CASE STUDY: SOUTH AFRICA: THE RISE OF AFRICAN

NATIONALISM

Grade: 11Term: 3

Topic: 4 – NATIONALISMS – SOUTH AFRICA, THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

Sub-Topic: CHAPTER 2 – CASE STUDY: SOUTH AFRICA: THE RISE OF AFRICAN NATIONALISM

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1. African People’s Organisation (APO)• Formed at the end of the South African War (1899-

1902).

• Consisted of educated coloureds.

• It aimed to defend the social, political, and economicrights of coloureds and to oppose any laws on racialrights of coloureds and to oppose any laws on racialdiscrimination.

• Its methods were non-confrontational.

• Its main focus was to ensure that the voting rightsfor coloureds and blacks in the Cape remained andwould be extended to Natal and the two formerBoer republics, the Transvaal and Orange Free State.

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• When the draft constitution of the SouthAfrican Union was being debated in 1909,the APO realised that all black people wouldbe denied the right to vote in the new SouthAfrican Union.

• In response, the APO sent a delegation of its

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• In response, the APO sent a delegation of itsmembers to London to appeal to Britain toreject the draft Act of Union and guaranteeequal voting rights to all ‘civilised’ men.

• Despite the APO’s efforts, the draft Act waspassed, because the British governmentbelieved that reconciling white English andAfrikaner South Africans was moreimportant than votes for black SouthAfricans.

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Africans.

• Nonetheless, the APO continued to play aprominent resistance role in shaping blackpolitical thought and action during the firsthalf of the 20th century.

2. THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL NATIVES CONGRESS (SANNC)

“WE ARE ONE

PEOPLE.

THESE DIVISIONS, THESE DIVISIONS,

THESE JEALOUSIES,

ARE THE CAUSE OF ALL

OUR WOES TODAY....

DOWN WITH

TRIBALISM!

BLACK PEOPLE

UNITE!”

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One of the founding members, Pixley Seme

• African nationalists believed that to form ablack South African ‘nation’, it was necessaryfor ideas of attachment to a particularlanguage group to be replaced, at least inpart, by the idea of all black African peoplebelonging together.

• In reaction to the formation of the Union of

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• In reaction to the formation of the Union ofSouth Africa (1910), African nationalistsformed a new organisation to fight for theirrights. In Bloemfontein on 8 January 1912,the South African Native National Congress(SANNC) came into existence. It was renamedthe African National Congress (ANC) in 1923.

• The SANNC drew traditional leaders andthe educated elite together.

• Among the educated elite were its firstpresident, John Dube, and Sol Plaatjie,the SANNC first general secretary.

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the SANNC first general secretary.

• The ANC worked hard to bring allAfricans together to defend theirfreedoms and rights.

SOL PLAATJIE AND JOHN DUBE

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3. The rise of African nationalism and the Union of South Africa

African nationalism in South Africa

• In South Africa, two main forms of nationalismdeveloped, one among black Africans and oneamong a section of those of Europeanamong a section of those of Europeandescent, the Afrikaners.

• In each case, the nation was not somethingthat had existed for a long time, but wascreated in the 20th century.

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•The Union of South Africa was established asa self-governing state in 1910.

•Its new government consisted of white men.

•Between 1902 and 1910 when Britain was

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•Between 1902 and 1910 when Britain waspreparing South Africa for independence, itfocused on building relationships within thewhite population, which had been fracturedduring the South African War.

•Most Afrikaners lived in the old Boer Republics ofthe Orange Free State and the Transvaal, whilemost English-speaking whites lived in the Cape andNatal.

•The British encouraged white South Africans towork together in the interest of economic efficiency.

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•The Union of South Africa was formed in 1910.

•The two Boer states of the Transvaal and theOrange Free State were consolidated with the twoBritish colonies of the Cape and Natal.

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THE VOTE• In the Union of South Africa, only white

men had the vote and could be membersof parliament.

• However, a small number of coloured• However, a small number of colouredand black men in the Cape with a certainamount of property or level of educationwere allowed to vote for white membersof parliament.

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4. The 1913 Land Act

• The discovery of diamonds and gold in the19th century led to a rapidly changing societyin the 20th century.

• The mining companies needed a large cheapwork force and so laws were designed torestrict employment opportunities for Africansand force them into working on the mines.

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The affects of the 1913 Land Act on black South Africans

• In 1913 the Native Land Act was passed.

• This severely restricted African rights to buy, rent,or use land except in the specified reserves.

• The law created reserves for the black majoritythat were approximately 7 percent (later

• The law created reserves for the black majoritythat were approximately 7 percent (laterincreased to 13 percent) of the total land in SouthAfrica.

• People lost their land and were forced to live inovercrowded areas, causing poverty andstarvation.

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5. The influence of World War Two on African nationalism

• World War Two broke out in Europe in1939.

• South African troops joined the war onthe side of the British against NaziGermany.

