Identity cards were issued and a registry for the entire country was initiated. The Population Registration Act, of 1950, required all residents of South Africa to be classified as coloured (European and African mixed or Asian), native (Bantu people), or white.
This gave the government broad powers to arrest or detain anyone who was suspected of being a communist-it essentially gave them the power to harass anyone who was actively working against the Apartheid way of life. The Suppression of Communism Act of 1950 defined communism as any doctrine or scheme that was aimed to bring about political change through unlawful acts or the threat of unlawful acts. They brought into existence an even more crushing form of government and "apartheid" was born.Īpartheid literally means "apartness" and it was the basis for how the races were to be further separated, by the government, in South Africa. In 1948 the National Party (which traditionally represented Boers who were negatively impacted during the earlier Boer Wars) won the national election. In addition, a separate administration system was set up under the Native Administration Act of 1927 which allowed for proclamations to be used to administer black areas, instead of acts of parliament. Other laws were passed to restrict the types of skills blacks could practice as trades. The government also enacted "pass laws" which held that blacks had no real reason to go into municipal areas unless they were there for employment reasons and, thus, required them to have passes which could help to control their movement. In 1913 the Natives Land Act was passed which set aside about 13% of South Africa's land for the "Native population." It prohibited blacks from buying, renting, or using land anywhere outside of the areas that were set aside for them. The government began to, immediately, codify its suppression of black South Africans.
Ironically, eight years after this formation, in 1918, Nelson Mandela was also born. The African National Congress was then created, just two years later, in 1912 to respond to the white-run government. After a few years, the former Boer republics joined with the British territories and, in May of 1910, they formed the Union of South Africa.
In May of 1902 the Peace of Vereeniging was signed between Boer forces and the British (putting an end to a set of wars between the two sides).
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