Apartheid in South Africa, 1948 to 1994: segregation laws, resistance, sanctions, and the transition to democracy.
Last updated: October 2026
Apartheid was a system of racial segregation and political and economic discrimination enforced in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. Under apartheid, the white minority government classified the population by race and used law to control where people could live, work, travel, study, marry, and vote. The system reserved political power and much of the land and wealth for the white minority, while the Black majority, along with Coloured and Indian South Africans, lived under far-reaching restrictions. Apartheid ended after decades of internal resistance and international pressure, followed by negotiations that produced a democratic constitution and the first elections in which all adults could vote, held in 1994.
The word apartheid comes from Afrikaans and means separateness or apartness. It described a policy that its supporters presented as separate development, and that its opponents described as a system of domination. The laws of apartheid built on earlier segregation in South Africa, but after 1948 they became more systematic, more detailed, and more strictly enforced. Race classification shaped identity documents, residence, employment, education, health care, transport, and public life. The police, the courts, and a large bureaucracy enforced the rules, and opposition was met with banning, detention, exile, imprisonment, and violence.
This entry traces the origins of apartheid, the course of events from the National Party victory of 1948 through the democratic transition of the early 1990s, the people who shaped and opposed the system, and the consequences that continued after apartheid formally ended. It draws on the work of historians, on South African archives and museums, and on the records of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which investigated gross human rights violations committed during the apartheid period.
Segregation in South Africa did not begin in 1948. Dutch settlers arrived at the Cape in the seventeenth century, and British colonial rule followed in the nineteenth. Land dispossession, slavery at the Cape, and the expansion of settler farming and mining created a racial hierarchy long before the word apartheid was used. In 1913, the Natives Land Act restricted Black land ownership to a small share of the country, reserving most land for white ownership. Later laws tightened urban segregation, restricted movement, and limited Black political representation. By the time the National Party won power, South Africa already had a long history of racial law.
The economy also shaped segregation. Gold and diamond mining, commercial farming, and industry depended on cheap Black labour. Pass laws and labour controls directed workers to mines, farms, and cities while denying them permanent residence rights in urban areas. Employers benefited from a system that kept wages low and workers mobile and controlled. At the same time, many white workers feared competition from Black workers and supported job reservation and other protections. Racial policy and economic interest reinforced each other, and apartheid gave both a legal framework.
Afrikaner nationalism was a central political force. Afrikaners, descendants of Dutch, German, and French settlers, had fought the British in the South African War at the turn of the twentieth century and had built a nationalist movement that emphasized language, religion, culture, and political self-assertion. The National Party, founded in 1914, became the vehicle for that movement. It drew support from Afrikaner farmers, workers, teachers, clergy, and professionals, and it promised to protect Afrikaner identity and white dominance in a country where white people were a minority. The party also drew on churches, schools, cultural organisations, and the press to spread its message.
The Second World War and its aftermath changed South African politics. Wartime industry drew large numbers of Black workers into cities, and urban segregation became harder to enforce. The government of Jan Smuts, which led South Africa during the war, faced pressure from business for a more flexible labour system and from white voters who feared urban change. A government commission known as the Fagan Commission recommended a cautious relaxation of influx control, recognising that Black urban workers were a permanent part of the economy. The National Party opposed that direction and campaigned in 1948 on a platform of apartheid, promising strict segregation, firm control of movement, and separate development. It won a narrow parliamentary victory, with fewer votes than its opponents but more seats, and began to build the apartheid state.
The early apartheid government moved quickly to turn its platform into law. It created a legal system of racial classification, prohibited mixed marriages, reserved residential areas by race, and tightened control of movement. It also began to reshape education, labour law, and local government along racial lines. Over the following decades, successive National Party governments extended the system, created separate institutions for different racial groups, and established the Bantustans, or homelands, as a central part of the policy of separate development. Resistance grew alongside the system, inside South Africa and abroad, and the conflict between the apartheid state and its opponents defined South African history for nearly half a century.
Historians debate how far apartheid was a break with the past and how far it was a continuation of earlier segregation. Some stress the new intensity and organisation after 1948, including the use of modern bureaucracy, identity documents, and planning to enforce separation in daily life. Others stress the continuities with colonial and Union-era segregation, including land law, pass laws, and labour controls that predated the National Party. Both views capture part of the truth. Apartheid was rooted in a long history of dispossession and segregation, and it also represented a deliberate and far-reaching attempt to reorganise the whole society on racial lines.
