South America’s Apartheid Policy of 1948
Assignment 06
Myles Addison

South Africa’s apartheid policy is the name of the racial institution that was created in 1948 by South Africa’s white population that was dominated by the Boers. The Boers kept a separation from all black African, Asian, and European people. The term, which means “apartness,” reflected a violently repressive policy, which was designed to make sure that whites, who only comprised 20% of the nation's population, would continue to exercise control over the country.
When the apartheid policy was passed in 1948, it resulted in a “mini apartheid” being created for other ethnic groups and a “grand apartheid” for only the black Africans. What this did was relocate black Africans to homeland areas where they were considered laborers for the white population.
Even though the policy officially began in 1948, racial discrimination practices were already deeply rooted in South Africa. Dutch colonizers started creating regulations and laws that segregated blacks and whites. This was being done as early as 1788. These practices continued even after 1795 when the British occupation ended. This is what led to the assignment of the black Africans homelands.
When the enactment of the apartheid policy in 1948, led by a Dr. D.F. Malan, who was “the” main mastermind of the apartheid, racial laws were put into place and touched every facet of social living, including the ban of marriages between inter-racial couples, and even going as far as to label some jobs for whites only. The Malan government also enacted the Population Registration Act. What this did was classify all South Africans by race. They were made to carry cards identifying their racial backgrounds. If apprehended without their cards, they were either fined or arrested.
However, there were three very important campaigns that challenged the