Apartheidwas a policyof racialsegregationin South Africa.

The policy of Apartheid beganin 1948 when the Afrikaner-led Nationalist Party dominated South Africanpolitics.

Afrikaners were descendantsof Dutch immigrants to South

Africa. The first Dutch settlement in South Africa was established in 1652.

But British

imperialism

eventually led to British

control of South Africa.

The British and the Boers orAfrikaners, descendants ofthe original Dutch settlers,fought several bloody wars.

Especially, after diamondshad been found in South African soil.

Of course, the British imperialistswon given the size and wealth

of the British empire.

But regardless of the victor,the indigenous people of

South Africa were still deniedtheir land and resources.

When the British imperialists finally left South Africa, theAfrikaners came to dominatethe South African government.

The National Party was theParty of the Afrikaners and itwas this party that enacted

Apartheid or “apartness” laws.

Under this brutal system ofsegregation, black South

Africans were denied accessto white schools, white beaches,white neighborhoods, and even

white-only benches.

Under the Population Registration Act of 1950, all South Africans

were required to be racially classified as white, black, or

colored.

In addition, all black SouthAfricans were required to carry pass books containingfingerprints, identificationinformation, a photograph,and whether the individualhad access to whiteneighborhoods.

Of course, many individualsresisted the apartheid system.

But those who resisted facedimprisonment, exile, torture,

and even death.

Stephen Biko was murdered bythe South African police in 1977.

The African National Congress(ANC) was a Black Nationalistorganization founded longbefore apartheid. But it ledthe valiant struggle against apartheid.

Nelson Mandela emerged as

a leader of the military wing ofthe ANC in the early 1960s.

In 1964, Nelson Mandelawas imprisoned for treason

and sentenced to life in prison.

But even with their leaders imprisoned on Robben Island,

the fight against apartheidcontinued.

Mandela became a symbolof the injustice of the

apartheid system.

Finally, after twenty-seven yearsin prison, the Afrikaner

government released Mandelafrom prison.

In 1993, Nelson Mandela andF.W. de Klerk, the

President of South Africa, shared the Nobel Peace Prize.

With the end of apartheid and free elections for all, Nelson Mandela was elected South African President in 1994.