Africans to “homelands” (effect). — Congress of the People — Kliptown (26 June 1955) | Congress of the People at Kliptown adopts the Freedom Charter (“South Africa belongs to all who live in it…”). Outcome: Freedom Charter adopted — a radical, multi-racial statement demanding rights: land, vote, equal opportunity, nationalisation of key industries, and non-racialism |
1956 | Treason Trial begins: 156 leaders (ANC, SAIC, SACP, PAC sympathisers) arrested for allegedly plotting to overthrow the state; includes Mandela, Luthuli, Sisulu. Trial lasts until 1961. Robert Sobukwe and Africanists begin splitting from ANC (disillusioned with multi-racialism). People involved: Nelson Mandela among the accused; Albert Luthuli referenced in wider leadership context. | Treason Trial drags on; state security expanded. Effect: Attempted to neutralise leadership and intimidate activism; many leaders tied up in court for years (weakening organisational capacity). | 156 leaders charged; trial ties up leadership. |
1958-1959 | PAC (Pan Africanist Congress) founded by Robert Sobukwe (Transvaal): African-only focus, rejects Freedom Charter’s multi-racialism. | Cause → Effect: Discontent with ANC’s multi-racial policy (cause) → creation of PAC (effect). | PAC formed by Africanists breaking from ANC. |
1960 (Mar.) | Sharpeville Massacre (March): PAC anti-pass protest in the Transvaal; police kill 69, injure ~180. State of Emergency declared; ANC and PAC banned under Unlawful Organisations Act. Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) formed in Britain to coordinate international boycotts of South Africa. — 21 March 1960 — Sharpeville Massacre (Transvaal) Significance: Turning point — mass nonviolent protest met with lethal force; consolidates move away from legal mass protest. | State of Emergency; ANC and PAC banned under Unlawful Organizations Act. Immediate effect: Nationwide shock; state declares State of Emergency; thousands arrested; ANC and PAC were banned under the Unlawful Organisations Act (1960). International effect: Sparked global condemnation; triggers formation / growth of international Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) (UK & elsewhere) and increased economic/political pressure on South Africa. | Sharpeville massacre: 69 killed at PAC anti-pass protest. |
1961 (May) | Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) created as ANC’s armed wing (with SACP input) after Sharpeville and banning. Mandela goes underground. South Africa leaves the Commonwealth and becomes a Republic. Cause → Effect: Banning of ANC (cause) → creation of MK (effect). Effect: Marked a strategic shift from mass civil disobedience to armed struggle. | South Africa leaves Commonwealth; becomes a republic. Significance: Symbolic consolidation of Afrikaner nationalist statehood under NP. Why formed: Because ANC and PAC were banned after Sharpeville and civil avenues of protest were blocked, ANC turned to armed resistance. | ANC leadership debates new tactics. Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) formed as ANC’s armed wing; begins sabotage. |
1962 | Nelson Mandela arrested; sentenced to 5 years for incitement and leaving the country illegally. Albert Luthuli wins Nobel Peace Prize for non-violent opposition. Albert Luthuli — Nobel Peace Prize (1960) (note earlier) | Luthuli’s international recognition highlighted nonviolent resistance leadership — his prize (1960) came just after Sharpeville and greatly bolstered ANC moral standing abroad. Later, while serving, he was tried at Rivonia with other leaders. | Mandela arrested; sentenced to five years for inciting strikes. |
1963–1964 | Rivonia Trial: Police raided MK and ANC hideouts (Rivonia suburb) and arrested key leaders (Ahmed Kathrada, Govan Mbeki, Walter Sisulu, others). Mandela was already in custody. Documents discovered were used as evidence of sabotage and conspiracy. Mandela, Sisulu, Mbeki, Kathrada and others tried for sabotage. Outcome: In June 1964 Nelson Mandela and several co-accused were sentenced to life imprisonment (Robben Island). Many were removed from internal leadership and sent to prison; some leaders were jailed or exiled. | Police raid Rivonia; MK leadership captured; Rivonia Trial. Cause → Effect: Creation of MK (cause) → Rivonia raid & trial crushes ANC’s internal leadership (effect). ——-July 1963 — Rivonia raid/arrests (Rivonia, near Johannesburg, Transvaal) Significance: The trial decapitated the ANC’s internal leadership inside South Africa and pushed much of the movement’s direction into exile and underground MK operations. | Mandela, Sisulu, Mbeki, Kathrada sentenced to life imprisonment. |
