Why was the Sharpeville Massacre Produced such different interpretations?

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Scott Mulligan 11PBY

History coursework

Why was the Sharpeville Massacre Produced such different interpretations?

       The first white settler’s arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652. In 1707, the Dutch company stopped all immigration; for over 100 years, no new immigrants arrived. This ended abruptly in 1806 when the British captured the cape:

     In 1814, Britain bought the cape from the Dutch and it became part of the growing British Empire. The Boers were furious when Britain banned slavery in its empire in 1833. From the very outset the white Boers set up the country so that legally they controlled the whole law making process, Government and 93% of the land. They believed in white supremacy and deliberately took actions to keep the black people in extreme poverty so that they had to work for white farmers and miners for an appallingly law wage. It was not clear exactly what apartheid meant but it definitely did not mean interrogation and it did not mean rights for blacks

       Apartheid meant ‘Separateness’ the separation of blacks and whites. In reality it came not only to mean segregation but also white domination of all other races. The Sharpeville protest was part of a world-wide civil rights movement, which lead to the formation of protest groups like the ANC and PAC.

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        We know that even though by law blacks and whites were to live separately the needs for black workers in white areas cause a problem. When the government in 1948 said total segregation was impossible and that blacks in white areas could become permanent residents, it created the issue on which 1948 Election would be fought. What we know happened on the day, we know that the white police started shooting at 2 o’clock and that there was no warning volley so the blacks had no chance of getting away. Also we know that 76 Africans ...

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