Apartheid was a period of legally enforced racial segregation in South Africa and South West Africa from 1948 to 1994. Apartheid was defined by authoritarian politics founded on the Dutch colonial concept of baasskap (boss-hood). This institutionalized inequality created a system in which the entire country was ruled by a minority of white European settlers. White citizens held the highest social status and were given the best work, housing, and political opportunities.
This system resulted in the cruel and brutal mistreatment of Black South Africans. Apartheid allowed for broad racial segregation across different aspects of public life, including restrooms, social gatherings, housing, and employment. The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act (1949) and the Immorality Amendment Act (1950) banned interracial relationships and marriages. The Population Registration Act (1950) required all South Africans to register as one of four racial groups. In the period between 1960 and 1983, 3.5 million Black South Africans were forcibly evicted from their homes and placed into segregated neighborhoods due to apartheid political policies. They were also stripped of their South African citizenship.
A key feature of this systemic oppression was pass laws, a passport system that required Black South Africans to carry passbooks on them at all times. This allowed white legal officials and politicians to limit and control the employment, housing, and general movement of Black citizens. It provided white citizens with a legal bulwark to enforce racial segregation. These laws remained in place until 1986.
Apartheid also resulted in a number of civil uprisings. During the 1970s and 1980s, these protest movements took on a more militant leaning and were met with harsh retaliation from the ruling National Party government. These crackdowns resulted in the death and detention of thousands of citizens. This systemic racism also received heavy criticism from the United Nations which imposed arms embargoes and economic sanctions on South Africa.
Finally, from 1987 to 1993, the African National Congress, the central anti-apartheid political movement, held negotiations with the National Party and successfully argued for the end of segregation policies and the introduction of majority rule. The tides continued to turn in 1990 when Nelson Mandela, a major figure in the ANC party, was released from prison after being detained for 27 years. Apartheid legislation was successfully repealed on June 17, 1991. Subsequently, multiracial elections were held in April 1994. Mandela took office in May of the same year, becoming the first Black chief executive in the country's history.
