How important was Nelson Mandela in bringing about the collapse of the apartheid system in South Africa, 1960-1994?
How important was Nelson Mandela in bringing about the collapse of the apartheid system in South Africa, 1960-1994?
Nelson Mandela was significant in bringing about the collapse of apartheid system in South Africa along with other key individuals. However for these individuals to shine, they needed a clear motive and reason. This came in 1960 when black resistance was growing, and there were tensions between black groups. A new group was formed in 1959 out of the ANC, called the PAC who believed that the ANC was too cautious, too multi-racial and too influenced by Communists.
In 1960 the two groups planned massive, peaceful anti-pass law demonstrations in the towns of Sharpeville and Langa. This peaceful protest turned out to be a horrific massacre of innocent civilians. The consequences of this were to lead eventually to the end of apartheid, helped along by characters such as Mandela and De Klerk. As white businessmen asked themselves whether the country had a peaceful future there was a serious financial crisis. Therefore the government decided on total repression, and it declared a state of emergency, called out its reserve army, arrested thousands of leading demonstrators and outlawed the ANC and PAC, which succeeded in bringing back the confidence of white businessmen.
This was to end the peaceful protests of the past, and to spark a wave of violent sabotage. Mandela grew as a figure after the events of Sharpeville and Langa when he persuaded the ANC supporters to turn to violence as that was the general motion of the country (blacks), and he made a pragmatic decision and went underground to form the MK, a campaign of sabotage, which mainly targeted power stations and government offices. This was a major change in stance, and Mandela is often criticized for this approach to protests. Another key individual comes into the picture at this point, Oliver Tambo, who was sent abroad to try and gain support for the ANC, and will become a key figure later on. The PAC also turned to violence and set up the group, Poqo.
This change of stance however led him into trouble, and after seventeen months of success, he was arrested and given a five-year sentence. However because the government found that Mandela was recruiting people for training in sabotage and guerrilla warfare, he should have faced the death penalty. This was not the case though, and he was given life imprisonment instead, in the famous Rivonia Trial. The important question to be asked here is, if Mandela was hung for his crime, then would apartheid come to an end?
While all this was occurring it is important to notice the world's hostility towards white South Africa. Verwoerd wanted to make South Africa a republic, and he achieved this in 1961, however he hoped to remain part of the commonwealth, but after facing many criticisms about his apartheid laws, he took his country out of it. South Africa was becoming more isolated when anti-apartheid groups were set up all over the world. The situation worsened further in the early to mid 70's when the countries surrounding South Africa gained independence due to white collapse, however Botswana still remained ...
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While all this was occurring it is important to notice the world's hostility towards white South Africa. Verwoerd wanted to make South Africa a republic, and he achieved this in 1961, however he hoped to remain part of the commonwealth, but after facing many criticisms about his apartheid laws, he took his country out of it. South Africa was becoming more isolated when anti-apartheid groups were set up all over the world. The situation worsened further in the early to mid 70's when the countries surrounding South Africa gained independence due to white collapse, however Botswana still remained a friendly country with South Africa, as they relied on them economically, and that aided as a buffer from black groups from Zambia and Angola.
Steve Biko is another key figure. He was a black university student, who was part of the Black Consciousness movement, and in 1969 they formed the South African Students Organisation (SASO), with Biko being the president. The ideas of Black Consciousness caught on, particularly among young blacks. The government had banned him in 1973, and then in 1997 arrested him. He was then brutally beaten into a coma by the interrogation team, only later to die in hospital. This death just angered the youth even more.
In June 1976, a key date in South African history, the Soweto Riots broke out, when 15,000 pupils took to the streets to protest against new government ruling that half their lessons should be taught in Afrikaans, and two youngsters were killed and many more wounded. These deaths caused Soweto and then many other townships to erupt into violence which lasted for months and spread all over the country. Another reason for the riots were because black unemployment was rising. The difference between Sharpeville/Langa and Soweto was that black resistance was now more organised, and there was enormous pressure on the government for reform, along with growing international hostility against white South Africa.
