Every person has memories of events that were sad or events that changed their life forever. The Apartheid era was a very memorable event for the Africans who lived in South Africa. They were treated like animals and used like machines. The white African rulers made their life miserable to make their own life better. The Africans have tried to do many things to make their life better. The most important events of the Apartheid era were the events that influenced the future of South Africa the most.
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The Sharpeville Massacre was an important event in the South African history because it made the Africans use violence.The Sharpeville massacre took place in a small village next to Johannesburg in March 21, 1960. More than 5000 people participated by going to the police station to protest against the new pass law, which required every non-white person to carry a pass book. After a day of protesting the streets were crowded, and the police decided to opened fire at the unarmed protesters. As a result 69 people were killed and 180 injured. It was an important event because it showed the unfair life of the Africans. People were treated badly and didn't have any rights. It showed that the British didn't think of the africans as humans, and they only cared the amounts of gold that they could get. This event also showed that the British didn’t have control over the people since they couldnt stop the massacre without using force. Since the British knew that the people would want revenge and they would start more trouble for the anti-Apartheid to be successful. The government declared a state of emergency, which banned most of the leaders and restricted them from talking to other people or giving speeches. When the people understood that the government was scared of trouble, they started protesting and mobilizing against the government. As a result the government started making more and more laws to take the power of the citizens and restricted them from doing anything against the government. Although the Sharpeville massacre didn't help stop the Apartheid or help the Africans get a better life, it was heard all over the world, and it made the people to mobilize and make more actions to end the Apartheid. This massacre made people think that the conditions in South Africa were unfair, so people started thinking of ways that they could help.
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After the Sharpeville Massacre Nelson Mandela decided to make an organization called MK that would bomb government facilities. This event was important because it changed many laws that gave people more freedom. After the Sharpeville Massacre Mandela decided to take everything into his own hands. In 1961 he organized a group called MK that would use violence in order to end apartheid. First, he wrote letter to the government that a campaign of sabotage would be launched unless the government agreed to call for a national constitutional convention. In other words he warned them to back off or violence will be use.Then in 1962 he went to Algeria, Egypt and Ghana to get international backing. After he became allies with activists from other countries, in 1963, he illegally crossed the border and was arrested. Then he was sentenced to life in prison for treason. From 1976 to 1986 after they had allies and volunteers, they started bombing, in that period of time 130 people were killed. Then in 1990 he was released from prison and became the first south african president. The bombing was an important event in the South African history because it showed the British that they were so hated by the africans, that they were ready to kill people to end apartheid. The Africans showed that they had power even after all the laws that were made to stop them. Although this event showed that the africans were not capable of being controlled,since they started killing people. It got the government to listen to their requirements and ge to an agreement. This was the event that helped the most to end Apartheid forever.
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The event that influenced the African history the most was the negotiation of the president of South Africa and Nelson Mandela about non-racial election. De Klerk, the president of south Africa at the time, believed that the apartheid could not be maintained forever, and decided to end it. In 1990 F.W de Klerk, released Mandela from jail and organized a meeting with him. Then in 1994, when de Klerk ended his term, the first non racial election was made and Nelson Mandela was elected president of South Africa. After Mandela was elected, the british called of their South Africa’s nuclear weapon programme which meant that all the missiles and nukes were sent back to Europe. This event influenced the life in South Africa because it gave people the freedom that they fought for. Many schools, hospitals, and libraries were built for everyone, and not only the whites. In addition, the citizens now had the power over the minority.It also gave them the power to control and trade all of the natural resource that used to be controled by the british. Now that they could use those money for the improvement of their government, they could build their own economy system as well as import and export trades.South Africa became a free country.
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Every decade the actions of the Anti-Apartheid were different because people had more knowledge over time and could chose the best strategy. In the first couple of decades, after the Apartheid begun in 1948. People tried to use non-violence or civil disobedience to make a change. When the people realised that the government didn't care about peaceful protest, they decided to make them pay more attention by doing something that would cause the government to pay more attention. Another factor that changed the events over time was international help. After every decade more and more people knew about the Apartheid, which caused people around all over the world to protest and boycott. In fact this was very helpful strategy for the Africans since the government wouldn't kill their own people. The last factor that changed the events every decade was the power of the people. Every year more and more Africans finished school and became politicians or lawyers. If they were politicians it gave them the power to change laws and they had a bigger influence on the government then the citizens. If they became lawyer they would have the power to help people from going to jail. In short knowledge, power and international support are the main factors to gain social justice.
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The brutality of the police was unacceptable in the Apartheid era. As a result many people died,which caused the nation organize against the government. In the end the Africans got the freedom they always wanted because of their actions. As proven, every person has memorable events in their life. After the Apartheid era the only memories that were left were tragic. The Africans fought for freedom to start making good memories.