IBDP History :Apartheid South Africa (1948–1964) -Prescribed subject 4:IB style Questions HLSL Paper 1

Source I
Pamphlet issued by the National Party head office in late 1947 ahead of the May 1948 general election, located at: www.politicsweb.com

Race relations policy of the National Party
Introduction

​There are two distinct guiding principles determining the South African policy affecting the non-Whites.  One line of thought favours a policy of integration, conferring equal rights – including the franchise as the non-whites progressively become used to democratic institutions – on all civilised and educated citizens within the same political structure.

Opposed to this is the policy of apartheid, a concept historically derived from the experience of the established White population of the country, and in harmony with such Christian principles as justice and equity.  It is a policy which sets itself the task of preserving and safeguarding the racial identity of the White population of the country; of likewise preserving and safeguarding the identity of the indigenous peoples as separate racial groups, with opportunities to develop into self-governing national units; of fostering the incubation of national consciousness, self-esteem and mutual regard among the various races of the country.

The choice before us is one of these two divergent courses: either that of integration, which would in the long run amount to national suicide on the part of the Whites: or that of apartheid, which professes to preserve the identity and safeguard the future of every race, with complete scope for everyone to develop within its own sphere while maintaining its distinctive national character, in such a way that there will be no encroachment on the rights of others, and without a sense of being frustrated by the existence and development of others.

Source J
Excerpt from Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela, published by Abacus, London, UK, 2013, pp. 126-7.  Nelson Mandela became the first president of a democratic South Africa in 1994, after being imprisoned for years due to his anti-apartheid views and actions.

Malan’s platform was known as Apartheid.  Apartheid was a new term but an old idea.  It literally means partners, and it represents the codification in one oppressive system of all the laws and regulations that had kept Africans in an inferior position to white for centuries…The often haphazard segregation of the past three hundred years was to be consolidated into a monolithic system that was diabolical in detail, inescapable in its reach and overwhelming in its power.  The premise of Apartheid was that whites were superior to Africans, Coloureds and Indians, and the function of it was to entrench white supremacy forever…Their platform rested on the term baaskap, literally ‘boss-ship’, a loaded word that stood for white supremacy in all its harshness.  The policy was supported by the Dutch Reformed Church, which furnished Apartheid with its religious underpinnings by suggesting that Afrikaners were God’s chosen people and that blacks were a subservient species.  In the Afrikaners’ world view, apartheid and the church went hand in hand.

Question

Compare and contrast the views expressed in Sources I and J regarding the race relation policies of the National Party of Daniel Malan. (6 marks)

▶️Answer/Explanation

Ans:

Sources I and J share a number of views regarding the race relation policies of the National Party. Source J suggests that the policy of the apartheid was based on Christian ideas.  Nelson Mandela sees apartheid as having roots in the Dutch Reformed Church, an Afrikaner Christian institution the apartheid,”was supported by the Dutch Reformed Church”. Similarly, Source J also agrees that the apartheid was established,” with such Christian principles as justice and equity.” Both sources I and J show that the apartheid was deeply rooted within South African history. It is supported by source J as Mandela mentions the apartheid before it became official in 1948,” The often haphazard segregation of the past three hundred years.” Source I concurs

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