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Black Land Act No 27
This law prohibited blacks from owning or renting land outside of designated areas (which was 7% of land in the country). This negatively impacted as they saw most of the land reserved for whites despite making up more than 50% of the population. This law was significant as it laid the groundwork for apartheid in the coming years. -
Native (Black) Urban Areas Act No 21
This law made each local authority responsible for the blacks in its area. ‘Native advisory boards’ regulated influx control and removed those who weren't employed in the area. The country was divided into prescribed (urban) and non- prescribed areas, movement between the two being strictly controlled. This made it harder for blacks to travel between cities, restricting them to a certain area. -
Black (Native) Administration Act No 38
This law gave the minister the power to banish a tribe from one place to another within the Republic of South Africa, without prior notice. It also set up a separate legal system for the administration of African law. It also prohibited any black person from acting hostile to any European. This law was used extensively to carry out forced removals. -
Development Trust and Land Act No 18
Expanded the reserves to a total of 13.6% of the land in South Africa and authorized the Department of Bantu Administration and Development to eliminate ‘black spots’ (black-owned land surrounded by white-owned land). The South African Development Trust (SADT) was established and could acquire land in each of the provinces for black settlement. This law forced restricted blacks from owning farms and forced them to seek work in large farms and cities outside of their residential areas. -
Black (Native) Laws Amendment Act No 46
Prohibited acquisition of land in urban areas by blacks from non-blacks except with the Governor-General’s consent. This law severely restricted the mobility of the black population. -
Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act No 55
This law prohibited marriages between whites and members of other racial groups in an attempt to maintain the separation of the races. -
Group Areas Act No 41
This law required racial groups to live in one specified area designated to their classification group. This resulted in non-blacks being given smaller areas, despite making up more of the population. It also resulted in the further separation of blacks and whites. -
Prevention of Illegal Squatting Act No 52
This law prohibited people from entering land or a building without lawful reason, or staying there without the owner’s permission. Magistrates were given powers to order squatters out of urban areas, destroy their homes and move them to another place. -
Sexual Offences Act (Immorality Act) No 23 (s 16)
This law made it an offense for a white person to have intercourse with a black person or to commit any ‘immoral or indecent act. This law was significant as it allowed officers to come into someone's house at any hour of the night in order to catch them in an "immoral act." It also put people who had close relations with white people under scrutiny. -
Black Labor Act No 67
This law consolidated the laws that regulated the recruiting, employment, accommodation, feeding and health conditions of black laborers. This law made it harder for blacks to look for and get jobs in towns unless they went through the state labor bureau. The significance of this law is that it created even more obstacles for blacks to make it in life.
