South Africa

Definitions

100

Apartheid

a legal system of racial segregation

200

sanctions

Economic cut-off applied to a country who has violated an international law. Restricting trade and loans, withdrawal of investments, etc.

300

the pass

Black South Africans were required to carry this during the Segregation and Apartheid Eras. It included their name and where they lived.

400

townships

overcrowded and rundown areas where Black South Africans were required to live during the Segregation Era

500

civil disobedience

refusing to comply with certain laws as a form of nonviolent protest

examples: bus boycott, pass burning

People (Give 2 facts)

100

Nelson Mandela

Leader of the African National Congress (ANC). Was sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted of sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the government. Became the first Black president of South Africa in 1994, marking the end of the Apartheid Era.

200

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Led the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, formed in 1995 to help the country heal from violence and oppression

300

Mohandas Gandhi

Leader of nonviolent protests in India; went to South Africa during Apartheid to help lead protests against Apartheid

400

Lord Kitchener

A senior British officer during the South African War. He fought against the Boers' guerilla tactics with a scorched earth policy, burning everything to the ground. He put women and children in concentration camps and let them die of starvation and disease. This war ended in the Treaty of Vereeniging in 1902, giving complete control to the British.

500

Steve Biko

led the Black Consciousness Movement

• Wanted to move away from white-led organizations and philosophies

• Wanted the people to affirm and embrace Blackness and create their own philosophies on freedom. 

• Steve Biko was eventually banned by the government; put under house arrest, couldn’t write anything, not even a postcard

What happened in this year?

100

1652

Creation of Cape Town

Founded by the Dutch East India Company

200

1994

Nelson Mandela elected president

End of Apartheid

300

1910

Act of Union: the Union of South Africa became independent from Britain. First African country to gain independence.

400

1948

The National Party wins the election, marking the end of the Segregation Era and the beginning of the Apartheid Era.

500

1976

The Soweto Uprising

• Huge series of protests in 1976 against the poor quality of education, the lack of opportunities for people who were educated

• 15,000 students protested; Police opened fired, killing and injuring many

• Widely condemned by the international community - this time they called for sanctions against South Africa.