The background to the 1981 Springbok tour
Apartheid
One of the main reasons which lead to the 1981 Springbok Tour was the Apartheid in South Africa. Apartheid is an Afrikaans word meaning apartness or separation, during the 1920s and 1930s the white South African government passed many laws to segregate their society.The sole purpose of this was to keep white people in control of politics and the economy, because they new that the black people were the dominant race in South Africa. The white people were worried about their futures, as many black people did well in business and farming. The white people being outnumbered by nearly 4 to 1 made them easily determined to maintain control over the black population. There were 2 race groups which were white and spoke english; British and Afrikaners, but they did not always get on well. And even with that obstacle as fellow whites they realised that they still had many common interest. One was to stay on top of the social chain by making black people inferior to them. But only in 1948 when the National Party was voted into power after the general election the Apartheid began. And as the country already was racially segregated for many years before, it was inevitable that South Africa would develop such extreme polices and racial discrimination.
One of the main reasons which lead to the 1981 Springbok Tour was the Apartheid in South Africa. Apartheid is an Afrikaans word meaning apartness or separation, during the 1920s and 1930s the white South African government passed many laws to segregate their society.The sole purpose of this was to keep white people in control of politics and the economy, because they new that the black people were the dominant race in South Africa. The white people were worried about their futures, as many black people did well in business and farming. The white people being outnumbered by nearly 4 to 1 made them easily determined to maintain control over the black population. There were 2 race groups which were white and spoke english; British and Afrikaners, but they did not always get on well. And even with that obstacle as fellow whites they realised that they still had many common interest. One was to stay on top of the social chain by making black people inferior to them. But only in 1948 when the National Party was voted into power after the general election the Apartheid began. And as the country already was racially segregated for many years before, it was inevitable that South Africa would develop such extreme polices and racial discrimination.
After gaining power and control of the government at last, the Afrikaners Nationalist group started to get rid of the white majority who had top positions and only spoke english. It was easier to appoint Afrikaners with the more important roles in the government as they made up 60% of the white population in South Africa. And the purpose of this was to reduce their control in the rising economy, this white supremacist group also used this to fully instate the policy of Apartheid and gain white domination over the black people. In 1953 the Bantu education act was passed, which caused disruption amongst the black population as this was a law that created segregation in schools and education systems for blacks and whites. As they were seen as inferior beings, blacks were trained to prepare for a life of hard labouring jobs in the working class since the whites didn't expect that they would be capable of doing anything more than that. The black people weren't treated equally in any sense, the whites thought that if they were taught any more than that, then they would eventually over throw there white government. So to prevent any chance of that happening, segregated schools were necessary.
But this was not the only case as the Apartheid was applied to most aspects of black peoples daily lives. And in theory more laws were passed such as; 'Each race would have its own are to develop separately in its own way.' Which meant that the whites created separate homelands, to segregate there society and literally stops any black person from being a citizen of South Africa. Another law was that all black Africans were made to carry a 'pass' which was like an ID card and was to be presented to the white police whenever they wanted to see t. And if any black person didn't have their pass on them, then they would be immediately arrested or beaten. Which shows how superior the whites are over the blacks and how they are treated unfairly. As the apartheid reached the smallest details of everyday life, another law passed was to segregate diners, beaches, toilets and all other facilities, and most of the time the Black peoples community was far less funded than those of white people. The black majority despised the Apartheid, as it made there lives difficult, and they couldn't do a thing about it because they had absolutely no power or control to make a difference so all they could do was work hard labouring jobs for the white people and live through their lives in harsh racial discrimination.
Sharpeville Massacre
On March the 21st 1960, a huge demonstration was planned with approximately 300 Black Africans, protesting against the past laws in the town of Sharpeville. The activist group in charge was the ANC ( African National Congress) who were working within the law to fight against racial discrimination in South Africa. The general Rademeyer stated at a press conference that, "I have appealed to the African people to make sure that this campaign is conducted in a spirit of absolute non-violence, and I am quite certain they will heed my call... We will provide them with an opportunity to demonstrate to the world how brutal they can be." Protesters were determined and resolved for some sort of physical response from the opposing side. 69 people were killed and at least 180 were severely injured, although this was the violent outcome that they had hoped for it was also devastating to see that not only were they using violence but police also opened fired on many people.