The apartheid era can be divided into several phases. The first phase, from 1948 to the early 1960s, saw the construction of the legal framework and the suppression of early mass opposition. The second phase, from the early 1960s to the mid-1970s, was a period of apparent stability for the government, during which the economy grew and the main liberation organisations were banned or driven into exile. The third phase, from the Soweto uprising of 1976 through the 1980s, brought sustained internal revolt, states of emergency, and growing international isolation. The final phase, from the late 1980s to 1994, brought negotiations, the release of political prisoners, and the democratic transition.
In the first years after 1948, Parliament passed a series of laws that defined apartheid. The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act of 1949 banned marriages between white people and people of other races. The Population Registration Act of 1950 required all South Africans to be classified into racial groups. The Group Areas Act of 1950 provided for residential areas to be reserved for particular racial groups, and its enforcement led to the forced removal of whole communities from areas declared white. The Suppression of Communism Act of 1950 gave the government broad powers to ban organisations and individuals. The Bantu Authorities Act of 1951 created separate authorities for Black communities in the reserves, laying the groundwork for the homelands policy.
The Pass Laws were among the most resented instruments of apartheid. Black South Africans were required to carry reference books, known as passes, that recorded identity, employment, and permission to be in an urban area. Police could demand the pass at any time, and failure to produce it could lead to arrest. The pass system controlled movement, limited the right to live and work in cities, and made daily life uncertain and humiliating for millions of people. Women, who had long resisted passes, organised a major protest march to Pretoria in 1956, and the pass system remained a central focus of resistance for decades.
The Bantustans, also called homelands, were a central part of the ideology of separate development. The government designated areas, largely on land already set aside under earlier law, as national homes for different Black ethnic groups. It argued that Black South Africans would exercise political rights in these homelands rather than in South Africa as a whole. In practice, the homelands were generally poor, fragmented, and dependent on South Africa for employment and revenue. Millions of people were removed to the homelands or to townships, and the policy stripped many Black South Africans of South African citizenship when the homelands were declared independent by Pretoria. No country other than South Africa recognised these homelands as independent states.
Resistance took many forms. The African National Congress, founded in 1912, led mass campaigns in the 1950s, including the Defiance Campaign of 1952, in which volunteers deliberately broke unjust laws and accepted arrest. The Congress Alliance adopted the Freedom Charter in 1955 at the Congress of the People in Kliptown, declaring that South Africa belonged to all who lived in it. Churches, trade unions, student organisations, and community groups organised boycotts, strikes, and protests. The Pan Africanist Congress, formed in 1959 after a split from the African National Congress, favoured a more exclusively African nationalist approach and organised its own campaigns, including the anti-pass campaign that led to Sharpeville.
On 21 March 1960, police opened fire on a crowd of protesters at Sharpeville, a township south of Johannesburg, killing many people and wounding many more. The massacre shocked South Africa and the world, and it marked a turning point. The government declared a state of emergency, banned the African National Congress and the Pan Africanist Congress, and detained thousands of people. In response, the liberation movements turned to armed struggle. Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing associated with the African National Congress, began sabotage operations in 1961. In 1963, police arrested leading figures at Rivonia, near Johannesburg. At the Rivonia Trial of 1963 to 1964, Nelson Mandela and others were convicted of sabotage and sentenced to life imprisonment. Mandela spent many years on Robben Island, becoming the most widely known symbol of the struggle against apartheid.
The 1960s and early 1970s were years of economic growth and relative quiet on the surface, but the underlying grievances remained. The government expanded the homelands policy, tightened security laws, and censored the press. At the same time, Black workers, students, and community organisations continued to organise. The Black Consciousness movement, associated with Steve Biko, encouraged Black South Africans to assert their dignity and to organise independently of white liberals. Trade unions grew, and strikes in the early 1970s showed that Black workers could exert economic power even without formal political rights.
