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A BRIEF HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA The National Party fought the 1948 election on the basis of its policy of apartheid. They gained about 40% of the vote and won 70 of the 150 legislative seats. In coalition with Malan's Afrikaner Party, who had won nine seats, they took control. Malan lost no time in instituting the Afrikaner agenda. Mixed marriages were prohibited. Inter-racial sex was made illegal. Every individual was classified by race, and a classification board was established to rule in questionable cases. The Group Areas Act enforcing the physical separation of residential areas was promulgated. The Separate Amenities Act created separate public facilities, separate beaches, separate buses, separate toilets, separate schools and separate park benches. The pass laws were further strengthened and blacks were compelled to carry identity documents at all times. Blacks were prohibited from remaining in towns, or even visiting, without specific permission.
In 1949, the ANC developed a program of action that for the first time advocated open resistance in the form of strikes, acts of public disobedience and protest marches. These continued intermittently throughout the '50s with occasional violent clashes. In June 1955, a number of organizations including the Indian Congress and the ANC, adopted a Freedom Charter. This articulated a vision of a non-racial democratic state and is still central to the ANC's vision of a new South Africa. On March 21, 1960 the Pan African Congress (PAC) called for nationwide demonstrations against the hated pass laws. When demonstrators surrounded a police station in Sharpeville, police opened fire, killing 69 people and wounding 160. Soon after, the PAC and ANC were banned and the security forces were given the right to detain people indefinitely without trial. Prime Minister Verwoerd announced a referendum on whether the country should become a republic. The referendum passed by a slim majority. Verwoerd withdrew from the British Commonwealth, and the Republic of South Africa came into existence in May 1961. Nelson Mandela became the leader of the underground ANC, and Oliver Tambo went abroad to establish the organization in exile. In July 1963, Mandela, along with a number of other ANC and communist leaders, was arrested, charged with fomenting violent revolution and sentenced to life imprisonment. Verwoerd was assassinated in parliament in 1966. He was succeeded by B.J. Vorster,
who was followed in 1978 by P.W. Botha. Both men continued to pursue the notion
of separate black Homelands and a white South Africa. The plan was to restrict
blacks to Homelands that were to become self-sufficient, self-governing states
on the traditional lands of particular tribal groups. In reality, these traditional
lands had virtually no infrastructure, no industry and were incapable of producing
sufficient food for the burgeoning black population. They were based on the
land that had been set aside for blacks in the 1913 Natives Lands Act. Under
the plan, 13% of the country's total land area was to be the home to 75% of
the population. The Homelands were first given internal self-government, and were then expected to accept a nominal independence. Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who controlled the KwaZulu legislature with the help of his Inkatha movement, attempted to unite the Homeland leaders in resistance. However, power proved irresistible to the leaders of Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei. Between 1976 and 1981, they accepted "independence", and then proceeded to crush all resistance to themselves and the South African government. A state of emergency was declared that gave police broad powers to deal with black protesters in July 1985. This increased control lead to a major rise in tension. When Botha resigned in 1989, Frederik Willem de Klerk took office and began putting a series of reforms in place. Because of increased international and internal pressures South Africa was in turmoil. The National Party then began to consider constitutional change. Hospitals and other public facilities were desegregated. Nelson Mandela, as well as other political prisoners, were freed and Mandela suspended the ANC’s violent campaign against the government. However, violent clashes between rival black political groups and the police continued. Almost all apartheid laws were abolished in 1991 and trade sanctions were lifted so that South Africa was once again part of the international community. In 1992, white voters showed their support for de Klerk’s reforms by voting in his referendum. Mandela and de Klerk won the Nobel Peace Price for their efforts in 1993. Nelson Mandela was sworn in as president on May 10, 1994 which marked a new period of history for South Africa. He appointed de Klerk of the National Party and Thabo Mbeki of the ANC as his two deputy presidents and Chief Buthelezi as his home minister. He appointed these men to illustrate that the future of South Africa depended on the cooperation of citizens of all races. The next months brought many changes. Mandela implemented his Masakhane (Nguni for “Let us build each other”) campaign, and introduced the Reconstruction and Development Plan (RDP). Two national anthems were instated, one Afrikaans and one African nationalist. A new flag, new names for old apartheid-era places, free school lunches for all children, new housing projects, better health care, and the promotion of both white and black values all became part of the campaign and South Africa’s transformation. There are still challenges facing the government such as: black poverty, jobs, housing, land rights, and high crime rates. In July 1996, President Mandela formally announced that he would not seek the presidency and would recommend Deputy President Mbeki to succeed him in 1999. Mbeki took over Mandela’s role as head of the ANC in December 1997. De Klerk and the NP left the coalition government in the spring of 1996 and the NP became a principal opposition party. De Klerk left as leader of the NP in August 1997. After years of negotiations, a new constitution was approved in December 1996 that would replace the interim constitution and take full effect by 1999. It bars discrimination on any basis, including race, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, language religion, and physical disability. The conclusion guarantees broad freedoms of speech and association. The South African Constitution is now considered one of the most liberal in the world.
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