What is the difference between segregation and apartheid?

Racial segregation, sanctioned by law, was widely practiced in South Africa before 1948, but the National Party, which gained office that year, extended the policy and gave it the name apartheid.

What did apartheid separate?

During apartheid, people were divided into four racial groups and separated by law. The system was used to deny many basic rights to non-White people, mainly Black people who lived in South Africa. The law allowed white people to be in certain areas.

What did apartheid literally mean?

Apartheid is an Afrikaans word meaning “separateness”, or “the state of being apart”, literally “apart-hood” (from the Afrikaans suffix -heid).

What is a simple definition of apartheid?

Full Definition of apartheid 1 : racial segregation specifically : a former policy of segregation and political, social, and economic discrimination against the nonwhite majority in the Republic of South Africa.

What was the ideology of apartheid?

While the theory of apartheid argued that the races should be kept separate, the economy of the South African state depended heavily on black South African labor. Therefore, the apartheid state had to permit black South African laborers to come and go between white and black territories.

What was the opposition to apartheid in South Africa?

Although the government had the power to suppress virtually all criticism of its policies, there was always some opposition to apartheid within South Africa. Black African groups, with the support of some whites, held demonstrations and strikes, and there were many instances of violent protest and of sabotage.

What is the English language learners definition of apartheid?

English Language Learners Definition of apartheid. : a former social system in South Africa in which black people and people from other racial groups did not have the same political and economic rights as white people and were forced to live separately from white people. See the full definition for apartheid in the English Language Learners

Can you compare Israel to apartheid South Africa?

Opponents of the analogy reject the comparison of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip with apartheid South Africa, arguing that as the two territories are not part of sovereign Israel and governed by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas government in Gaza, they cannot be compared to the internal policies of apartheid South Africa.

When did the United Nations declare apartheid a crime?

The explicitly racist policies of Apartheid South Africa drew international condemnation, and apartheid was officially declared as a crime under international law by the United Nations in 1973. The U.S. and the U.K. imposed economic sanctions on South Africa in 1985.