Apartheid (meaning "apartness" in Afrikaans ) was a formal system of institutionalized racial segregation and white minority rule in South Africa that lasted from . While racial discrimination existed in South Africa for centuries under Dutch and British colonial rule, the 1948 election of the National Party (NP) codified these practices into rigid, all-encompassing laws. The Rise of Apartheid (1948–1960s)
: Non-whites were required to carry "passes" (internal passports) to enter or work in white-only areas; failure to produce one resulted in immediate arrest. South Africa: The Rise and Fall of Apartheid
: Nelson Mandela and other top ANC leaders were sentenced to life in prison in 1964. Apartheid (meaning "apartness" in Afrikaans ) was a
Resistance grew in tandem with oppression, led by groups like the and the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) . : Nelson Mandela and other top ANC leaders
: Thousands of students protested the mandatory use of Afrikaans in schools. The brutal police response, which killed hundreds, drew intense international condemnation and sparked a new wave of internal militancy. The Fall of Apartheid (1980s–1994)