QUESTION 2
“We believe that the world, too, can destroy apartheid, firstly by striking at the economy of South Africa”-Oliver Tambo . Apartheid can be defined as the racial-social ideology developed in South Africa during the 20th century, its name means “separation” in Afrikaans, the mother tongue of the colonisers. Apartheid was practically based on racial segregation, as well as race domination or superiority. It was about political and economic discrimination, which excluded black; coloured; Indian and white people. Who referred to themselves as Europeans and those who were not white were classified as either ‘non-Europeans’; Bantus or natives, these labels were the focus points on ruling out non-whites from using and enjoying the same facilities and activities as white people, as they were considered unworthy. While capitalism can be defined as an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production; distribution and exchange of wealth is made and maintained strongly by private businesses/corporations, especially as contrasted to or state owned means of wealth. This essay will answer the given question by proving that there is a strong connection between apartheid and capitalism, as this statement is true to a certain extent, one that can be greatly justified by examining the relationship between apartheid and capitalism during the 20th century and how they both came to create and boost the South African economy. The rise of apartheid Looking at South Africa’s timeline, it is evident that the idea of white supremacy and racial segregation were key attributes of South African policy way before apartheid commenced. It commenced, starting with the Land Act of 1913, which was past three years after South Africa had gained its independence. Outlining its territorial segregation of the land, by relocating black people to stay in reserves and making it illegal for them to work as sharecroppers to make way for Afrikaans farmers. The consequence of the Land Act, led to the formation of the South African National Native Congress, later to be renamed to the African National Congress(ANC). Eventually the Great Depression and World War 2 would bring many economic problems to South Africa, convincing the government of the time to strengthen its policies of racial segregation. The Afrikaner National Party won the general elections in 1948 under the slogan of apartheid, encouraging racial segregation. The party’s mission was to extract white South Africans who were the minority, from the non-white majority, by also dividing the non-whites from each other. This was done by categorising non-whites and separating them on the basis of their tribes/cultures in an effort to decrease both their political power but as well as the majority from …show more content…
These forms of resistance included non-violent marches; protesting/looting; strikes to political action; the burning and looting of government owned properties and facilities such as police stations; to eventually taking up arms against the government to combat its ruthless military. The ANC as well as the South Indian National Congress, organised a mass meeting in 1952 where they burnt all of their pass books as an act of defiance. A group calling itself the Congress of the People adopted a Freedom Charter in 1955 asserting that “South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black or white.” The government broke up the meeting and arrested 150 people, charging them with high …show more content…
A group of unarmed black people associated with the Pan-African Congress(PAC), were fired upon by police who stated that they felt intimidated by the masses. The group was peacefully demonstrating outside of the police station by arriving there without their passes, inviting arrest as an act of opposition. About 67 black people were killed and more than 180 wounded, this incident would become known as the infamous Sharpeville massacre. Not only did it demonstrate how ruthless the apartheid government was but it also convinced multiple anti-apartheid leaders that they would not be able to obtain their goals by using peace as a method. So eventually the ANC as well as the PAC, created right-wing military forces of their own. In 1961, many resistance leaders had been captured and sentenced to long prison terms or executed. Nelson Mandela, a founder of Umkhonto we Sizwe (“Spear of the Nation”), the military wing of the ANC, was incarcerated from 1963 to 1990; his imprisonment would draw international attention and help gather support for the anti-apartheid
“We believe that the world, too, can destroy apartheid, firstly by striking at the economy of South Africa”-Oliver Tambo . Apartheid can be defined as the racial-social ideology developed in South Africa during the 20th century, its name means “separation” in Afrikaans, the mother tongue of the colonisers. Apartheid was practically based on racial segregation, as well as race domination or superiority. It was about political and economic discrimination, which excluded black; coloured; Indian and white people. Who referred to themselves as Europeans and those who were not white were classified as either ‘non-Europeans’; Bantus or natives, these labels were the focus points on ruling out non-whites from using and enjoying the same facilities and activities as white people, as they were considered unworthy. While capitalism can be defined as an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production; distribution and exchange of wealth is made and maintained strongly by private businesses/corporations, especially as contrasted to or state owned means of wealth. This essay will answer the given question by proving that there is a strong connection between apartheid and capitalism, as this statement is true to a certain extent, one that can be greatly justified by examining the relationship between apartheid and capitalism during the 20th century and how they both came to create and boost the South African economy. The rise of apartheid Looking at South Africa’s timeline, it is evident that the idea of white supremacy and racial segregation were key attributes of South African policy way before apartheid commenced. It commenced, starting with the Land Act of 1913, which was past three years after South Africa had gained its independence. Outlining its territorial segregation of the land, by relocating black people to stay in reserves and making it illegal for them to work as sharecroppers to make way for Afrikaans farmers. The consequence of the Land Act, led to the formation of the South African National Native Congress, later to be renamed to the African National Congress(ANC). Eventually the Great Depression and World War 2 would bring many economic problems to South Africa, convincing the government of the time to strengthen its policies of racial segregation. The Afrikaner National Party won the general elections in 1948 under the slogan of apartheid, encouraging racial segregation. The party’s mission was to extract white South Africans who were the minority, from the non-white majority, by also dividing the non-whites from each other. This was done by categorising non-whites and separating them on the basis of their tribes/cultures in an effort to decrease both their political power but as well as the majority from …show more content…
These forms of resistance included non-violent marches; protesting/looting; strikes to political action; the burning and looting of government owned properties and facilities such as police stations; to eventually taking up arms against the government to combat its ruthless military. The ANC as well as the South Indian National Congress, organised a mass meeting in 1952 where they burnt all of their pass books as an act of defiance. A group calling itself the Congress of the People adopted a Freedom Charter in 1955 asserting that “South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black or white.” The government broke up the meeting and arrested 150 people, charging them with high …show more content…
A group of unarmed black people associated with the Pan-African Congress(PAC), were fired upon by police who stated that they felt intimidated by the masses. The group was peacefully demonstrating outside of the police station by arriving there without their passes, inviting arrest as an act of opposition. About 67 black people were killed and more than 180 wounded, this incident would become known as the infamous Sharpeville massacre. Not only did it demonstrate how ruthless the apartheid government was but it also convinced multiple anti-apartheid leaders that they would not be able to obtain their goals by using peace as a method. So eventually the ANC as well as the PAC, created right-wing military forces of their own. In 1961, many resistance leaders had been captured and sentenced to long prison terms or executed. Nelson Mandela, a founder of Umkhonto we Sizwe (“Spear of the Nation”), the military wing of the ANC, was incarcerated from 1963 to 1990; his imprisonment would draw international attention and help gather support for the anti-apartheid