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South Africa 1960 – 1994
Troy Neale
Eagle Vale High School
Glossary
Afrikaner
The name for white South Africans. Afrikaner heritage derives from the Dutch colonists who broke away from English controlled Cape and moved into the interior of South Africa to set up their own Republics in the 1800’s. Also known as Boers
Afrikaans
The language of the Afrikaners or Boers as they were also known.
Amenities
All public places such as toilets, parks and bus stops.
ANC
African National Congress- the oldest and largest black political organisation in South Africa formed in 1912.
Apartheid
System of segregation and discrimination in which different races were forced to live separately.
AWB
Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging or Afrikaner Resistance Movement- an extreme right wing groupBantu
A word for native African
Bantustans
An area set aside for black people within South Africa as independent ethnic tribal homelands.
BCM
Black Consciousness Movement which was led by Steve Biko
CODESSA
Convention for a Democratic South Africa
Coloured
A racial classification for any South African of mixed parentage who was neither white nor black.
Disinvestment
International companies such as IBM and Coca-Cola remove their investments from South Africa as protest against the apartheid regime.
influx
The term used to describe large numbers of black Africans leaving their homelands to gain employment in white South Africa
Inkatha
A Zulu political party that opposed the ANC in the lead up to the election in 1994
Mayibuye
Restoring or giving back to Africans- Code name for a planned MK military attack on white South Africa
NP
National Party- the white, Afrikaner political party which ruled South Africa from 1948-1994
PAC
Pan-African Congress- black political movement that split from the ANC in 1959
Passes
Identity cards which were issued to all black Africans. Africans could not travel without their pass books (reference books)
Petty Apartheid
Public apartheid laws, such as separate amenities.
Poqo
Military wing of the Pan African Congress (PAC)
SACP
South Africa Communist Party
SADF
South African Defence Forces
Sanctions
International economic embargos on and boycotts of South African business and products
SASF
South African Security Forces
Segregation
A policy of separating people based on their race
Separate development
The concept that blacks and whites should develop along separate lines
State of emergency
Military Rule of South Africa imposed by P.W. Botha after the township riots in 1986
SOWETO
South West Township- black township near Johannesburg
SWAPO
South-West African Peoples Organisation-liberation movement of Namibia
Total Onslaught
President P.W Botha’s description when he declared that South Africa was under constant attack by internal and external enemies.
Total Strategy
President P.W Botha’s response to ‘total onslaught’
Tricameral Parliament
A three level system of parliamentary representation for Coloured and Indians and white South Africans
UDF
United Democratic Front- multi-racial organisation that protested for democracy in South Africa
‘Umkhonto we Sizwe’
The military wing of the ANC which organised sabotage attacks on white South Africa (MK- Spear of the Nation)
Xhosa
Name f the Native African group from the (western) Cape area
Zulu
Name of the Native African tribe from the Natal (eastern) area of South Africa
Time Line
Adapted from: Roberts, M. South Africa 1948-1994, The Rise and Fall of Apartheid third edition (England, Pearson Education Limited, 2001)
| 1960 | The Sharpeville and Langa massacre ANC and PAC banned Oliver Tambo leads the ANC in exile |
|---|---|
| 1961 | South Africa becomes a Republic Nelson Mandela leads MK and conducts sabotage attacks |
| 1963 | ANC and MK leaders arrested at Lilliesleaf Farm Rivonia |
| 1964 | ‘Rivonia Trial. ANC/MK leaders including Mandela are given life sentences on Robben Island |
| 1970’s | United Nation and OAU begin economic and sporting sanctions against South Africa |
| 1973-75 | Black opposition within South Africa gains strength due to increased trade union organisation and the BCM lead by Steven Biko |
| 1974-75 | Angola and Mozambique gain independence |
| 1976 | Transkei Bantustans declared independent Soweto uprising ( Against Afrikaans in education) |
| 1977 | Steven Biko leader Black Consciousness movement dies in police custody Townships across South Africa are bulldozed to make way for white areas |
| 1978 | P.W. Botha replaces Vorster as Prime Minister |
| 1980 | Botha government introduces cosmetic reforms to apartheid to stop riots in Townships |
| 1985 | A general state of emergency declared because of serious rioting in the townships. Black resistance makes many part of South Africa ungovernable. |
| 1986 | Economic crisis takes hold as sanctions and international business disinvest in South Africa to protest against the apartheid regime |
| 1989 | P.W. Botha reigns as Prime Minister and F.W. de Klerk becomes new Prime Minister and starts to dismantle the Apartheid state. ANC Secretary General is released |
| 1990 | Mandela is released from prison on Robben Island after 27 years. The ban on other political organisation including the ANC and SACP is lifted and political prisoners released. Violence flares between ANC and rival Inkatha in Natal ( Durban) |
| 1991 | The Majority of apartheid legalisation if abolished |
| 1992 | CODESSA discussions start to pave the way for a democratic South Africa and National Elections |
| 1994 | Nelson Mandela as leader of the ANC is elected President of South Africa in the nation’s first ever Democratic Election. |
Internet Sites
These sites are useful resources on aspects of South African History.
http://www.sahistory.org.za 
: Has a History of Film in South Africa (including a chronology), a history classroom section, This Day in History, a chronology of South African history , biographies, topics (African independence, Black Consciousness, Black education, Mandela, Umkhonto we Sizwe, passive resistance, the United Nations and apartheid.
http://anc.org.za : Official web site of the African National Congress, the majority party in the South African Government.
http://africanstudies.org :Non-profit organization bringing together institutions and individuals with a scholarly and professional interest in Africa.
http://www.apartheidmuseum.org/ : Examines South Africa's 20th century practice and policy of apartheid.
http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/mandela.html : A profile of Mandela
http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/ : video footage documenting mass resistance and police repression, historical documents, rare photographs, original narratives and interviews with 45 South African activists
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1624_story_of_africa/ : On this BBC site Africa's top historians take a fresh look at the events and characters that have shaped the continent from the origins of humankind to the end of South African apartheid.
http://www.apartheidmuseum.org/supplements/ : Understanding Apartheid a supplement for teachers and learners
http://www.un.org/av/photo/subjects/apartheid.htm : Human Rights -Historical images of Apartheid in South Africa
Bibliography
Bottaro, J, Oxford in Search of History (Cape Town, Oxford University Press, 2006)
Brits, JP, Modern South Africa: Afrikaner power, the politics of race, and resistance, 1902 to the 1970’s (Pretoria, University of South Africa Press, 2005)
Brits, JP, Modern South Africa: From Soweto to Democracy (Pretoria, University of South Africa Press, 2005)
Cawthra, G, Brutal Force: The Apartheid War Machine (London, International Defence & Aid Fund for Southern Africa, 1986)
Mandela, Nelson, Long Walk to Freedom, (London, Abacus, 1994)
Roberts, Martin, South Africa 1948-2000: The Rise and Fall of Apartheid third edition (England, Pearson Education Limited, 2001)
Ross, R, A Concise History of South Africa (London, Cambridge University Press, 1999)
Thompson, Leonard, A History of South Africa (USA, Yale Nota Bene, 2001)
Understanding Apartheid: Apartheid Museum, (South Africa, Oxford University Press, 2006)
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