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DR. ALFRED ZUMA

• In 1940 the ANC entered a new chapter in its historyunder the leadership of Dr Alfred Xuma.

• Xuma improved the efficiency of the ANC by making itmore centralised.

• This built increased confidence in the organisation andmembership grew.

• This built increased confidence in the organisation andmembership grew.

• More significantly in 1944, Xuma was responsible forbringing the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) members intothe executive.

• People like Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, OliverTambo, Govan Mbeki, and Anton Lembede introduceda more militant approach to resistance.

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Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo, Govan Mbeki, and Anton

Lembede

• Inspired by African nationalism, these young leaders believed that Africans would only be set free through their own efforts and that the set free through their own efforts and that the masses needed to be engaged in the struggle.

• Their ideas gained popular support among the young black urban population.

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The Atlantic Charter and its influence on African nationalism

• The fight for human rights in South Africareceived a boost during the war with theAtlantic Charter (1941).Atlantic Charter (1941).

• In the Charter, the British and Americanleaders, Churchill and Roosevelt, promised torespect the rights of all people and to supportthose pursuing self-government.

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A.B. Xuma’s African claims

• Inspired by the Charter, the ANC met inBloemfontein in 1943 and formed an AtlanticCharter Committee.Charter Committee.

• Together they produced a politically significantdocument called ‘African Claims in SouthAfrica’, which mapped out the way to an equaland racially integrated society in South Africa.

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(ALSO KNOWN AS..........)

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Returning soldiers• During World War Two only white soldiers were allowed to

fight the enemy, but many black, coloured, and Indian menalso volunteered.

• Some were allowed to carry weapons for self-protection andduring guard duty.

• Most were used as porters, drivers, and labourers.• When these soldiers returned home to South Africa, they• When these soldiers returned home to South Africa, they

found that they were still considered inferior, although theyhad expected that their dedication to the South African wareffort would be recognised and they would be rewarded.

• This was not to be.• The ideas of the African national Congress, the APO, and the

Indian Congress gained more popular support among theyoung black, coloured, and Indian urban population after thewar.

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6. Different kinds of African nationalism after World War Two

1. The policy of racial segregation after World War Two and the ANCYL Programme of Action

• In 1948 the National Party came to power in South Africa. Underits policy of Apartheid, racial segregation was tightened up.

• The ANCYL responded with a Programme of Action in 1949 calling• The ANCYL responded with a Programme of Action in 1949 callingfor boycotts, strikes, and general defiance. The youth leadersrealised that in order to challenge Apartheid, they would need tobe more inclusive and work with other anti-Apartheid groups.

• The Defiance Campaign of 1952 targeted Apartheid laws like thePopulation Registration Act, Group Areas Act, and BantuEducation Act. Although the campaign was eventually crushed bythe government, the ANC had made huge gains by mobilising themasses and this resulted in a significant increase in membership.

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2. Africanism of the ANC Youth League

• Initially, the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) had an exclusiveview of Africanism.

• They believed that black Africans should struggle againstApartheid on their own, not in alliance with others, andthat they should aim to create a black African state.

• Anton Muziwake Lembede, one of the leaders of theANCYL, had strong views that the ANC was for blackAfricans only.

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ANCYL, had strong views that the ANC was for blackAfricans only.

• However, other leaders like Sisulu, Mandela, Tambo, andMda gradually moved away from Africanism to a moreinclusive acceptance of all South Africans that did notsupport Apartheid.

• To them, the term ‘African’ could embrace anyone with acommitment to Africa.

3. The Freedom Charter widened the definitionof the 'nation‘

•In the early 1950's, a multi-racial CongressAlliance was established.•Out of the Congress Alliance came theFreedom Charter, which was approved by a

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Freedom Charter, which was approved by aCongress of the People in June 1955.•The Charter stated that South Africabelonged to all who lived in it, black andwhite, and set out a vision of a futuredemocratic, non-racial state.

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4. The PAC split

•Some members of the ANC did not accept the non-racial vision of the Freedom Charter.•These Africanists broke away from the ANC in 1958and formed the rival Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC)in 1959.

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in 1959.•Robert Sobukwe was the first president of the PAC.

•In its early years, the PAC worked both to winpower for Africans alone in South Africa and, as thevery name of their organisation suggested, to uniteall the African people of the continent.

6. The role of 'national reconciliation' and 'nation-building' after Nelson Mandela's release from prison

•During Apartheid, South Africa was a fragmented andfractured society.•The Freedom Charter formed the basis of the ANC'sinclusive nationalism and of its vision of nationalreconciliation and nation-building after Nelson Mandela's

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reconciliation and nation-building after Nelson Mandela'srelease in the 1990's.•The Freedom Charter proclaims that 'South Africabelongs to all whom live in it' and that 'all shall be equalbefore the law'.

•The construction of a new sense ofbelonging and identity as South Africanscan be seen as the positive face ofnationalism.•After the 1994 democratic election in

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•After the 1994 democratic election inSouth Africa, a new non-racialconstitution was drawn up. .

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