On March the 21st 1960, a huge demonstration was planned with approximately 300 Black Africans, protesting against the past laws in the town of Sharpeville. The activist group in charge was the ANC ( African National Congress) who were working within the law to fight against racial discrimination in South Africa. The general Rademeyer stated at a press conference that, "I have appealed to the African people to make sure that this campaign is conducted in a spirit of absolute non-violence, and I am quite certain they will heed my call... We will provide them with an opportunity to demonstrate to the world how brutal they can be." Protesters were determined and resolved for some sort of physical response from the opposing side. 69 people were killed and at least 180 were severely injured, although this was the violent outcome that they had hoped for it was also devastating to see that not only were they using violence but police also opened fired on many people.
As the result of this event, worldwide condemnation of South Africa was prompted. Many nations saw that there government was racially corrupted, and they realised that they Apartheid was morally wrong. The fact that police used batons and fired tear gas at the protesters, shows that even though it was a silent protest from the black people, the white police automatically took up arms and used violence without a second thought because the protesters were black. Because of this huge Massacre it really changed the worlds perspective of South Africa, and it showed them how racist there country was. There was no such thing as equality, the black people suffered everyday of there lives just because the white people wanted to be superior. But even though lives were lost, for the black people of South Africa it was a success in showing the world how violent the white government was and how the Apartheid needed to be broken.
Soweto Uprising
As the racial policies of South Africa became known to the world, the black majority felt more stronger as the activist group gained more support and followers from all nation around the world. On June the 16th 1976 high school students in Soweto started protesting for better education systems in black schools. Because of the Apartheid schools were segregated to separate the black from the white people. But the schools weren't equal, they were far less funded than white schools, R644 was spent a year on a white child's education whereas only R42 is spent on a black child. The Bantu act was passed because the government said that they should have a curriculum made to suite the 'nature and requirements of the black people.' Not only did they have poor facilities but, they also were given lower levels of education because it wasn't expected that a black person was capable of what a white person was. They also had poorly trained teachers and bad quality resources to use. The students were fed up with this unequal system, they wanted better education that would give them a better future in life. And they knew that if didn't stand up to the white people then they would always be at the bottom of the social chain and live there lives as nothing more than house servants or labourers.
As the racial policies of South Africa became known to the world, the black majority felt more stronger as the activist group gained more support and followers from all nation around the world. On June the 16th 1976 high school students in Soweto started protesting for better education systems in black schools. Because of the Apartheid schools were segregated to separate the black from the white people. But the schools weren't equal, they were far less funded than white schools, R644 was spent a year on a white child's education whereas only R42 is spent on a black child. The Bantu act was passed because the government said that they should have a curriculum made to suite the 'nature and requirements of the black people.' Not only did they have poor facilities but, they also were given lower levels of education because it wasn't expected that a black person was capable of what a white person was. They also had poorly trained teachers and bad quality resources to use. The students were fed up with this unequal system, they wanted better education that would give them a better future in life. And they knew that if didn't stand up to the white people then they would always be at the bottom of the social chain and live there lives as nothing more than house servants or labourers.