1966 | Hendrik Verwoerd assassinated; B.J. Vorster becomes Prime Minister. | ANC and PAC operate mainly in exile; MK launches limited cross-border attacks. | |
1973–1974 | Labour unrest rises; Durban strikes. | Rebirth of mass trade union movement. | |
1976 (June) | Government orders Afrikaans as medium in Black schools. | Soweto Uprising: student protests crushed; hundreds killed; new wave of activism. | |
1977 | Steve Biko dies in police custody; SACP & ANC banned anew. | International outrage and sanctions intensify. | |
1983 | New Tricameral Parliament excludes Blacks. | United Democratic Front (UDF) founded to coordinate internal opposition. | |
1985–1989 | Nationwide states of emergency; mass detentions. | Rolling boycotts, strikes, township uprisings; ANC increases armed operations from abroad. | |
1989 | — | P.W. Botha resigns; F.W. de Klerk becomes President; signals change. | |
1990 (Feb.) | Cause → Effect: Sharpeville massacre (cause) → banning of ANC/PAC and international outrage (effect). | ANC, PAC, SACP unbanned; political prisoners released. | Mandela freed after 27 years; negotiations (CODESA) begin. |
1991–1993 | Repeal of remaining apartheid laws; interim arrangements negotiated. | ANC suspends armed struggle; ongoing violence between ANC and Inkatha. | |
1993 (Oct.) | Interim Constitution adopted; de Klerk and Mandela share Nobel Peace Prize. | — | |
1994 (April) | First democratic election held. ANC wins 62%; Mandela becomes first Black President. | End of apartheid; start of non-racial democracy. | |
1996 | New Constitution with Bill of Rights enters into force. | Truth and Reconciliation Commission begins hearings on human-rights abuses. |
Glossary — People & Terms (short, exam-useful definitions)
Albert Luthuli — ANC President (1952–1967). Prominent non-violent leader; awarded the 1960 Nobel Peace Prize. Symbol of moral authority for the anti-apartheid struggle. (Use him to show ANC leadership & international sympathy.)
Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) — International campaign (notably in Britain after 1960) coordinating boycotts, sanctions, cultural and political pressure against apartheid. Significance: external pressure that complemented internal resistance.
ANC (African National Congress) — Founded 1912; by 1948–64 it evolves from petitioning and elite politics to mass action (Defiance Campaign), adopts the Freedom Charter (1955), and ultimately forms MK (1961). Central player in resistance.
Bantu Authorities Act (1951) — Legislative foundation for the homeland (Bantustan) administrative system; decentralised control of Africans into tribal structures and away from national politics.
Bantu Education Act (1953) — State control of Black education; designed to limit opportunities and reproduce labour hierarchies. Key grievance for students and parents.
Bantustan system — The policy of creating “homelands” for African peoples, later to be declared “independent” (not recognised internationally). Core of Grand Apartheid — used to strip citizenship and political rights.
Bus Boycotts — Grassroots economic protests (e.g., Alexandra 1957). Effective local resistance tool; often triggered by fare increases or segregation.
Congress of the People (1955) — Multiracial congress that drafted and adopted the Freedom Charter. Demonstrates alliance-building among anti-apartheid groups.
Creation of Townships / Forced Removals — Enforced by Group Areas Act; displaced non-White urban residents to peripheral townships (Sophiatown → Meadowlands/Soweto case). Central to social & spatial segregation.
Defiance Campaign (1952) — ANC and SAIC mass campaign of civil disobedience. First large-scale coordinated resistance of the apartheid era. Shows ANC mass-mobilisation capacity.
