Southern Africa History

• Bantu Migration went into Southern Africa, bringing new languages and tools
• Shona Empire covered Zimbabwe and Mozambique
• The Shona Empire farmed, raised cattle, and traded gold
• Great Zimbabwe was the capital of the Shona Empire
• Great Zimbabwe was a trading center rich with gold
• Great Zimbabwe thrived in the 1400s and died in the 1500s

Europeans in Southern Africa

• In the late 1400s, traders from Portugal arrived in Southern Africa
• Portugal set up bases on the coast to stop during the long trip around Africa
• The Dutch were the first Europeans to settle in the region
• The Dutch established a trade station in 1652 near the Cape of Good Hope
• The Afrikaners are descendants of Dutch, French, and German settlers and have a mix of languages and culture
• The Boers were Afrikaners who spread out from the Cape colony and resisted the British
• The Zulu were a powerful Bantu-speaking group that fought and lost to the British

Apartheid in South Africa

• In the early 1900s, South Africa's government was dominated by Afrikaners and was extremely racist
• Black South Africans opposed the government and formed the African National Congress in 1912
• South Africa's government set up a policy called apartheid, which separated people into four groups: whites, blacks, coloreds, and Asians
• Whites had the best of everything, while everyone else had bad conditions, with blacks having the worst

Apartheid Video and Notes

• These are potential questions to consider:
• What year was the first free election in South Africa?
• What does the word apartheid mean?
• What year did apartheid start in South Africa?
• What was the goal of apartheid and how was this achieved?
• What was the pencil test?
• Who was the most important leader against apartheid?
• What event shows the end of apartheid in South Africa?

Apartheid Review Questions

• Describe apartheid in South Africa
• Who were the Afrikaners and how did they play a role in the apartheid of South Africa?
• How did apartheid happen and what allowed it to happen in South Africa?

Apartheid Laws Determined

• Laws determined where black people could live
• Laws determined whom people could marry (no interracial)
• Laws determined what kinds of jobs black people could have
• Laws determined where black people went to school
• Laws determined what services people could use
• Land ownership was restricted to whites only
• Police powers allowed black people to be arrested and not given a trial

Resistance to Apartheid

• In response to the Land Act, black South Africans formed the African National Congress (ANC) to fight against the racist policies of apartheid
• The main goal of the ANC was to win voting rights for black people and people of mixed race in South Africa
• The ANC initially used non-violent means to achieve their goals
• After the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960, the ANC resorted to more violent tactics
• The ANC began as a non-violent movement against apartheid immediately after the racist laws were passed
• The ANC organized marches, protests, strikes, and boycotts to try to end apartheid laws
• One of the most common forms of protest was burning government-issued passes
• One of the leaders of the ANC was a young lawyer named Nelson Mandela

Sharpeville Massacre of 1960

• In 1960, at Sharpeville, police opened fire on a group of unarmed black protesters
• The group had arrived at the police station without passes, inviting arrest as an act of resistance
• At least 67 black people were killed and more than 180 were wounded

Change after Sharpeville

• Sharpeville convinced many anti-apartheid leaders that peaceful protests would not work
• The ANC formed a military group to defend protesters and other victims of apartheid and carry out attacks against the government
• The South African government responded by imprisoning or killing resistance leaders in the ANC and similar groups
• Nelson Mandela spent time in prison from 1963 to 1990
• Mandela's imprisonment became a symbol of the cruelty and injustice of apartheid and helped gain international support against apartheid

End of Apartheid

• Other countries imposed economic and political penalties, such as banning trading and investments, resulting in SA becoming isolated and lead to more protests
• In the 1980s, South Africa moved away from Apartheid
• Political prisoners were released in 1990
• Nelson Mandela was elected in 1994
• All races were granted equal rights and the economy and opportunities increased in South Africa

South Africa Today

• South Africa is historically the most successful and stable democracy since the end of Apartheid
• Current unemployment rate is at 32.1% (healthy economies are less than 5%), with those aged 15-24 at 60%
• Literacy Rate is at 94%
• Black and white South Africans are still separated through economic and social means (de facto)