South African Apartheid

Apartheid was a system of institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination in South Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s. It aimed to maintain white minority rule and control over the majority black population by enforcing laws that restricted where individuals could live, work, and move based on their race. Facilities, services, and opportunities were segregated, benefiting whites while denying rights to non-whites. Resistance to apartheid grew over the decades, leading to global condemnation and internal conflict. The system officially ended with the election of Nelson Mandela in 1994, marking a significant transition to a democratic government.