Apartheid Laws

Natives and Land Act

1913

This act prohibited black people from owning land outside the designated reserves. This act significantly affected the black population because only 7% of the South African land was reserved for colored people. This act also made it impossible for black people to grow because the land that was reserved for them had poor growing conditions.

Wage Act of 1925

1925

This act established a board for decided the standard minimum wages for workers in South Africa. This act made it legal to give preferential treatment to white people over colored people by undercutting civilized levels of wages. It was significant because it further led to the economic demise of colored people.

Mines and Works Amendment

1926

This act re-enacted the Mines and Works Act of 1911 which reserved semi skilled jobs in mining for whites. This was significant because it revealed the color bar in the industry by showing preferential treatment to the colored people over the black people. Not only did black people get paid less than white people they also had to do the more rigorous jobs.

Representative Natives Act

1936

This removed black people from the electoral role and placed them on a separate role. This is significant by taking the voice that black people had in the government, they had no voice representing them.

Prohibition of Mixed Marriage Act

1949

This prohibited the marriage between the different races. This is significant because it shows the government's desperation when it comes to the interaction between the whites and the colored people.

Population Registration Act

1950

This act created a national registry that was based on biological factors which separated the population into three different races. The category of race that one person fell into determined the amount of opportunities they would have in their future in terms of education and career. This was significant because it reveals the entire purpose of Apartheid which is to separate the races.

Group Areas Act

1950

This act declared that the cities were for whites only. This was significant because it showed that non whites could no longer occupy the same space as whites. This was not only demeaning but it also prevented any positive interaction between whites and nonwhites.

Bantu Education Act

1953

This act stated that all schools had to be segregated and only have one race of students attending one school. This was significant because it prevented black children from getting the education necessary for a secure future. Also, the curriculum that was taught in black schools was demeaning to the children.

Reservation of Separate Amenities Act

1953

This act stated that all public amenities were ti be segregated by race. This was significant because it is considered the epitome of petty Apartheid. Everything had a whites only sign and members of other groups faced imprisonment if they disregarded this act.

Native Resettlement Act

1954

This act was meant to clear out the black spots which caused the resettlement areas to become very crowded. This act was significant because it further pushed people into crowded areas causing more and more poverty.