Students that day in Soweto marched down the streets setting fire to symbols of Apartheid, such as government buildings and businesses owned by white people, police were sent to form a line in front of the protesters. The students were ordered to break up, but they held there ground and ignored the police. Policeman then responded by releasing police dogs and firing tear gas, students fought back by throwing bottles and stones at them. Other police fired there guns at the crowd without any warning, this was followed by the rest of the squad as they took up their arms and began to shoot at the students. This battle continued into the night as Anti-riot vehicles arrived and Army helicopters dropped tear gas on gatherings of students. On the 17th as dawn broke, the result of the chaos and violence was devastating. There were burnt out cars which blocked the roads, and literally all community buildings were burnt to the ground. Dead bodies were found lying all over the ground, with over 600 hundred students killed and many more severely injured. After the third day of rioting, the minister of Bantu Education made the decision to shut down all schools in Soweto. As pictures of this was streamed around the world, the rioting soon spread to other towns. The protest was able to branch out as coloured and Indian students joined their black comrades. Students were reckless without a care for their safety, as police tried to quell the rioters but they still fought with sheer determination because even with force they did not back down.
African countries boycott Olympics
In 1976 at the opening ceremony of the Olympic games in Montreal, 25 African countries planned to boycott the games. The cause of this was because New Zealand was participating in the Olympics, this impacted significantly on the games as African nations dominated the Athletics competitions. And if they were to with draw then there was no possible way that the Olympic games would be any success. The African participants thought this because New Zealand was seen as a racist country for supporting South Africa's Apartheid, by allowing the Springboks to tour New Zealand even after all the other countries stopped having any sporting contact with them, New Zealand still accepted. Not only was there world condemnation of South Africa but New Zealand's status in the world was also the lowest it had ever been. This attitude was one of the reasons that lead to the violent Anti-tour protest in New Zealand in 1981.
In 1976 at the opening ceremony of the Olympic games in Montreal, 25 African countries planned to boycott the games. The cause of this was because New Zealand was participating in the Olympics, this impacted significantly on the games as African nations dominated the Athletics competitions. And if they were to with draw then there was no possible way that the Olympic games would be any success. The African participants thought this because New Zealand was seen as a racist country for supporting South Africa's Apartheid, by allowing the Springboks to tour New Zealand even after all the other countries stopped having any sporting contact with them, New Zealand still accepted. Not only was there world condemnation of South Africa but New Zealand's status in the world was also the lowest it had ever been. This attitude was one of the reasons that lead to the violent Anti-tour protest in New Zealand in 1981.
Apartheid continued
On September 12th 1977, Anti-Apartheid activist who was in charge of and organised the Soweto student protest; Steve Bilko. Bilko was arrested on August the 18th that year, he was killed while in the custody of police. It was said that his death was caused by severe brain damage, but this was mostly likely from being beaten the death by white supremacist policeman. Which shows how the government would go to such lengths just to stop these student protests, there was no way that they would let black people be superior to them.
On September 12th 1977, Anti-Apartheid activist who was in charge of and organised the Soweto student protest; Steve Bilko. Bilko was arrested on August the 18th that year, he was killed while in the custody of police. It was said that his death was caused by severe brain damage, but this was mostly likely from being beaten the death by white supremacist policeman. Which shows how the government would go to such lengths just to stop these student protests, there was no way that they would let black people be superior to them.
In 1990, after 27 years in prison, the Anti-Apartheid activist Nelson Mandela was released from prison after being sentenced to life in there. With help from the President of South Africa; Frederik Willem de Klerk. It was said that he supported the Apartheid but he still lifted the ban on the ANC, the president set Mandela free but he stated that there was still much more work to be done in order to end the Apartheid.
4 years later the world knew the truth of these racial policies in South Africa, and with the support of numerous nations around the globe South Africa was able to hold a new election free of the white government. On May the 10th 1994 Nelson Mandela became the new President of South Africa, the country held its very first election where not only white but finally black people could vote too. Mandela became the first ever black president in all of South African history, as black people gained back there freedom the Apartheid was officially dismantled.
4 years later the world knew the truth of these racial policies in South Africa, and with the support of numerous nations around the globe South Africa was able to hold a new election free of the white government. On May the 10th 1994 Nelson Mandela became the new President of South Africa, the country held its very first election where not only white but finally black people could vote too. Mandela became the first ever black president in all of South African history, as black people gained back there freedom the Apartheid was officially dismantled.