Strengthening apartheid

Question 1

60-68 context

Answer 1

• 60’s white political authority seemed secure and African opposition suppressed.
• SA economy grew very quickly, whites the major beneficiaries but some blacks benefitted too.
• African nationalists temporarily accepted the harsh realities of white power.
• Verwoerd murdered 1966, replaced by B.J Vorster (Minister of Justice – responsible for security legislation for which African leaders were detained and convicted).
  B.J Vorster: conducted a more pragmatic foreign policy in an effort to improve relations with white minority and SA neighbors, 12 year term of office characterized by an escalation of racial conflict & marked an increase in detentions without trial in 1978 his image suffered from the ‘Information scandal’.

Question 2

Economic recovery

Answer 2

SA shared in global development with overall economic growth of approx. 4.6% p/year (faster than Europe but slower than other middle-income countries).
SA still dependent on mining and agriculture for its exports but low levels of productivity and acute skill shortages hampered diversification.

Question 3

The Domestic Economy

Answer 3

• Manufacturing & agricultural benefitted
  Employment in manufacturing (mainly blacks) doubled between 51-75 (to 1.6 million).
• Africans doing white collar work (professional, technical) jumped from 75-420,000.
• But still problems – certain jobs reserved for whites (especially in mining and skilled work).
• Africans could not be trained as plumbers or electricians & couldn’t be in control of whites at work.
• The complexity of apartheid in practice made it possible to get round some restrictions (construction industry)
• Government tried to restrict African migration to cities but they decided to get rid of slums & shack settlements near the city center to move Africans to large townships on the urban fringe.

Question 4

Native Building Workers Act 1951

Answer 4

Enabled the government to use African workers on houses (wages less than whites & townships build quick and cheaply).

Question 5

African progression

Answer 5

New opportunities emerged for blacks – offices, schools, hospitals, all absorbed more Africans.
- Businesses began to identify African market (advertised heavily towards them).
- In turn, they needed African sales personnel to sell these products.
- They became consumers of a wide range of goods (cigarettes, clothes, radios).
- 60s income increased by approx. 23%, and for African population surged from 11 to 15 million.
- Industrial workers wage rose by 50%.
So, despite hardship of apartheid, the NP pointed out the increasing opportunities for Africans. They desired to decrease Africans in cities and effectively make them migrant workers. Despite this, African numbers in the cities rose to 6 million.

Question 6

How did whites benefit from the economy?

Answer 6

• Initially uneasy about having non-Afrikaner immigration, who may not vote for the NP, but they were eventually satisfied they would.
• So, white immigrants began to arrive from Europe bringing with them skills and money to invest (also helped numbers due to a drop in birth rate).
• Immediately classed as whites, receiving all the benefits denied to coloreds etc.
• 1960s the best times for whites: income up 50% (12x more than black income).
• Strongest indicator of wealth was car production (white car ownership ranked 4th in the world).
• Cars shapes society (symbol of leisure & freedom of movement for whites). Whites lived in suburbs & drive to work. Blacks relied on public transport.