The Soweto uprising of 1976 changed the course of the struggle. On 16 June 1976, students in Soweto marched to protest a government order that Afrikaans be used as a language of instruction in Black schools. Police fired on the marchers, and the protest spread to townships across the country. The uprising continued for months, and the confrontation between students and the security forces left a deep mark on South African politics. The government banned many organisations and detained and killed activists, including Steve Biko, who died in police custody in 1977. Internationally, the Soweto uprising and the death of Biko increased condemnation of apartheid and support for sanctions.
The 1980s brought sustained revolt and repression. Township organisations, civic associations, youth groups, and unions formed the United Democratic Front in 1983 to oppose a new constitution that gave limited representation to Coloured and Indian South Africans while excluding the Black majority. Rent boycotts, school boycotts, strikes, and street protests spread. The government declared states of emergency in 1985 and 1986, detained tens of thousands of people, restricted the press, and deployed troops in townships. Violence also occurred between rival political groups, and the conflict became increasingly complex. The economy suffered from sanctions, disinvestment, debt pressures, and the costs of repression, and business leaders began to call for reform.
International pressure grew through the 1970s and 1980s. The United Nations General Assembly condemned apartheid, and the Security Council imposed a mandatory arms embargo in 1977. Governments, churches, universities, trade unions, and cultural and sporting bodies organised boycotts and divestment campaigns. The Commonwealth, the European Community, and the United States adopted measures that restricted trade, investment, and lending. Sporting boycotts isolated South Africa from international rugby, cricket, and Olympic competition. These measures did not by themselves end apartheid, but they raised its costs, limited access to finance and technology, and reinforced the sense that the apartheid state was internationally isolated.
By the late 1980s, the conditions for a negotiated settlement were forming. The Cold War was ending, which changed the regional and international context. South Africa withdrew from Angola and Namibia moved toward independence. The economy was under strain, and neither the government nor the liberation movements could impose a military victory. Within the governing party, a new leadership under F. W. de Klerk concluded that reform was necessary. In February 1990, de Klerk announced the unbanning of the African National Congress and other organisations, the release of political prisoners, and the lifting of restrictions. Nelson Mandela walked free after decades in prison. Negotiations followed, often difficult and marked by violence, and led to an interim constitution, the election of 1994, and the formation of a government of national unity.
Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) was a lawyer, a leader of the African National Congress, and the first President of democratic South Africa. He joined the African National Congress in the 1940s, helped to organise mass campaigns in the 1950s, and was a founder of Umkhonto we Sizwe. After the Rivonia Trial he spent many years in prison, most of them on Robben Island. He was released in 1990, led the negotiations that ended apartheid, and served as President from 1994 to 1999. He is remembered for his emphasis on reconciliation and for his role in the peaceful transition to democracy.
Oliver Tambo (1917-1993) was a lawyer and a central leader of the African National Congress. He helped to form the ANC Youth League in the 1940s, served as the organisation's president in exile for many years, and built international support for the struggle against apartheid. He coordinated diplomacy, fundraising, and the organisation of exiles, and he worked to keep the movement united through decades of repression. He returned to South Africa in 1990 and played a part in the negotiations that followed.
Walter Sisulu (1912-2003) was a trade unionist and a senior leader of the African National Congress. He recruited many younger activists, including Mandela and Tambo, into the movement, and he served as secretary-general. He was convicted at the Rivonia Trial and spent many years on Robben Island. After his release in 1989, he continued to play a part in the transition and in the early years of democratic government.
Albert Luthuli (1898-1967) was a teacher, a chief, and President-General of the African National Congress in the 1950s. He advocated nonviolent resistance and led the organisation through the Defiance Campaign and the adoption of the Freedom Charter. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1960 for his opposition to apartheid. The government restricted his movements, and he remained a respected figure in the struggle until his death.
Robert Sobukwe (1924-1978) was a teacher and a founder of the Pan Africanist Congress. He broke with the African National Congress over questions of African nationalism and the role of other groups in the liberation struggle. He led the anti-pass campaign that culminated at Sharpeville in 1960. He was arrested on the day of the massacre and spent years in prison, including time on Robben Island, followed by banning and restriction until his death.
Steve Biko (1946-1977) was a student leader and a founder of the Black Consciousness movement. He argued that Black South Africans should define their own identity and organise independently, and he helped to build student and community organisations. He was banned by the government and detained several times. He died in police custody in 1977, and his death became a major focus of domestic and international condemnation of apartheid.
