During the colonial era, South African society became divided based on race.
Explanation:
In the late 1800s in South Africa, the discovery of diamond deposits and gold mines caused the conflict known as the Second Boer War, which pitted the British and Boers for control of the country's mineral resources. Although the Boers were losers of the war, the United Kingdom granted in 1910 a limited independence to South Africa as a British colony. In the interior of the country, the anti-British white elite carried out a series of policies with the intention of achieving total independence. The racial segregation was taking force and impregnating the South African legislation, being instituted the regime that would be known later with the name of apartheid, that established three classes of racial stratification.
Basically, this system of racial segregation consisted in the creation of separate places, both housing and study or recreation, for different racial groups, in the exclusive power of the white race to exercise the vote and in the prohibition of marriages between whites and blacks. Its purpose was to preserve power for the white minority (21% of the population), which in other conditions would have lost its privileged position.
The country finally achieved independence in 1961, when the Republic of South Africa was declared. The government continued to legislate according to the apartheid regime, despite both external and internal opposition. In 1990, the South African government began a series of negotiations that ended discriminatory laws and the convening of the first democratic elections in 1994.
The country finally achieved independence in 1961, when the Republic of South Africa was declared. The government continued to legislate according to the apartheid regime, despite both external and internal opposition. In 1990, the South African government began a series of negotiations that ended discriminatory laws and the convening of the first democratic elections in 1994.
