The system of racial segregation and oppression in South Africa known as apartheid was implemented and enforced by many acts and other laws. This legislation served to institutionalize racial discrimination and the dominance by white people over people of other races. While the bulk of this legislation was enacted after the election of the National Party government in 1948, it was preceded by discriminatory legislation enacted under earlier British and Afrikaner governments. Apartheid is distinguished from segregation in other countries by the systematic way in which it was formalized in law.
Segregationist legislation before apartheid
Although apartheid as a comprehensive legislative project truly began after the National Party came into power in 1948, many of these statutes were preceded by the laws of the previous British and Afrikaner administrations in South Africa's provinces. An early example is the Glen Grey Act, passed in 1894 in Cape Colony, and which had the effect of diminishing the land rights of Africans in scheduled areas.
List of apartheid segregation in South Africa
Population registration and segregation
The Population Registration Act, 1950, required that every South African be classified into one of a number of racial "population groups". This act provided the foundation upon which the whole edifice of apartheid would be constructed. The Reservation of Separate Amenities Act, 1953 allowed public premises, vehicles and services to be segregated by race, even if equal facilities were not made available to all races. The Reservation of Separate Amenities Act was repealed by the Discriminatory Legislation regarding Public Amenities Repeal Act, 1990, and the Population Registration Act was repealed by the Population Registration Act Repeal Act, 1991, but the racial classifications remained on the population register until 1992.
Job reservation and economic apartheid
Mines and Works Act, 1911
Native Building Workers Act, 1951
Native Labour (Settlement of Disputes) Act, 1953
Industrial Conciliation Act, 1956
Segregation in education
Bantu Education Act, 1953
Extension of University Education Act, 1959
Coloured Persons Education Act, 1963
Indians Education Act, 1965
Sexual apartheid
The Immorality Act, 1927 forbade extramarital sex between white people and black people. The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, 1949 forbade marriages between white people and people of other races. The Immorality Amendment Act, 1950 forbade extramarital sex between white people and people of other races. These laws were repealed by the Immorality and Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Amendment Act, 1985.
Land tenure and geographic segregation
The Natives Land Act, 1913 limited land ownership by black people to 8% of the land area of South Africa. The Native Trust and Land Act, 1936 expanded this limit to encompass about 13% of the land area of South Africa. The Asiatic Land Tenure and Indian Representation Act, 1946 restricted land ownership by Asians in towns and cities. The Group Areas Act, 1950 (re-enacted in 1957 and 1966) divided urban areas into "group areas" in which ownership and residence was restricted to certain population groups. The Group Areas Development Act, 1955 formed part of the machinery for the implementation of the Group Areas Act. The Coloured Persons Communal Reserves Act, 1961 and the Rural Coloured Areas Act, 1963 established "reserve" areas for coloured people in rural areas. The Preservation of Coloured Areas Act, Act No 31 of 1961 further entrenched "Coloured Areas" in law and created a legal mechanism to seize land for white Guardians. The Aliens Control Act, 1973 loosened the restrictions on residence by Asians in parts of South Africa. These and other discriminatory acts related to land tenure were repealed by the Abolition of Racially Based Land Measures Act, 1991.
Pass laws and influx control
Natives (Urban Areas) Act, 1923
Natives (Urban Areas) Consolidation Act, 1945
Prevention of Illegal Squatting Act, 1951
Native Laws Amendment Act, 1952
Natives (Abolition of Passes and Co-ordination of Documents) Act, 1952
Natives Resettlement Act, 1954
Natives (Prohibition of Interdicts) Act, 1956
Urban Bantu Councils Act, 1961
Black Local Authorities Act, 1982
The pass laws were repealed by the Identification Act, 1986 and the influx control laws by the Abolition of Influx Control Act, 1986.