SOUTH AFRICA
History in an Hour
Anthony Holmes
William Collins
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF
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First published by HarperPress in 2012
Copyright © Anthony Holmes 2012
Series editor: Rupert Colley IN AN HOUR ® is a registered trade mark of HarperCollins Publishers Limited Cover image © Obed Zilwa / AP / Press Association Images
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The moral right of the author is asserted All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks.
Ebook Edition © MAY 2013 ISBN: 9780007485208
Version: 2016-01-13
History in an Hour is a series of ebooks to help the reader learn the basic facts of a given subject area. Everything you need to know is presented in a straightforward narrative and in chronological order. No embedded links to divert your attention, nor a daunting book of 600 pages with a 35-page introduction. Just straight in, to the point, sixty minutes, done. Then, having absorbed the basics, you may feel inspired to explore further. Give yourself sixty minutes and see what you can learn . . .
To find out more visit www.historyinanhour.com
Contents
Copyright
About History in an Hour
Introduction
White Settlers Arrive in South Africa
‘The Great Trek’ from British Rule
Self Government for the Cape Colony
The War between the Zulus and the White Colonists
The Boers Versus the British
The National Party of South Africa
The Struggle for Equality
Apartheid
Black Resistance and the Sharpeville Massacre
International Pressure and Internal Armed Resistance
Right-Wing Extremism and the AWP
Global Condemnation of Apartheid
The Tri-Cameral Parliament
The Struggle Escalates
Towards a Better Future for All
The New South African Constitution
Appendix 1: Key Players
Appendix 2: Timeline of South Africa
Got Another Hour?
On 10 April 1993 South Africans held their collective breath.
In the midst of discussions on the transition from a white oppressive regime to a multiracial democracy, Chris Hani – the black leader of the South African Communist Party and Chief of Staff of the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC) – was murdered. White ultra-conservatives gunned him down in front of his family, as he stepped out of his car.
This assassination was part of a plot to destabilize the negotiations to end apartheid – a system of racial segregation in force from 1948–1994 in South Africa. His neighbour, a white woman, rushed to call the police and the perpetrator, Janusz Waluš, was arrested. His accomplice Clive Derby-Lewis, a Member of Parliament in the Conservative Party and right-wing extremist, was subsequently also arrested. Both men were found guilty of murder.
The country was poised on a knife-edge. Black people were incensed and enraged at the assassination. White people were shocked by the brutality of the crime and terrified of the expected black backlash. It took a man of incredible wisdom, courage and statesmanship to make a speech to calm things down. A man who had been recently released after being jailed for twenty-seven years by the same oppressive, right-wing regime. A man who had not yet ascended to any office of State but who was generally acknowledged to be the de facto leader of the country.
Nelson Rolihlahla Dalibhunga Mandela broadcast the following message to his people, to his country; a voice that had been silenced for so long, but which was to become one of the world’s best known voices:
Tonight I am reaching out to every single South African, black and white, from the very depths of my being. A white man, full of prejudice and hate, came to our country and committed a deed so foul that our whole nation now teeters on the brink of disaster. A white woman, of Afrikaner origin, risked her life so that we may know, and bring to justice, this assassin. The cold-blooded murder of Chris Hani has sent shock waves throughout the country and the world . . . Now is the time for all South Africans to stand together against those who, from any quarter, wish to destroy what Chris Hani gave his life for – the freedom of all of us.
Although some riots did follow Chris Hani’s murder, the two sides of the negotiation were galvanized into action. The process was not allowed to drag on and they rapidly came to the agreement that democratic elections should take place on 27 April 1994, just over a year after Hani’s assassination. The short speech given by Nelson Mandela saved South Africa from descending into chaos.
What tortuous path led South Africa to this dramatic moment in its history? To appreciate the ‘politics of colour’ that encompassed the lives of Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo, John Vorster, P. W. Botha, F. W. de Klerk and millions of South Africans of all races, religions, professions, and beliefs in the second half of the twentieth century one must go back through the history of South Africa.
And this, in an hour, is South Africa
White Settlers Arrive in South Africa
The conflict between black Africans and white people in South Africa finds its origin in the seventeenth century. White men from