1: The response to apartheid 1948-59

• What were the two types of apartheid?

  • Grand apartheid (overall strategy of separation)
  • Petty apartheid (day-to-day restrictions)
• The Tomlinson Report 1955:

  Professor Tomlinson was appointed by Malan to advise how apartheid should work in practice. He advised that: they should divide the reserves into 7 areas (each a homeland of a tribe), spend £104 million over the next 10 years to improve farming in the homelands and set up factories on their borders to provide enough employment so the whites in the cities were not outnumbered.
• What were the flaws in the Tomlinson Report?

  Only 13% of the land for 70% of the population, failure to predict how quickly the black population would grow and the rejection of his proposal by the government who didn't want to spend money and instead suggested a policy of 'betterment'.
• Who was H.F. Verwoerd?

  A mastermind of apartheid. He was the Minister of Native Affairs (1950-1958) and became PM in 1958. He tried to make apartheid seem like a policy which benefited black people, describing it as a policy of 'separate yet equal development'.
• What was the Eiselen Report?

  Verwoerd worked closely with Eiselen who was tasked with making recommendations of African education. He believed it was important to protect Africans from Western influences as this harmed African culture. It laid the foundations for legislation e.g. a limited curriculum fro African children.
• 1949 Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act:

  Designed to make sure that the white race stayed white.
• 1950 Immorality Amendment Act:

  Banned marriage and sex between whites and non-whites.
• 1953 Separate Amenities Act (Petty Apartheid):


  Division of public services and spaces according to race.
• 1950 Group Areas Act:


  Each town/city was separated into white, coloured and black.
• 1953 Bantu Education Act:

  Black children had a different curriculum and less funding (1953: 63.2 rand per white vs 8.99 rand per black). Black pupils had larger classes, poorer buildings and less-qualified teachers.
• 1952 Abolition of Passes Act:


  A form of identification that people had to carry to prove their race. From 1952 onwards, all blacks had to carry a reference book, over the age of 16.
• 1956 The Senate Act (Separate Representation of Voters Act):


  Removed the right of black and coloured people to vote.
• 1950 Suppression of Communism Act:


  Banned the SACP and gave the government extra powers (arrest and hold people without charges).
• 1959 Bantu Self-government Act:


  Set up 8 (later 10) self-governing homelands for black Africans. 13% of the land was given to 70% of the population. The aim was to make them 'independent' so they were removed from South Africa's statistics, making whites the largest ethnic group. Each would be the homeland of a particular ethnic group
• Bantustans: self-governing, independent reserves for black South Africans.
• Why were the Bantustans unsuccessful?

  Many people continued to work and live outside of them. No other countries recognised them as independent states. They were not increased in size and split up into groups. The government did not invest in farming improvements.
• What was the first Bantustan established in 1963?

  Transkei
• Policy of 'betterment': government-driven improvements in agriculture and living conditions in the homelands.
• What political opposition was there in 1948?

  African National Congress (ANC), South African Indian Congress (SAIC). They had an alliance: 'Three Doctors Pact'.

  Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), founded in 1921 to organise Africans into trade unions.
• What was the ANC?

  A national liberation movement, formed in 1912 to unite the African people and to become a pressure group for political, social and economic change, spurred on by the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910. In the 1950s, in response to the rise of Afrikaner nationalism and attacks on the rights of black people, it was transformed into a mass movement.
• In 1949 the ANC emphasised the need for direct action against apartheid stressing: rejection of white domination, a pro-African policy, a demand for mass and direct action to oppose apartheid.
• The 1952 Defiance Campaign was the first non-violent, large scale example of direct action. There were 2 stages: local protest in which supporters broke the law e.g. refusing to carry passes, then nationwide strikes and protests.
• Was the Defiance Campaign a success?

  No. In the 6 months, 8500 participants were arrested but the majority of the 8 million Africans did not get involved. The government passed a raft of measures to make civil disobedience a crime. The organisers were arrested, including Mandela.
• What was the National Day of Mourning?

  The Transvaal ANC joined the Indian Congress and the Communist Party for a General Strike on 1st May 1950. It was a great success but 18 demonstrators were killed by the police. In reaction they organised a National Day of Protest and Mourning for the 26th June. This marked a turning point for Mandela who admitted that everyone who suffered under apartheid had to stand together and fight.
• 1950 Suppression of Communism Act:


  Defined communism as any scheme aimed 'at bringing about any political and social and economic change within the Union by the promotion of disturbance and disorder.' The Act was used to imprison anyone for anything the authorities deemed as subversive.
• 1953 Criminal Law Amendment Act:


  Stated that anyone accompanying a person found guilty would automatically be assumed guilty as well and must prove their innocence.
• What was the Freedom Charter?

  A statement of ideals and aims rather than a strategy. ANC members would have supported it due to its emphasis on equality.
• The Treason Trial 1956-61:

  156 of those who attended the Kliptown meeting where the Freedom Charter was drawn up were arrested and charged with high treason. Those arraigned included the entire leadership of the ANC and most other opposition groups. After 5 months they were accused of plotting to overthrow the government and replace it with a communist regime. In March 1961, none were found guilty.
• What was the PAC?

  Pan-Africanist Congress formed in April 1959 under the leadership of Robert Sobukwe. They disagreed with the Freedom Charter and rejected equal rights for whites whom they accused were exploiting and oppressing black Africans.
• How did women resist apartheid?

  • ANC Women's League was formally inaugurated in 1948
  • 1956 women's pass protest
  • The Federation of South African Women (FSAW) formed in 1954