A Brief History of Apartheid in South Africa

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A Brief History of Apartheid in South Africa

Apartheid is not a new thing. Ever since Dutch colonists landed in 1652, "Blacks" and "Whites" have lived apart in South Africa. Officially started in 1948 when the Afrikaner Nationalist party came to power, apartheid is a system of racial laws devised to "Preserve and promote a white majority over a black majority." It has a lot of opposition and it led to an international boycott of South Africa because of it.

When the Dutch first landed and established a strong colony there, they got on relatively peacefully with the natives. Then British and French landed. Theye wer lured by the prospect of all the gold and diamonds that were rich in South Africa's mines. They were much more greedy than the Dutch, pushing the native blacks back, who were powerless against the invader's guns. Over the years, the races got even more segregated, having isolated territories. The whites felt they were far superior to the black people in every way. They took slaves from black communities, and just dominated the race entirely.

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This disgraceful treatment was not without opposition from within the white race itself. These few people fought (unsuccessfuly) for black rights. Eventually, this led to interracial relationships. Children born of these relationships were known as "coloureds" and were regarded with shame as little better than blacks themselves. They were particularly in a fix bacause they were never truly accepted into the black or white communities. In a similar predicament were the Indian peoples, brought over by the British from their colnies. These were treasted with only a tiny bit more respect, and thier plight in the 50"s went mestly unrecognised. ...

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