Apartheid was a system of institutionalized racial segregation in South Africa that lasted from the late 1940s to the early 1990s. Pressure from within the country, external pressure from Western nations, and economic pressure contributed to its end. However, apartheid left behind an indelible cultural legacy that will take decades to repair.
A combination of factors contributed to the end of apartheid in South Africa. Many people point to the end of this system as an illustration of what can happen when people from numerous governments and cultural backgrounds unite to oppose something, whether it’s institutionalized racism or war. It’s also important to remember that while apartheid ended in South Africa, it left behind an indelible cultural legacy that will take decades to repair.
Before discussing how it ended, it might be helpful to know what apartheid was. It was a system of institutionalized racial segregation created by the government of South Africa. In addition to giving preference to a very small minority of white South Africans, it also created class divisions among native South Africans, forcing people to migrate to “homelands” that were ethnically divided. Blacks, Indians and Asians were treated as second-class citizens in South Africa under apartheid, a system that lasted from the late 1940s to the early 1990s.
A major factor in the end of apartheid was pressure from within the country. Members of the government began to doubt the system and several opposing parties began to grow in South Africa as well, starting in the 1970s. Widespread opposition between both black and white South Africans has essentially eroded the system from within.
There was also a lot of external pressure, especially from Western nations, some of which had extensive civil rights legislation. As the Soviet Union’s power began to wane, Western nations felt that apartheid could no longer be tolerated and began to actively speak out against it. This period also marked steps towards democracy and self-determination in other African nations, as the West no longer feared the influence of communism on fledgling African governments. Numerous diplomats and civil servants made derisive comments about the system, encouraging South Africa to end it.
South Africa also came under immense economic pressure to end apartheid. Banks and investment firms withdrew from South Africa, indicating they would not invest in the country until its institutionalized racism ended. Many churches also lobbied. Combined with violent demonstrations from within and a mass organizing of angry South Africans, these factors doomed the system and repeals of the laws began to occur in 1990; four years later, South Africa had democratic elections and the last legal traces of apartheid were eliminated.
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