The Consolidation and Maintenance of Apartheid

From racial separation to Separate Development

Apartheid was a system of racial separation designed to preserve white political power and economic privilege. The National Party came to power in 1948 and extended earlier segregation through laws controlling residence, employment, education and public facilities. By the early 1960s, the government was trying to make white domination more secure and permanent. This strengthening of the system is its consolidation.

Hendrik Verwoerd, prime minister from 1958, presented this policy as Separate Development. He argued that different African ethnic groups should develop as separate nations in their own territories. The government portrayed this as a route to self-government, rather than admitting that it denied Africans equal political rights in a shared South Africa.

The distinction between the claim and the purpose matters. Dividing Africans into separate ethnic populations allowed the government to argue that there was no single African majority entitled to govern South Africa. It also aimed to weaken the possibility of a united African political movement.

How the Bantustan system strengthened white rule

The Bantustans, also called homelands, developed from existing African reserves. The Bantu Authorities Act of 1951 established a system of rule through selected traditional leaders with administrative powers. These authorities offered the government a way to govern African communities indirectly, through leaders willing to cooperate with it.

The Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act of 1959 took this policy further by developing ethnically defined homeland structures. The system eventually comprised ten Bantustans. African political rights were to be exercised through a designated homeland rather than through equal participation in South Africa's national government.

The territorial division was deeply unequal. About 13% of South Africa's land was set aside for the homelands; the remaining land, including the major mineral areas and cities, was reserved for whites. Separate Development therefore did not mean equal access to wealth, land or opportunities.

Forced removals helped put the policy into practice. African communities were removed from areas designated for whites and relocated to homelands, losing homes and livelihoods. These removals increased poverty and disrupted family and community life. The policy continued beyond the 1960s: more than 3.5 million people were forcibly removed between 1960 and 1994.

There was a central contradiction. The government treated Africans as belonging in rural homelands, but mines, farms and factories still depended on their labour. African workers could be permitted to live in urban areas because employers needed them, while being treated as temporary residents rather than equal citizens. Permission for a worker to remain did not necessarily include permission for their family.

The homelands did not all become independent states in the 1960s. The later declaration of Transkei's 'independence' in 1976 was a further stage of the policy, not its starting point.

Why people supported apartheid

Support rested on both beliefs and material interests. Afrikaner nationalism linked the National Party to pride in Afrikaans language, culture and history. The party promised to advance Afrikaners after a period in which English-speaking whites had held greater economic influence. It also appealed to fears about the survival of white political power.

White workers benefited from job reservation and protection against African competition for skilled employment. White farmers wanted controls on African movement because workers leaving farms for cities threatened their labour supply. These groups had practical reasons to support restrictions as well as ideological ones.

Support among English-speaking business leaders was more complicated. Initially, major figures such as Ernest Oppenheimer funded the opposition United Party in the hope of removing the National Party. By the mid-1950s, however, many were cooperating with the government. Manufacturers welcomed protection from foreign competition, while mining companies benefited from cheap African labour. Cooperation did not necessarily mean enthusiasm for Afrikaner nationalism, but it helped sustain the regime.

The National Party's electoral position strengthened. Its alliance had won in 1948 with only about 40% of the electoral vote and a narrow parliamentary majority. In 1958, the National Party won 103 seats, compared with 53 for the United Party. This shows growing electoral strength, but not a mandate from the whole population: Africans were excluded from equal participation in national politics.

Nor were whites unanimous. White liberal groups opposed aspects of segregation, and Alan Paton's Liberal Party supported a multiracial democracy based on universal voting rights. Nevertheless, opposition to the National Party did not always mean opposition to white privilege: English business donors supported the United Party but refused to fund the Liberal Party.

How the government maintained control

The regime combined legal restrictions, economic dependence and coercion. Racial classification determined which rules applied to individuals. Group areas separated residential communities, while segregation of schools, universities and public facilities made racial inequality part of everyday life.

Pass laws and influx control made movement and employment subject to state permission. Africans could be arrested for lacking the required pass documents. These controls also helped employers obtain labour while limiting workers' freedom to settle permanently in towns.

Education reinforced the system. The Bantu Education Act of 1953 brought African education under tighter state control. The Extension of University Education Act of 1959 enabled separate racial and ethnic universities and required black students to obtain ministerial permission to attend institutions reserved for whites. Education was directed towards the roles the government expected black people to perform, including staffing homeland administrations, rather than towards equal opportunities. Together with job reservation, this protected white advantages in employment.

Police powers provided another layer of control. During the early 1960s, the government expanded detention powers, and many leading opponents were imprisoned or forced into exile. This weakened organised opposition and made political activity dangerous. A detailed examination of resistance and its suppression follows in the neighbouring lessons.

International relationships also helped the government survive. Western governments disliked apartheid, but Cold War concerns encouraged them to value South Africa's minerals and strategic position as a barrier to communist influence. This tolerance was not universal approval: newly independent Asian and African countries strongly challenged apartheid internationally.

Overall, apartheid survived through a combination of committed supporters, groups benefiting economically, restricted political participation and repression. Electoral victories alone cannot explain its strength, because most of the people subjected to its policies could not vote it out.

Separate Development and Bantustans

• Verwoerd became prime minister in 1958: presented racial separation as Separate Development.
• 1951 Bantu Authorities Act: strengthened indirect rule through cooperating traditional leaders.
• 1959 Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act: developed ethnically defined homelands; the system eventually comprised ten Bantustans.
• About 13% of the land went to homelands; whites retained the major cities and mineral areas.
• Purpose: divide African political unity and confine African rights to homelands while preserving white power.
• Forced removals caused displacement and poverty; urban African labour remained essential.

Support and its limits

• Afrikaner nationalism: cultural identity, advancement and protection of white rule.
• White workers: protected jobs. Farmers: controlled labour supply.
• English business: initial opposition shifted towards cooperation because of economic benefits.
• 1958 election: NP 103 seats; UP 53. Electoral strength did not equal support from the whole population.
• White liberal opposition existed; Western Cold War tolerance coexisted with international criticism.

Maintaining the regime

• Racial classification, group areas and segregated facilities.
• Pass laws and influx control restricted residence, work and movement.
• 1953 Bantu Education Act and 1959 Extension of University Education Act strengthened educational control.
• Job reservation protected white employment advantages.
• Police detention, imprisonment and exile weakened opposition.