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Period: to
Apartheid Laws
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The Natives Land Act of 1913
Prohibited Africans from renting or owning any land outside designated native reserves. This forced approximately 2/3 of the population to reside in about 7.5% of the total land in South Africa. This act was one of the first acts to promote the actual physical separation of blacks and whites in South Africa. -
The Natives (Urban Areas) Act of 1923
This acts prohibited black South Africans from residing within the cities. The act also required that blacks carry special passes when entering the cities. It emphasized the white nationalist government need for separation and regulation of races. -
Wage Act of 1925
This act gave more preferential treatment to whites. It allowed fixed minimum wages for "civilized" jobs mainly occupied by whites, while not ensuring minimum pay for "uncivilized" jobs occupied by blacks. The act was significant by emphasizing the though that South African whites were superior to blacks making it more difficult for blacks to sustain their families and daily lives. -
Representative Natives Act of 1936
This act forced blacked to vote on separate rolls than the whites. It also restricted blacks from holding any electoral positions. The act was significant by not allowing for the blacks' voices to be heard and taking away their power. -
Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act of 1949
This act prohibited marriages between people of different races. It was one of the first pieces off Apartheid legislation to be passed after the National Party's rise to power in 1948. The act was significant because it initiated the physical separation of races in South Africa. -
Population Registration Act of 1950
This act was an essential component of Apartheid because it divided and classified the different racial groups in South Africa. This act created a national population registry that was base on biological factors. There were three groups: white, colored, and Bantu. The act was a way of keeping track of the different races to make it easier for the Apartheid government to separate them. -
The Bantu Education Act of 1953
The act made it mandatory for schools to have students of only one racial group. Africans were forwarded to direct control of Native Affairs department. It created separate school boards with each a different distinct curriculum. This made it so that blacks could only have rudimentary technical skills and basic levels of literacy. Its significance was that is linked Petty and Grand Apartheid by preparing Africans for a life of economic servitude. -
Reservation of Separate Amenities Act of 1953
This act applied strict segregation of everyday, public amenities. Things like buses, trains, restrooms, hospitals, and restaurants had separate entrances or seats for specific races. This act's significance is that it helped to initiate the separation of races throughout daily lives. -
The Group Areas Development Act of 1955
This act was an attempt for Apartheid government to clear the "black spots" in cities. Instead, they wanted blacks to reside in certain allocated areas away from the white cities. An example of this was Sophiatown and it showed the Apartheid radical attempts to separate the races. -
Bantu Self-Governing Act of 1959
This act divided the African population into eight distinct groups. Each of these groups were assigned a white commissioner-general who was in charge of making the political transition to full self-government. The result of this was that black south Africans were no longer the government's responsibility and it completely abolished African representation in parliament.
