How far do these two sources agree about what happened at Sharpeville on the morning of 21st March? Use the sources to explain your answer.

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How far do these two sources agree about what happened at Sharpeville on the morning of 21st March? Use the sources to explain your answer.

Question 1

How far do these two sources agree about what happened in Sharpeville on the morning of 21st March? Use the sources to explain your answer.

Sources A and B both state what happened at Sharpeville around midday on the 21st March. 1960. The sources vary; however do have agreements and disagreements. Although the shootings were said to have taken place in the afternoon period, both sources comment on the events and actions that took place around midday. Even though one may believe that the information in the sources should be the same if the times are, a major factor on what is actually included in the source depends on who has wrote it and what perspective it is from, as it could be biased. Both of the sources focus on the mood in Sharpeville around midday but source A was written for a South African newspaper and source B an English newspaper which, for example, could lead to source B indicating that the blacks were causing trouble whereas source A may portray the police to be harsh on people. My first impression on reading source A was that although there were many Africans shouting their slogan: ‘Izwe Lethu’, meaning ‘Our land’, the overall atmosphere seemed a lot calmer then that of source B as in source B the reporter states ‘Soon after the police station was virtually besieged by thousands of Africans shouting “Africa, Africa.” This source depicts that the Africans were blocking roads so the police could not get through certain areas but nothing of the sort was taking place in source A. We know this because the reporter stated: ‘The Africans did not seem to be alarmed by the cars’, unlike in Source B where the Africans reactions to seeing the Saracens were to encircle and block off areas. Another reason we could refer to source A to have a relaxed atmosphere would be because the reporter mentions that the Pan-Africans ‘were grinning and cheerful. Some kids waved to the policemen sitting on the Saracens and two of them waved back’. This shows no sign of hate or enmity whereas in source B the report illustrates that people were very aggressive and vented their feelings violently. In source A, I think that around the afternoon time, the police may have had enough of the Africans as in the end of source A, the reporter says ‘A constable shoved his rifle against my windshield. Another pointed rifle at my chest. Another leaned into the car shouting, “Have you got a permit to be here?” I said no whereupon he shouted, “Then get out, get out! Or I will arrest you on the spot.” This could be indicating that the policemen were taking their anger out on the innocent people either because they had had enough or the crowd were getting tougher to handle, either way I think this source does not illustrate that trouble was expected but it does show that the aggression was coming from the police and not the Africans. However, source B starts with saying ‘Around Sharpeville trouble was expected; there was shooting in the morning in which one African was killed and another seriously wounded.’ Shootings were only mentioned in source B and no in source A therefore this is definitely a disagreement. Although no shootings were mentioned in source A, both sources do seem to strongly agree that there were Africans shouting things out, there were Saracens around and that was a strong presence of the police. Both sources mention the police station although source B exemplifies the scene to be more menacing than source A as the aggression this time is coming from the ‘thousands’ of Africans, where the police are portrayed as being innocent and blameless. Overall I think that source B tends to have additional information such as talking about the police having to force their way through in Saracens to try and help the other police who were in the police station. There is also some information about shootings having taken place in the morning which meant trouble was expected from the beginning of the day, but in source A there is nothing of the sort mentioned apart from the fact that the police were armed. I think that both sources agree with each other to a certain extent and also disagree, but the main difference would be in the atmosphere of Sharpeville as one source portrays it to be more menacing than the other.

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Question 2

Study sources C and D. Do these photographs prove that either source A or source B is wrong? Use the sources to explain your answer.

From looking at sources C and D, I can see similarities in them and with sources A and B. I think that source C tends to have many elements which match source A with the descriptions mentioned such as ‘Some kids waved to the policemen sitting on the Saracens and two of them waved back,’ Although we cannot see policemen waving, we can clearly see them sitting on the Saracens. In ...

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