This was in direct defiance of the governments countrywide ban on public meetings and gatherings of more than ten persons. The sharpeville massacre, as the event has become known, marked the start of armed resistance in south africa, and prompted worldwide condemnation of south africas apartheid policies. Sharpeville is much more than the site of a massacre article kwanele sosibo 19 mar 2020 tsepo gumbis photographs bring a more complex view of a. It was one of the first and most violent demonstrations against apartheid in south africa. It had wide ramifications and a significant impact.
On march 21, 1960, police in sharpeville, south africa, shot hundreds of people protesting laws that restricted the movement of blacks. Sharpeville is one of the oldest of six townships in the vaal triangle. This antipathy, hatred, bitterness, resentment, frustration and loss of self. Download file to see previous pages although this event in itself acted as a turning point in the struggle of black south africans towards restoring dignity, but there were certain events which happened before sharpeville massacre that caused widespread frustration and resentment in the black african community. The sharpsville massacre was a seminal moment in the history of south africa. That impact is best broken down into its shortterm, mediumterm, and longterm significance. Sharpeville massacre the sharpeville massacre occurred on march 21, 1960, when south african police opened fire on a crowd of black protesters.
Eyewitness accounts of the sharpeville massacre 1960. The pan africanist congress will shortly launch a nationwide campaign for the total abolition of the pass laws. Download premium images you cant get anywhere else. In the black township of sharpeville, near johannesburg, south africa, afrikaner police open fire on a group of. The sharpeville massacre of 20 march 1960 signalled the start of armed resistance in south africa, and prompted worldwide condemnation of south africas apartheid policies.
In the first of a new video series on bbc culture, through the lens, he relives the event that marked a defining moment. Dismayed by the actions of the south african government, many countries boycotted the importation of south african goods and labour organisations refused to. Reconciliation and revenge in postapartheid south africa core. Sharpeville, home to 26,000 blacks within the larger town of vereeniging, located south of johannesburg, seemed an unlikely setting for a watershed moment in the history of apartheid resistance. The sharpeville massacre started when the black south african protesters rallied outside the police station without their passbooks. On 21 march 1960 at the township of sharpeville, vereeniging, the.
The massacre received international condemnation and changed the. Sharpeville marked a turning point in south africas history. What were the consequences of the sharpeville massacre. Relying on fascinating archival testimonies of demonstrators but little from the police lodge explains that the protests had been. You should also consider what the cause and effects of this event were. The event also played a role in south africas departure from the commonwealth of nations in 1961. Seven out of ten shot in the back at sharpeville archive.
A surgeon gave evidence at a judicial inquiry following the. What had started as a peaceful protest soon became violent when the south african police opened fire on the black civilians, killing 69. Analysis of the sharpeville massacre useful for uk ocr. Sharpeville, south africa every month, esme maysiels honors the father she never knew by tending his grave. Sharpeville 21 march 1960 in 1960 the ana, ac pac started new campaigns against the hate.
Sharpeville massacre, 21 march 1960 south african history online. On march 30, 1960, the apartheid government declared the countrys first state of emergency and on april 8, 1960, banned the pac and the african national congress. The sharpeville massacre, which occurred on march 21, 1960, in the township of sharpeville, south africa, was the incident that to that point. Media in category sharpeville massacre the following 4 files are in this category, out of 4 total.
The sharpeville massacre aroused outrage against the south african government and worldwide support, awareness and sympathy for the antiapartheid activism in south africa increased. Sixtynine protesters died, and the massacre became an iconic moment in the struggle against apartheid. Sharpeville township and the sharpeville memorial vaal. This report aims to begin to fill the lacuna in this part of south african history by examining the reasons behind the dearth of political action and organisation in sharpeville from its formation through to the early 1980s. An apartheid massacre and its consequences african. In similar demonstrations at the police station in vanderbijlpark, another person was shot. Liberation however was still far off as the people of sharpeville were to discover.
Dozens killed in sharpeville originally published on 22 march 1960 mon 22 mar 2010. The events at sharpeville deeply affected the attitudes of both. Sharpeville massacre essay example topics and well. Find highquality apartheid stock photos and editorial news pictures from getty images. Pdf over the past two centuries, the police have perpetrated massacres in response. Sharpeville marked unquestionably a turning point in the struggle for liberation in azania. Sharpeville massacre, incident in the black township of sharpeville, near vereeniging, south africa, on march 21 1960, in which police fired on a crowd of black people, killing or wounding some 250 of them.
