The History Of Apartheid In South Africa

Apartheid was an ideology for the segregation of distinctive racial groups that was introduced in South Africa in 1948. At first, its aim was to have an “equal development and freedom of cultural expression,” (South African History Online, 2017). However, the Apartheid established a social system that forced people of different colors to live and develop separately instead. It undoubtedly impaired the blacks, which took up most of the population, only because they didn’t have the same skin color as their rulers. The Apartheid was developed for several reasons, the major influence was the ideology of racial dominance and fear. White people were the minorities in South Africa, and many of them were worried they would lose their profession, culture and language, thus leading to the establishment of the Apartheid.

Several governmental policies were formed, including the Population Registration Act in 1950, which supported the act of racial separation by classifying races into four distinct racial categories; white, black, colored, or others. The colored group was divided into two main subgroups of Indians and Asians. The three categories were divided based on the individuals’ physical appearance and social acceptance. People would then be put in groups and obtain different treatments and respected differently from one another. This enactment of racial discrimination laws affected every aspect of social life, especially for the Africans, who were specially targeted during the