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Made to live apart
What is apartheid?
It was a system of government in South Africa between 1948 and 1994. In Afrikaans, it meant "apartness", or mandated segregation of each racial group.
• There were four groups classified by the government. Black, white, coloured (from black, white, and Asian intermarriages and relations) and Asian.
• The white minority controlled the country. It determined where a person might live, go to school and what jobs he could hold.
• All blacks were required to carry "pass books" containing fingerprints, photos and information on access to non-black areas.
• Residential areas were segregated, sometimes by means of forced removals.
• The government segregated education, medical care, beaches and other public services, and provided black people with services inferior to those of white people.
• Non-white political representation was abolished in 1970. That year, black people were deprived of their citizenship, legally becoming citizens of one of 10 tribally-based self-governing homelands called bantustans.
When did apartheid end?
In February 1990, then South African F.W. de Klerk announced Mr Nelson Mandela's release and began the slow dismantling of apartheid.
In 1994, the first democratic elections were held in South Africa, with people of all races being able to vote. A Government of National Unity was formed, with Mr Mandela as president and Mr de Klerk and Mr Thabo Mbeki as deputy presidents.
What is apartheid?
It was a system of government in South Africa between 1948 and 1994. In Afrikaans, it meant "apartness", or mandated segregation of each racial group.
• There were four groups classified by the government. Black, white, coloured (from black, white, and Asian intermarriages and relations) and Asian.
• The white minority controlled the country. It determined where a person might live, go to school and what jobs he could hold.
• All blacks were required to carry "pass books" containing fingerprints, photos and information on access to non-black areas.
• Residential areas were segregated, sometimes by means of forced removals.
• The government segregated education, medical care, beaches and other public services, and provided black people with services inferior to those of white people.
• Non-white political representation was abolished in 1970. That year, black people were deprived of their citizenship, legally becoming citizens of one of 10 tribally-based self-governing homelands called bantustans.
When did apartheid end?
In February 1990, then South African F.W. de Klerk announced Mr Nelson Mandela's release and began the slow dismantling of apartheid.
In 1994, the first democratic elections were held in South Africa, with people of all races being able to vote. A Government of National Unity was formed, with Mr Mandela as president and Mr de Klerk and Mr Thabo Mbeki as deputy presidents.