They hac come to hand in their passes to the police and asked to be arrested. The enforcement of pass laws and the reissue of laws that restricted the. Sharpeville massacre was turning point in antiapartheid. In sharpeville, tom lodge explains how and why the massacre occurred, looking at the social and political background to the events of march 1960 as well as the. It can be considered the beginning of the international struggle to bring an end to apartheid in south africa. During the morning news spread through a township that a very important person would make a statement. South africans mark 55 years since one of the worst apartheidera mass killings, but other atrocities still forgotten. We went into sharpeville the back way, behind a grey police car and three saracens. Seven out of ten shot in the back at sharpeville archive, 1960 4 may 1960. Sharpeville massacre simple english wikipedia, the free.
When the news of the sharpeville massacre reached cape town a group of between to 5000 protestors gathered at the langa flats bus terminus around 17h00 on 21 march 1960. The sharpeville massacre occurred on 21 march 1960, at the police station in the south african township of sharpeville in transvaal today part of gauteng. I will argue that the massacre created a major shortterm crisis for the apartheid state, a crisis which appeared to. This antipathy, hatred, bitterness, resentment, frustration and loss of. Sharpeville is the best known of the six townships located in the vaal region of south africa. This file is licensed under the creative commons attributionshare alike 4.
The year 2010 marked the fiftieth anniversary of one of apartheid south africas most infamous atrocities. More than 30 years after the sharpeville massacre, south africas truth and reconciliation commission found that the police had deliberately fired on an unarmed crowd. Sharpeville massacre marked turning point in south africa. Created in the 1940s to house vereenigings black population in preparation for the institution of the group areas act, one of the tenets of apartheid that enforced segregation of the races, sharpeville became one of south africas most famous townships due to the infamous. Bookmark file pdf sharpeville an apartheid massacre and its consequences by tom lodge 12 may 2011 hardcover. The day they were shot and their lives changed forever. This protest was to be led by the anc protest group on the 31st of march but a rival protest group called the panafricanist congress pac, which as stated by brian smith 2010 were a more hardline protest group, held the protest on the 21st of. On the morning of 21 march 5 000 peon e gathered at the sharpeville police station near onannesburg to start the pac campaign. On 21 march 1960 several hundred black africans were injured and 69 killed when south african police opened fire on demonstrators in the township of sharpeville, protesting against the apartheid regimes racist pass laws. Sharpeville also spelled sharpville is a township situated between two large industrial cities, vanderbijlpark and vereeniging, in southern gauteng. The 1960 sharpeville massacre was the result of a peaceful protest regarding racist south african policies of apartheid. The sharpeville massacre, 1960 exhibit divestment for. As we drove through the fringes of the township many people shouted the panafricanist slogan izwe lethu, which means our land, or gave the thumbsup freedom salute and shouted afrika. Sharpeville massacre, its consequences, and history research question.
The confrontation occurred in the township of sharpeville, in what is now gauteng province. On march 21, 1960, south african police fired into a crowd of black protesters who had surrounded a police station in sharpeville, killing 69 and injuring an estimated 180 people. Survivors of the sharpeville massacre tell stories of what happened on march 21, 1960. Magnum photographer ian berry was at the sharpeville massacre in march 1960. Find highquality sharpeville stock photos and editorial news pictures from getty images. She was born just two months after he was killed at a protest against apartheid. That notorious episode, bequeathed to history as the sharpeville massacre, is the subject of. Sharpeville an apartheid massacre and its consequences by. On the 21st march around 10am a crowd of about 5000 gathered in sharpeville.
The savage massacre of african patriots at sharpeville and other places in south africa on 21 march 1960 is of paramount significance in the struggle against apartheid and needs to be understood in its historical scope. Before the massacre, white officials considered sharpeville a small, insignificant, and even a model black township. Long walk to freedom movie clip sharpeville massacre 20 idris elba movie hd duration. This event set the tone for international responses, after worldwide condemnation of the manner in which the police dealt with the protest against pass laws. The sharpeville massacre in the growth of international antiapartheid resistance of this scenario however, was the sharpeville massacre of 1960 and its aftermath. Use the following documents to help you explore the events of the sharpeville massacre. The sharpeville massacre was when a crowd of between 5,0007,000 black people protested at the police station in sharpeville, south africa on march 21, 1960. On 21 march 1960 at least 180 black africans were injured there are claims of as many as 300 and 69 killed when south african police opened fire on approximately 300 demonstrators, who were protesting against the pass laws, at the township of sharpeville, near vereeniging in the transvaal. A total of 69 people were killed including 8 women and 10 children, and 180 people were injured, including 31 women and 19 children. Foundation remembers sharpeville massacre victims nelson. In similar demonstrations at the police station in vanderbijlpark, another person.
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