Nelson Mandela and Apartheid

As more and more African countries received their independence this made South Africa feel more isolated. In 1948 most African countries were in white hands and were friendly towards South Africa, but in the 60’s and 70’s most African countries received their independence and black governments came to power. In the 1970’s independence was granted to most of South Africa’s neighboring countries which made life for South Africa more hostile. In 1961, Verwoerd made South Africa became a republic, he had hoped to stay a member of the commonwealth but at a conference in London he had to face such criticisms of apartheid he took his country out.

Worldwide disgust for the apartheid increasingly isolated South Africa, all over the world anti-apartheid groups were set up which organized protests and sporting boycotts. Verwoerd and Vorster helped provoke sporting boycotts by refusing entry to some Maoris whom the New Zealand team had selected to play on the rugby tour of South Africa. Vorster did the same to a Cape Colored cricketer who had made his career in Britain so successfully that he was picked by England to play in a South Africa tour.

South Africa was under increasingly pressure to inform and was becoming increasingly isolated through the world. It was descending into chaos and violence was escalating, the country was under a state of emergency. The townships were virtually out of control, staging protests and violence. The ANC called upon the people to make South Africa ungovernable. There were clashes between blacks with the ANC and Inkatha groups with scenes of neck lacing. Anyone thought to be collaborating with the government faced death in the people’s courts. This all weakened the economy due to the huge number of strikes and violence. All this violence and chaos was seen on televisions and in the news around the world.

In the 1970’s independence was granted to neighboring states of South Africa ending their support for them. These countries: Angola, Mozambique and Rhodesia as well as some others provided bases for the ANC as they were anti South Africa. This meant guerrilla forces could strike targets in South Africa easily by crossing the border from Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

PW Botha makes some concessions and dismantles petty apartheid. Desmond Tutu said this was just mere “tinkering with apartheid” and was not a serious advancement to the end of apartheid. Botha had a mild stroke in 1989 and stands down from his job to be replaced by FW de Klerk who came from a famous Afrikaner political family. His father was one of the main architects of the apartheid. De Klerk however surprised his country when he announced the legalization of the ANC and other parties as well as the release of hundreds of political prisoners such as Mandela and Sisulu. He even dismantled apartheid giving equal rights to everyone in the country. He may have dismantled apartheid to solve economic pressures which had been hurting the country. He held the CODESA negotiations in 1991 with the nationalists having greater support from the ANC. He also became the joint winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.