Protests and action against apartheid, 1948–1964
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Question
What was apartheid?
Answer
The South African system of laws, built by the National Party after 1948, that separated people by race and gave power to whites.
Question
What was the Defiance Campaign of 1952?
Answer
A mass protest where about 8,000 volunteers broke apartheid laws peacefully and let themselves be arrested; it grew the ANC to around 100,000 members.
Question
What was the Freedom Charter (1955)?
Answer
A document adopted at the Congress of the People in Kliptown that declared South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white.
Question
What happened at Sharpeville on 21 March 1960?
Answer
Police opened fire on a peaceful anti-pass protest, killing 69 people; the government then banned the ANC and PAC.
Question
What was Umkhonto we Sizwe?
Answer
The ANC's armed wing, meaning 'Spear of the Nation', formed in 1961 to carry out sabotage after peaceful protest was banned.
Question
What was the Rivonia Trial (1963–64)?
Answer
The trial after police raided a farm in Rivonia; on 12 June 1964 Mandela and seven others were sentenced to life in prison.
Question
Define passive resistance.
Answer
Protesting peacefully by breaking unjust laws on purpose, without using violence.
Question
Why did the ANC turn to sabotage in 1961?
Answer
After Sharpeville the government banned the ANC and PAC, so legal peaceful protest was impossible; leaders felt sabotage was the only remaining option.
Question
What were the three stages of resistance, 1948–1964?
Answer
Peaceful protest (1952–1955), state crackdown (1960), then armed struggle (1961).
Question
How effective were the protests by 1964?
Answer
They built a mass movement and drew world attention, but did not end apartheid, and by 1964 the leaders were jailed.
Question
What does the command term 'evaluate' require?
Answer
A judgement: weigh how far something succeeded and reach a supported conclusion, not just a list.
Question
Which party built apartheid, and when did it win power?
Answer
The National Party, which won the South African election in 1948.
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Topic 4.2 hub
Apartheid South Africa (1948–1964)
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