Notes were made using a combination of the following textbooks:
- Edexcel AS/A Level History, Paper 1&2: Searching for rights and freedoms in the 20th century
- Access to History: South Africa, 1948–94: from apartheid state to ‘rainbow nation’
UNIT 4: The end of apartheid and the creation of the ‘rainbow nation’, 1984–94
1. Revolt in the townships, 1984-87
2. Reasons for Botha’s decision to negotiate, 1985-89
3. Negotiation and compromise, 1989-91
4. A new political settlement, 1992-94
, UNIT 4: The end of apartheid and the
creation of the ‘rainbow nation’, 1984–94
1. Revolt in the townships, 1984-87
- United Democratic Front & grass roots organisations
- Aug 1983 = 575 organisations founded UDF (United Democratic Front)
- aim to coordinate opposition against Botha’s reforms
- wanted a creation of a new South Africa based on principles from the Freedom Charter
- UDF was banned in 1987
- UDF was seen as the internal wing of the ANC (despite the ANC avoiding violence)
- Loose organisation = many militant groups and violent activities
- Support for UDF may have been as high as 2 million
- UDF began a programme of “People’s Organs, People’s Power”
- using local organisations to plan rent strikes and local courts to oversee communities
- 1989 = rent arrears R500 million
- 1983-4 = Ciskei workers boycotted buses
- Protest strategies
- Strikes — number of days lost grew from 1 million in 1986 to 6 million in 1987
- Organised marches, protests and demonstrations
- 1983-84 UDF groups campaigned to collect 1 million signatures for a mass petition against
the proposed new constitution and African local government
- Township government
- The Community Council Act of 1977 = elected township councils
- Intended to give Africans more of a say = diffuse tensions
- 1982 = councils solely responsible for running townships —> seen as collaborators and
had to raise their own revenues (rent increases to do this = rent strikes)
- Rallies
- 1980s = more rallies and protests
- became more nationalist
- flags and banners of banned organisations such as ANC
- Often funerals of victims of violence = protests
- UDF banned in 1987
- Communal violence
- Violence was getting out of control
- 1984 = violent demonstrations against rent increases = 175 killed
- Lots of necklacing, 1985 = 800 people killed