How long was there white rule in South Africa?

Answer 1

The South African state came into existence in 1910 as the Union of South Africa, after the Second Boer War of 1899-1902 (when the Boers of primarily Dutch, German, and French descent were defeated by Great Britain). The former independent Boer states of the Orange Free State and Transvaal were united with the British colonies of the Cape and Natal. Although linked to the U.K, the Union was actually autonomous from the start and its total independence but affiliation with Great Britain was later secured. The Union was made a Republic outside the (British-lead) Commonwealth in 1960 in a referendum by the white electorate.

Apartheid, or separate development as it was then called, became the official policy of the National Party that ruled from 1948-1994, but in reality apartheid existed ever since the colonization of the southern part of the African continent after 1652. So, technically, the whites ruled the nation of South Africa from 1910-1994, but the period of white rule in the region lasted for more than three centuries from 1652-1994.

Answer 2

The causes of white rule is South Africa was, to begin with, the colonization by different Europeans of the lands in the south of the African continent.

The Europeans found ingenious people and other Africans there that were not on the same cultural level as the Europeans -- that is not to say that the one culture was "higher" and the other "lower", but they were remarkably different. The Africans did not know the wheel, whereas the Europeans had known the wheel for at least a thousand years or more. The Europeans also knew books and how to write, but the Africans did not need such knowledge in their culture.

Generations of whites in South Africa had lived side by side with the blacks who came from their kraals to work for the whites on their farms and in towns and cities. Eventually the blacks, who were in the majority but did not have the vote among the whites, felt that they were not treated fairly and should have the vote too, because they have been made part and parcel of the Western culture but were not afforded the opportunity to share in any decision making.

It was not easy, however, because a pattern of white rule had been set in South Africa lasting more than three centuries. The whites' experiment with separate development (apartheid) in the second half of the 20th century, in which different parts of the country were set aside to be ruled by different groups, failed dismally. In the end the white South Africans decided themselves in a referendum that they should negotiate power sharing with the blacks. It lead to the democracy South Africa is experiencing today.