Bantu Education Act
Why did most mission schools close following the Act?
The government withdrew subsidies, forcing schools to either hand over control or shut due to lack of funds.
How many people were arrested on 5 December 1956 at the start of the Treason Trial?
156
Which decade did the Sekhukhuneland resistance take place in?
The 1950s (especially 1957–58).
In which year did the Pan African Congress (PAC) emerge as a separate organisation?
1959
What strategy did some Africans use to continue educating children outside the state system, and why did most fail in the long term?
They set up unofficial schools in homes and garages, later renamed “Cultural Clubs”, but these lacked funds and were eventually forced to close.
In which year was the Freedom Charter adopted at the People’s Congress in Kliptown?
1955
Give one consequence of the Treason Trial for the personal or professional life of an individual defendant.
Mandela and Tambo’s law firm collapsed because they could not work while on trial; many defendants lost income and were unable to engage in activism.
What action did the government take in 1957 that intensified resistance in Sekhukhuneland?
They deposed the paramount chief and installed compliant authorities.
Who was the key PAC leader who organised the mass demonstration planned for 21 March 1960?
Robert Sobukwe
Which government department took over control of African education under the Bantu Education Act?
The Ministry for Native Affairs.
What was the Congress Alliance, and how did it relate to the creation of the Freedom Charter?
The Congress Alliance was a coalition of opposition groups (including the ANC and others) who worked together and ratified the Freedom Charter at Kliptown.
What political event triggered the state’s decision to arrest those accused of treason?
The ratification of the Freedom Charter at Kliptown in 1955.
Why were many migrant workers opposed to the creation of Bantustans?
They feared losing access to urban employment, vital to their families’ survival, and opposed apartheid’s divide-and-rule strategy.
What key law did the PAC choose to target in the build-up to the Sharpeville protest?
The Pass Laws.
Why did the ANC’s 1954 call for a national school boycott only achieve partial success?
The consequences were too severe—schools risked closure and children risked never being readmitted; only strongholds like the East Rand saw large-scale boycotts.
Name two key principle stated in the Preamble of the Freedom Charter.
South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white.
Only a democratic state based on the will of the people is legitimate.
People have been robbed of land, liberty, and peace by injustice and inequality.
Equal rights and opportunities for all.
Why did indictments eventually have to be withdrawn for many defendants?
Lack of evidence—the prosecution failed to prove treason.
How many government collaborators were beaten or killed by May 1958?
Nine had been beaten or stabbed to death.
Why did the PAC decide to protest in Sharpeville on 21st March 1960?
To draw press attention away from an already planned ANC demonstration and towards themselves.
Explain how the Bantu Education Act unintentionally contributed to the politicisation of African youth in the long term.
Poor-quality, inferior education created frustration and awareness of inequality, leading young people to become politically conscious and active against apartheid.
Using evidence from the Preamble, explain why the apartheid government viewed the Freedom Charter as a threat.
The Charter demanded democracy, equality, and an end to racial distinction, directly contradicting apartheid’s foundations and undermining the state’s authority.
Explain why the Treason Trial, despite ending in acquittal, did not feel like a victory for the anti-apartheid movement.
It dragged on for years, draining resources, removing leaders from action, and disrupting lives; repression continued regardless.
Explain two major differences between the PAC’s beliefs and the ANC’s beliefs, based on Africanism.
The PAC believed African liberation should be FOR Africans, BY Africans, criticising the ANC for allowing too much non-African influence;
they pushed for a more explicitly Pan-Africanist and confrontational approach.