Segregation in South African History

By smehra
  • Initial Conflict Between Races

    There were clashes between the white settlers and the Khoi natives over farmland. The settlers responded by driving the Khoi away, killing them, or making them servants. They also introduced the pass system. This initial conflict could lead to segregation as the settlers already had guns, putting them at a higher position of power than the Khoi, and so were capable of implementing their ideas. However, no major wars or segregation laws were implemented until much later.
  • Social Darwinism & The Arrival of the British

    Initially, the Dutch arrived, and believed that they could take over because the natives were ''less evolved''. Later, the British came in and believed both groups were less evolved. What we end up with is a chain of people establishing control over each other. This leads to segregation because the Whites, with their technology, believed that the Blacks were less evolved and that it was their right and responsibility to tell them what to do.
  • Mining Industry

    The Whites needed cheap labor, so they began bringing Blacks in to work. They were paid low wages and treated badly by their employers. The Blacks didn't want to go. The Boer government introduced a tax. The Blacks didn't have currency, so they were forced to go work in the mines. This perpetuated segregation; Blacks were considered cheaper and more expendable. Whites were also supervisors, not workers, which put them at a higher position of power.
  • Land Ownership

    The White government established ''black reserves''. Blacks could not own or even rent land outside of these reserves. This gave Whites more power over Blacks, as they couldn't produce an even amount of crops, and also facilitated the separation of Black and White communities. These areas were also far from towns and cities, making it even more difficult for Black farmers to make a living equal to the Whites'. They did this in part to force the Blacks to work as cheap labor for the Whites.
  • Urban Life

    Even within cities, Blacks were allocated houses separate from the Whites, usually run-down and filthy. Blacks weren't allowed to vote, so, while poor Whites could campaign for better houses, Blacks were pushed aside and ignored. They were also given passbooks. They could be stopped by police at any time and ordered to show their pass. The Whites hoped that the pass system would help restrict the number of Blacks and drive them to leave the urban areas soon.
  • Jobs

    There were whole categories of jobs that Blacks were barred from; they called it the 'civilized labor policy'. This greatly lessened the Blacks' options and ability to make money and become equal in status to the Whites. In addition, the jobs reserved for Whites were all supervisor jobs, while Blacks could only be laborers, which further perpetuated segregation. It looked as though Blacks were only capable of lowly labor, even though it was the Whites who forced them into these jobs.