Study guide: South Africa and the End of Apartheid

📋 Course Outline

1. Mineral Discovery and Political Conflict
2. The Boer War and Union
3. Segregation Before Apartheid
4. Apartheid and Bantustan Policy
5. Resistance and International Pressure
6. De Klerk and Mandela
7. Negotiating Democratic Transition
8. Post-Apartheid Challenges

📅 Key Dates

1. 1899–1902The Boer War resulted from economic, political, and strategic causes.
2. 1910The Act of Union created the Union of South Africa.
3. 1910–1948The governments associated with Smuts and Hertzog implemented segregation and discrimination.
4. 1948The National Party won the election and gained the power to develop apartheid.
5. September 1989F. W. de Klerk became president while South Africa was internationally isolated because of apartheid.
6. 2 February 1990De Klerk announced the lifting of bans on liberation movements and Nelson Mandela’s release.
7. 11 February 1990Nelson Mandela was released after 27 years of imprisonment and became central to negotiations for a non-racial democracy.
8. June 1992The Boipatong massacre caused negotiations to fail temporarily before they resumed.
9. September 1992The ANC and the government signed a Protocol of Understanding that resolved several disputes and revitalized the transition.
10. April 1993The assassination of Chris Hani caused mass unrest that nearly derailed the transition.

📖 1. Mineral Discovery and Political Conflict

★ Must-know

• The discovery of diamond and gold mines produced political, economic, and social consequences in South Africa and intensified struggles over power.

Further detail

• The mineral discoveries contributed to conflicts over political control between different South African communities, including the Boers and the British.

💡 Memory Hook

Mineral wealth → economic change → political conflict

📖 2. The Boer War and Union

📝 Essential Points

• The Treaty of Vereeniging formed part of the settlement that ended the Boer War and preceded the creation of the Union of South Africa.

💡 Memory Hook

Causes → war → Vereeniging → Union

📖 3. Segregation Before Apartheid

📝 Essential Points

• Segregation and discrimination generated protests by the African majority and other opponents of racial rule.

💡 Memory Hook

Segregation under Smuts and Hertzog versus apartheid under Malan and Verwoerd

📖 4. Apartheid and Bantustan Policy

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Apartheid: a system of legally enforced racial separation and discrimination in South Africa

📝 Essential Points

• Malan developed apartheid policies whose impact included the systematic separation and political exclusion of the African majority.

• Verwoerd developed grand apartheid, including the bantustan system, which assigned Black South Africans to ethnically defined territories.

💡 Memory Hook

A map divided into separate bantustans

📖 5. Resistance and International Pressure

★ Must-know

• The African National Congress became a central organization of resistance to apartheid, and its resistance became increasingly radicalized.

• After the Sharpeville massacre, the ANC decided to adopt armed struggle.

• The Soweto massacres and township unrest during the 1980s demonstrated continuing mass resistance to apartheid.

• Commonwealth and United Nations sanctions imposed considerable economic pressure on South Africa and contributed to the government’s decision to negotiate.

Further detail

• Steve Biko led the Black Consciousness movement, which encouraged psychological and political resistance to apartheid.

• The international anti-apartheid movement influenced public opinion and foreign policy through condemnation, protests, and support for sanctions.

💡 Memory Hook

Resistance and sanctions → economic pressure → reform

📖 6. De Klerk and Mandela

📝 Essential Points

• De Klerk’s reforms removed restrictions on media and demonstrations and began dismantling the legislative foundations of apartheid.

💡 Memory Hook

De Klerk’s reforms → Mandela’s release → negotiations

📖 7. Negotiating Democratic Transition

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• CODESA: a series of negotiations intended to provide a platform for parties to discuss South Africa’s transition to democracy

💡 Memory Hook

CODESA → crisis → agreement → elections

📖 8. Post-Apartheid Challenges

★ Must-know

• The general elections of April 1994 were the first South African elections in which citizens of all races were allowed to participate.

• The ANC won 62.65% of the vote in the 1994 elections, and Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s first Black president.

• The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, investigated past human-rights violations and promoted national reconciliation after apartheid.

• After apartheid, South Africa faced persistent economic inequality and the challenge of redistributing land without undermining agricultural productivity.

• International sanctions, foreign disinvestment, and the costs of maintaining apartheid contributed to economic stagnation and encouraged political reform.

Further detail

• The Inkatha Freedom Party initially boycotted the 1994 elections but later participated, while tensions with the ANC contributed to deadly violence in KwaZulu-Natal.

• The end of the Cold War weakened the geopolitical justification for supporting the anti-communist apartheid government and increased pressure for reform.

• The South African Defence Force helped maintain order during the transition and later faced the integration of former liberation forces, including Umkhonto we Sizwe, into a national defence structure.

💡 Memory Hook

Political equality versus continuing economic inequality

📊 Synthesis Tables

Main Forces Behind Apartheid’s End

Force	Mechanism	Effect
Internal resistance	ANC, unions, strikes, boycotts, and civil disobedience	Undermined the operation and legitimacy of apartheid
International pressure	Sanctions, disinvestment, and anti-apartheid campaigns	Increased isolation and economic costs
Political leadership	De Klerk’s reforms and Mandela’s negotiations	Enabled the transition to democracy
Economic crisis	Stagnation and the cost of maintaining apartheid	Encouraged reform among political and business leaders