DF Malan (D.F. Malan) — NP Prime Minister 1948–1954 who led the first apartheid government and began implementing the legislative framework.
Extension of University Education Act (1959) — Segregated higher education; limited Black access to white universities, created separate institutions. Important in student politics and later 1976 uprising context.
Freedom Charter (1955) — Radically egalitarian document demanding land redistribution, universal suffrage, nationalisation of key industries, and non-racialism. Used later by the state as “evidence” of communist conspiracy, but remains a foundational statement of ANC aims.
Group Areas Act (1950) — Legally enforced spatial segregation of races; foundation for township creation and mass removals.
Grand Apartheid — The long-term, structural aim to separate races territorially and politically — i.e., homelands/Bantustans, removal of Black political rights.
Immorality Act — Laws criminalising sexual relations across race lines; reinforced social control and the ideology of racial purity.
IMPACT on provinces: Many forced removals and township creations are local: Sophiatown(Transvaal/Johannesburg), Soweto (Transvaal), coastal cities in Cape Province saw segregation as well; Natal had its own dynamics of English/Afrikaner/Indian/Black relations.
National Action Committee (NAC) — Organised the Congress of the People; coordination body among ANC, SAIC, Coloured and White Congress groups.
National Party (NP) — Ruling party from 1948; Afrikaner nationalist, implemented apartheid; strong base in Orange Free State and Transvaal.
Nelson Mandela — Leading ANC activist, chair of ANC Youth League, key organiser in the Defiance Campaign and later MK leader; arrested 1962; life sentence in Rivonia Trial 1964. Central figure for leadership, strategy shift, and the Rivonia moment.
NP provinces notes: NP strongest in Orange Free State & Transvaal; more moderate/English-aligned United Party had pockets in Cape Province & Natal.
Pass Laws / Pass Laws Act — Internal passport system (dompas). Core daily grievance leading to mass protests (Defiance, Sharpeville). Restricts employment mobility and civil liberties.
PAC (Pan Africanist Congress) — Breakaway from ANC (1959) led by Robert Sobukwe; promotes Africanist leadership and rejects multi-racialism of the Freedom Charter. Organised anti-pass action culminating in Sharpeville.
Petty Apartheid — Everyday social and spatial segregation (buses, toilets, beaches, school benches). Enforced by law (Separate Amenities Act) and police practice.
Population Registration Act / Population Classification Act (1950) — Administrative act placing people into racial groups — essential for implementing every other apartheid law.
Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act (1959) — Strengthened Bantustan policy: the governmental move to “self-govern” Black populations outside the main polity.
Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act (1949) — Banned inter-racial marriage — status symbol of state’s racial ideology.
Rivonia Trial (1963–1964) — High-profile trial that convicted Mandela and top MK leaders for sabotage and conspiracy; sentenced to life imprisonment — decapitation of the ANC’s internal leadership.
Reservation of Separate Amenities Act (1953) — Legalised segregated public facilities (petty apartheid law).
Robert Sobukwe — PAC founder; leader of Africanist movement; imprisoned after Sharpeville.
SACP (South African Communist Party) — Communist party banned but influential; many members collaborated with ANC/MK; government equated Freedom Charter demands with communism.
SAIC (South African Indian Congress) — Major Indian organisation allied with ANC in campaigns (Defiance, Congress of the People).
Sharpeville Massacre (21 March 1960) — Police shot and killed 69 anti-pass protesters; precipitated state of emergency and banning of ANC/PAC. Turning point in escalation.
Sophiatown — Multiracial urban suburb in Johannesburg (Transvaal), violently removed under Group Areas; symbol of forced urban social engineering.
Soweto — South Western Townships outside Johannesburg (Transvaal); site of many forced relocations and later large-scale student activism.
Treason Trial (1956–1961) — Arrest of 156 leaders; aimed at neutralising top activists; most acquitted but trial drained resources and distracted leadership.
Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) — ANC’s armed wing (from Dec 1961); carried out sabotage campaigns against state infrastructure — marks shift to armed struggle.