Desmond Tutu (1931-2021) was an Anglican cleric who became Archbishop of Cape Town. He was a prominent critic of apartheid, an advocate of nonviolent change, and a supporter of sanctions. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. After the democratic transition, he chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which investigated gross human rights violations and heard testimony from victims and perpetrators.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (1936-2018) was a social worker and activist who became a leading figure in the internal resistance while Nelson Mandela was in prison. She was detained, banned, and banished by the apartheid authorities, and she remained a visible symbol of the struggle inside South Africa. After the transition, she served in Parliament and in government. Her record remains debated, including her role in violence in Soweto in the 1980s, which the Truth and Reconciliation Commission examined.
Hendrik Verwoerd (1901-1966) was a sociologist, newspaper editor, and National Party politician who became Prime Minister in 1958. As Minister of Native Affairs in the 1950s, he shaped the Bantu education system and the homelands policy. He is widely regarded as a principal architect of apartheid as a system of separate development. He was assassinated in Parliament in 1966.
F. W. de Klerk (1936-2021) was a National Party politician who became State President in 1989. In February 1990, he announced the unbanning of the African National Congress and other organisations and the release of political prisoners, including Mandela. He led the government side in the negotiations that produced the interim constitution and the 1994 elections. He shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Mandela in 1993 and served as Deputy President in the government of national unity.
The end of apartheid brought a democratic constitution, a Bill of Rights, and a Constitutional Court. The new constitution protected equality, dignity, freedom of expression, and freedom of association, and it provided for an independent judiciary. The elections of 1994 gave all adults the vote for the first time in South African history. The government of national unity included the African National Congress, the National Party, and the Inkatha Freedom Party, and it set out to rebuild institutions, extend services, and address the inequalities created by apartheid.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, established in 1995, was one of the most widely discussed responses to the apartheid past. Chaired by Desmond Tutu, it heard testimony from victims and from perpetrators who sought amnesty in exchange for full disclosure of politically motivated crimes. The Commission produced a multi-volume report that documented patterns of killing, torture, detention, and other abuses. Supporters argued that it helped to establish a public record and to promote reconciliation. Critics argued that amnesty let serious offenders escape prosecution, that many victims did not receive adequate reparations, and that the economic structures of apartheid were not fully addressed. The debate continues among historians, lawyers, and South Africans who lived through the period.
Economically, the legacy of apartheid was deep and durable. Apartheid had concentrated land, capital, and skilled work in white hands, while Black South Africans had been confined to low-wage labour, inferior education, and under-served townships and homelands. After 1994, the democratic government extended electricity, water, housing, and social grants, and it introduced policies intended to broaden Black ownership and employment. Progress was real, but inequality remained high, unemployment remained severe, and land reform proceeded slowly. The persistence of poverty and inequality in a democratic South Africa is one of the most important and most debated consequences of the apartheid era.
Socially, apartheid left patterns of residential segregation, unequal schools, and divided communities that did not disappear with the repeal of the laws. Townships and suburbs remained largely separate in practice, even where the law no longer required it. Language, culture, and memory also remained contested. Public holidays, monuments, museums, and school curricula were reshaped to reflect a broader national story, but disagreements about how to remember apartheid, the liberation struggle, and the transition continue. Robben Island, the Apartheid Museum, and other sites preserve the history for new generations, and the annual commemoration of the Soweto uprising remains a national day for youth.
Internationally, the struggle against apartheid became a reference point for movements against racial discrimination and for human rights. The sanctions and boycott campaigns influenced later debates about how the international community should respond to authoritarian rule and to gross human rights violations. The negotiated transition also became a widely studied case of conflict resolution, showing that a deeply divided society could move from authoritarian rule to democracy through negotiation, even amid violence and distrust. At the same time, scholars note that the South African settlement was shaped by its own circumstances, and that its lessons do not transfer simply to other countries.
The historical debate about apartheid continues. Historians disagree about the relative importance of internal resistance and international pressure, about the economic costs and benefits of the system for different groups, about the role of individuals and organisations, and about the achievements and limits of the transition. What is not in dispute is the scale of the system and the suffering it caused, and the significance of its end. Apartheid is now remembered in South Africa and around the world as a system that used law to enforce racial domination, and as a struggle in which millions of people, inside and outside the country, worked to bring it to an end.