In 1977 Vorster called a general election, where the Nationalists won a landslide victory. This is important because the whites were looking for a tough government, and this was evident in the Nationalists policies. Their strategies were to strengthen the armed forces, and to destabilise South Africa's neighbours. This second strategy of theirs is crucial because they got blacks fighting against blacks, by funding them, which was an attempt to weaken black resistance. This meant that there was little support for the ANC, temporarily. Another strategy of the Nationalists was to relieve some of the apartheid laws for example 'The Mixed Marriages Act', in order to regain some black support. However the blacks were not over impressed, his 'so called reforms' meant nothing, "mere tinkering with apartheid" according to Tutu.
Between 1984 and 1986 parts of South Africa broke out into civil war, were the government couldn't fully restore law and order. However this fighting was mainly between blacks. The relaxing of the pass laws meant that more unemployed blacks crowded into the townships, anxious, restless and angry. This is significant because it opened a door for more black resistance. Black resistance grew into many organisations, for example, The Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO), The ANC, The Inkatha, and The United Democratic Front (UDF). The UDF and Inkatha started fighting against each other, and UDF suspected that the secret police were secretly helping the Inkatha, which turned out to be true later. There was also tension between the ANC and the AZAPO.
Eventually even though the government managed restore order by 1986, P.W Botha was facing difficulties with his own party and white businessmen. In 1982, Botha stayed in power, but he failed to stop his party splitting, or to hold the confidence of local and international business leaders. During the unrest of 1984-5 international companies began to leave South Africa, and when the Chase Manhattan Bank of New York severed its links with South Africa, a major financial crisis followed. The government was forced to take emergency financial measures that increased black unemployment and hit white incomes.
I have not mentioned Mandela much so far, because while he was in prison he did not play a major role when it came to events outside the prison. However later on in his prison sentence he started to become a recognised figure once more, where he had a major impact on the people of Robben Island. Over the years they eased the prison regulations, and he had a growing number of visitors. The longer he stayed in prison; the more he became an international hero and a symbol for human rights, people started rallying to "Free Mandela". Mandela was later to have the luck of fate, when F.W. Klerk came to power.
F.W. Klerk came to power when Botha had a stroke and was forced to resign, due to his failing policies and the worsening relations. Right from the start, De Klerk claimed drastic changes were needed, and he announced the legalisation of the ANC, the PAC, and the SACP, along with the release of hundreds of political prisoners, including Mandela. De Klerk would have known that this step he took, would threaten the white ruling of South Africa, however it must be understood why he made these pragmatic decisions. He was willing to sacrifice apartheid to ensure Afrikaner survival, where the Afrikaners would have some guarantee of power sharing and have the rights protected for the white Afrikaner minority.
Mandela had had the exiled ANC worried when they feared that he might be making his own deals with De Klerk, however when Mandela was released in a speech he claimed that he was just a loyal member of the ANC. Later that month Mandela took over the ANC after Tambo had a stroke. However this was not the end of the troubles, and in 1991 the government agreed to hold a Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA), to work out with the ANC and other political parties a new constitution which would give democratic rights to all citizens. Buthelezi wanted a special deal in KwaZulu and raised violence against ANC supporters. The ANC grew increasingly angry that the security forces, which were still white controlled, were assisting Inkatha in their violence against the ANC. This led to the ANC walking out of CODESA in 1992.
In November 1993, they agreed to a one-person-one-vote election, which was to be held on 27 April 1994. There was pre-election violence but in the end the election went of smoothly and the ANC won 62.5% of the votes compared to the National Party, which got 20.5%, and the Inkatha with 10.5%. Mandela became president and had F.W Klerk working under him.
To conclude I would say that apartheid would have come to an end eventually, as the other surrounding black countries gained independence. However the question should be would it have come to and end any quicker that it did, without the intervention of Mandela? In my opinion Mandela is significant when it comes to ending the apartheid, because he carried on the fight of the ANC even after they were banned, and he became an icon for freedom while he was in prison. Of course without such characters as Tambo, who continued the ANC in exile while Mandela was in prison, then there could have been the chance that the struggle for ending apartheid would have evaporated. Maybe if De Klerk did not come to power as soon as he did, then it would have taken a lot longer for apartheid to come to and end, as Botha was not willing to give up apartheid. So in all I would say that Mandela was significant in bringing about the end of apartheid, but there were many other factors which helped it on the way to a much quicker end. That is the key point of my essay that Mandela just sped up the inevitable end of apartheid, instead of ending it single-handedly.
Bibliography:
* Internet Resources
* South Africa 1948-94 Text Book
* Extracts of Long Walk To Freedom
* Many of SAG's videos and notes
