Edexcel IGCSE History: South Africa, From Union to the End of Apartheid, 1948–94 (4HI1)

“South Africa: from union to the end of apartheid, 1948–94” is Depth Study 8 on Paper 1 of Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History (4HI1). It explains how the National Party built the system of apartheid after winning the 1948 election, how it was resisted at home and abroad, how P.W. Botha tried to reform and repress at the same time, and how F.W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela negotiated the multiracial election of April 1994. You answer one three-part question on it: extract impression, two effects and a 16-mark essay.

Related: Revision notes | Practice questions | Paper 1 Depth Studies overview

Syllabus coverage

The 4HI1 specification (Issue 5, February 2026) sets five key topics:

1. Setting up apartheid, 1948–54 — segregation in 1948, the 1948 election and the Nationalist victory, the origins and nature of apartheid, the Population Registration Act (1950), the ban on mixed marriages, the Group Areas Act (1950), passes and reserves, the Separate Amenities Act (1953), the Bantu Education Act (1953), and opposition and its suppression.
2. The growth of apartheid, 1955–59 — petty apartheid, education, apartheid under Verwoerd and Vorster, and the Bantu Self-Government Act (1959).
3. Resisting apartheid, 1955–78 — Mandela, the ANC, Biko and Black Consciousness; anti-pass protest, Sharpeville (1960), Spear of the Nation (1961) and Soweto (1976); the Treason Trials (1956–61); the threats to apartheid by 1978 and international reaction.
4. P.W. Botha — response to resistance, 1978–90 — the UDF, the ANC, Mandela, township unrest, church leaders; Botha’s reforms and their consequences; the AWB; the State of Emergency (1985–90); international opposition, boycotts and sanctions.
5. Dismantling apartheid, 1990–94 — de Klerk’s reforms, the repeal of apartheid laws (1991), the roles of de Klerk, Mandela and others, and the 1994 election.

Why did the National Party win in 1948, and what was apartheid?

South Africa already had extensive segregation in 1948: the 1913 and 1936 Land Acts restricted black land ownership to the reserves, pass laws controlled movement, and black South Africans could not vote in most of the country. The National Party under D.F. Malan won the 1948 election, despite gaining fewer votes than Smuts’s United Party, because rural constituencies (where Afrikaners were strong) were over-represented. It appealed to Afrikaner nationalism and to white fears of black workers moving into the cities during the war.

Apartheid (“separateness”) made segregation total and legally enforced. Key laws:

• Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act (1949) and the Immorality Amendment Act (1950) banned marriage and relationships across colour lines.
• Population Registration Act (1950) classified every person by race.
• Group Areas Act (1950) assigned separate residential areas, leading to forced removals.
• Pass laws were tightened in 1952: black men (and later women) had to carry a reference book.
• Separate Amenities Act (1953) segregated public facilities and allowed them to be unequal.
• Bantu Education Act (1953) put black schooling under state control with an inferior curriculum designed to prepare pupils for manual labour.

Opposition included the ANC Youth League (founded 1944 by Mandela, Sisulu and Tambo) and its Programme of Action (1949), and the Defiance Campaign (1952), when thousands deliberately broke apartheid laws. The government responded with the Suppression of Communism Act (1950), banning orders and arrests.

How did apartheid grow, 1955–59 and after?

“Petty apartheid” segregated everyday life — buses, benches, beaches, post offices. Bantu Education produced overcrowded, under-funded schools. Hendrik Verwoerd, Minister of Native Affairs and then Prime Minister (1958–66), developed “grand apartheid”. The Bantu Self-Government Act (1959) created separate “homelands” (Bantustans) for each black ethnic group; black South Africans were to be citizens of these territories rather than of South Africa. The result was mass forced removals and the denial of political rights in “white” South Africa. B.J. Vorster (Prime Minister 1966–78) continued the policy, and Transkei became the first nominally independent homeland in 1976.

How was apartheid resisted between 1955 and 1978?

The Congress of the People adopted the Freedom Charter (1955), declaring that “South Africa belongs to all who live in it”. The government charged 156 activists in the Treason Trial (1956–61); all were eventually acquitted. In 1956 about 20,000 women marched on Pretoria against passes. The Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) organised anti-pass protests in 1960; at Sharpeville on 21 March 1960 police killed 69 people. The government declared a state of emergency and banned the ANC and PAC.

The ANC turned to sabotage, forming Umkhonto we Sizwe (“Spear of the Nation”) in 1961. Mandela was arrested in 1962 and, at the Rivonia Trial, sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964. Steve Biko’s Black Consciousness movement encouraged black pride and self-reliance. In the Soweto uprising (June 1976) students protested against compulsory teaching in Afrikaans; police opened fire and hundreds died in the unrest that followed. Biko died in police custody in 1977. Internationally, South Africa was excluded from the Olympics and the UN imposed a mandatory arms embargo (1977), but by 1978 apartheid was still firmly in place.

How did P.W. Botha respond to resistance, 1978–90?

P.W. Botha (Prime Minister from 1978, State President from 1984) warned white South Africans to “adapt or die”. His reforms included legalising black trade unions, abolishing the pass laws (1986) and repealing the ban on mixed marriages (1985). The 1983 constitution set up a Tricameral Parliament with houses for whites, Coloureds and Indians — but none for black South Africans. Reform split the National Party: hardliners formed the Conservative Party (1982), and the AWB under Eugène Terre’Blanche threatened violent resistance.

Exclusion of black South Africans from the new parliament led to the United Democratic Front (UDF, 1983), a broad alliance of hundreds of organisations. Township unrest spread from 1984. Church leaders such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Nobel Peace Prize, 1984) called for sanctions. Botha declared a State of Emergency in 1985, extended nationwide in 1986, with mass detentions and press censorship. International opposition grew: banks refused new loans after Botha’s “Rubicon” speech (1985) disappointed hopes of reform, and the US Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act (1986) imposed sanctions. Boycotts of sport and culture added to isolation.

How was apartheid dismantled, 1990–94?

Botha suffered a stroke in 1989 and was replaced by F.W. de Klerk. On 2 February 1990 de Klerk unbanned the ANC, PAC and Communist Party, and Mandela was released on 11 February 1990. Reasons for reform: economic decline and sanctions, the failure of repression, the end of the Cold War (removing the “communist threat” argument), and de Klerk’s own judgement. In 1991 the Group Areas Act, Land Acts and Population Registration Act were repealed. Negotiations through CODESA were disrupted by violence, including clashes involving the Inkatha Freedom Party and the assassination of the ANC leader Chris Hani (1993). A whites-only referendum in 1992 backed reform. Mandela and de Klerk shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. In the multiracial election of April 1994 the ANC won about 62% of the vote, and Mandela became President.

Frequently asked questions

Was apartheid new in 1948? No — segregation existed already. Apartheid made it comprehensive and rigidly enforced by law.

Why did the ANC turn to armed struggle? Sharpeville and the banning of the ANC in 1960 convinced its leaders that non-violent protest alone could not succeed.

Who deserves most credit for ending apartheid? Weigh de Klerk, Mandela, internal resistance (UDF, township protest, churches) and international sanctions; strong answers link them.

Official syllabus

Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History (4HI1) specification, Issue 5, February 2026, Paper 1, Depth Study 8 — qualifications.pearson.com.