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Black Land Act (Act 27 of 1913)
Prohibited people of color from owning or leasing land outside of their designated areas (reserves). This prevented colored people from owning most land, restricting them to an area of land that equaled around 7% of the country. This significantly reduced the land that people of color could live on, showing the exploitation of power by white people to an unnecessary extent during Apartheid. This act led to further acts about reserves and later bantustans. -
Black (Native) Administration Act (Act 38 of 1927)
Allowed the Prime Minister to move black people wherever (in South Africa) he wanted whenever he wanted to as long as he had some form of justification for it. It also was used to strictly punish blacks for "inciting hostility among blacks towards the white section of the community." This showed the one sided-ness of these laws, as although they were worded with the expectation that they would be applied fairly to all races, but in actuality were only applied to black people. -
Immorality Act (Act 5 of 1927)
Prevented extra-marital intercourse between whites and blacks. This act is significant because it put strict enforcement on something that was already an extremely minor occurrence. This law was mostly about whites enforcing their power over white and showing how far they were willing to go to assert their dominance. It showed how much power whites had over blacks and how they wished to exploit it. -
Development Trust and Land Act (Act 18 of 1936)
Increased the number of reserves to 13, encompassing 6% of the land of South Africa. This act also gave the Department of Bantu Administration and Development that authority to get rid of the remaining black owned land in white areas by seizing (and often destroying it) and relocating them to reserves. This was a clear exercise of the belief of white superiority over blacks, by segregating them and seizing their land. This also displaced many colored people in South Africa. -
Natives Consolidation Act (Urban Areas) (Act 25 of 1945)
This act controlled the over population of urban areas by allowing for the removal of individuals if they were determined to have lives that were insignificant or dissolute. This act, however, was only applied to black males, showing the discrimination that occurred every day during Apartheid. The terms of this act were very subjective so any colored man who the white leaders did not like could easily be forcibly removed under this act. -
Black (Native) Laws Amendment Act (Act 54 of 1952)
This law required all colored people over the age of 16 to carry passes and not remain in urban areas for longer than 72 hours without special permission. This permission was granted due to being born in an urban area and living there continuously, living there continuously for 15 years, working there for 10 years, or being vital. If not, blacks were forcibly removed from the city and put into bantustans or reserves.This was critical in segregating and restricting the colored population. -
Black Labor Relations Regulation Act (Black Labor and Settlement of Disputes Act) (Act 48 of 1953)
This act excluded blacks from being referred to as employees, making it impossible for people of color to be members of labor unions. This also made strikes and lock-outs by black workers illegal. This is very significant because it was a further step in discrimination and segregation, preventing blacks from even being included as employees. It shows the significant difference in the opportunity of blacks and whites. -
Representation between Republic of South Africa and Self-Governing Territories Act (Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act) (Act 46 of 1959)
This act allowed for the reserves that native Africans were put on to be made into independent bantustans. This divided Africans into ethnic groups and cemented the bantustans process, forcing Africans to live in specific, poorly constructed communities after being kicked out of their homes. This is representative of the segregation and inequality that existed in Apartheid South Africa, which severely impacted Africans and their opportunities. It also abolished black representation in government -
General Law Amendment Act (Sabotage Act) (Act 76 of 1962)
This act increased President's ability to declare certain organizations unlawful. This allowed him to control which group got support, obviously giving him a lot of power of his opposition. This act also gave him the power to ban people, even from social gatherings, and even restricting them to activities including more than two people. This act also created and applied the offence of sabotage in Apartheid government. This act restricted the freedom of and helped segregate the African population -
General Law Amendment Act (Act 37 of 1963)
Allowed officers of the state to hold any person suspected of a political crime for 90 days without a warrant or a lawyer. This often allowed them to be held indefinitely as they were immediately arrested again after they were released. This was expanded by the Sobukwe clause to create means for additional detention. This allowed for a lot of unjust holdings of people speaking out against the unfairness of the state and Apartheid. Decreased requirements for organizations to be declared unlawful.
