Apartheid Laws & Policies
What year did the National Party come to power and begin implementing Apartheid?
1948
Who was known as the “Architect of Apartheid”?
Hendrik Verwoerd
Which organisation was founded in 1912 to fight for Black South African rights?
The African National Congress (ANC)
Who founded the Black Consciousness Movement?
Steve Biko
In what year did the Soweto Uprising take place?
1976
What did the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act ban?
Marriage or sexual relationships between white people and people of other races
Which South African leader gave the 1985 Rubicon Speech?
P. W. Botha
What was the name of Mandela’s armed wing of the ANC, formed in 1961?
Umkhonto we Sizwe (“Spear of the Nation”)
What was the key message behind “Black is Beautiful”?
To promote Black pride, dignity, and self-worth in resistance to Apartheid
What language did the government force schools to teach in, sparking the protests?
Afrikaans
Which 1950 law forced all South Africans to register as White, Coloured, Indian, or Black?
The Population Registration Act (1950
What was the belief of “Total Onslaught” held by the Botha government?
That South Africa was under attack from internal and external communist force
What was the purpose of the Rivonia Trial (1963–64)?
To try Mandela and others for sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the government
What year did Steve Biko die in police custody?
1977
What was the role of the Bantu Education Act in the Soweto Uprising?
It created inferior education for Black students, training them only for menial work
What did the Group Areas Act (1950) enforce?
Racial segregation of residential and business areas, with forced removals of non-whites
Name two measures of Botha’s “Total Strategy.”
Examples: strengthening police/security, propaganda campaigns, censorship, tricameral parliament, Bantustan development
Name one international sanction placed on South Africa because of Apartheid.
Examples: sporting bans, arms embargoes, restrictions on loans/trade
What was the role of the South African Students’ Organisation (SASO)?
To mobilise students in support of Black Consciousness and resist apartheid
Who was Hector Pieterson and why is he remembered?
A 12-year-old boy shot dead during the Soweto Uprising, now a symbol of resistance
What were Bantustans and why were they created?
Territories set aside for black South Africans to deny them citizenship and reduce their political influence
What was BOSS and what role did it play?
The Bureau of State Security (1969), a state intelligence agency that carried out assassinations, bombings, infiltration, and psychological warfare to suppress the ANC
What was the United Democratic Front’s slogan?
“UDF Unites, Apartheid Divides.”
According to Biko, why was it important to rewrite African history?
To restore pride and identity, counter colonial distortion, and create Black heroes
What were the broader national and international consequences of the Uprising?
Sparked uprisings across South Africa, drew global condemnation, and intensified resistance