Answer:
Apartheid was the official policy of racial separation and ill treatment of blacks followed by the government of South Africa between 1948 and 1989.
2) Under this policy the blacks were forced to live in crowded townships lacking basic amenities. There were separate transport, hotels, beaches and even churches for the whites and blacks.
3) They had no political rights and no representation in the parliament.
4) The African national Congress started a movement against apartheid which gradually gained momentum. This included many worker’s unions and the Communist party.
5) International opposition against apartheid and economic sanctions imposed by the UNO had serious effect on South Africa.
6) The white regime realized that they could no longer keep the blacks under their rule and began to change their policies. Discriminatory laws were repealed. In 1990, President F.W. De Clerk released Nelson Mandela from jail after 28 years of imprisonment and began to negotiate with the ANC.
7) Finally at the midnight of 26 April 1994, a new democratic republic of South Africa was born. The apartheid government gave way to the formation of a multi-racial government.
