e, in 1912, the first meeting of the South African Native National Congress was held. This organization was the forerunner of the current African National Congress, which represents the interests of the black majority (Leach, 1986, p. 20). Soon after 1910, the Afrikaners formed their own party to protect their political interests. At the time, the leading party of the government was the South African Party, led by Louis Botha and Jan Smuts. This party was based on the platform of seeking increased cooperation between the Afrikaners and the British. Many Afrikaners were opposed to this idea, and thus the National Party was formed as an alternative to the South African Party. Because it offered protection against British businesses as well as against black competition for jobs, the National Party began to attract many English-speaking South Africans. This quickly increased the size and power of the organization and, by 1929, the National Party had attained the status of the majority party in the South Africa's parliament (Leach, 1986, p. 94).
During the Second World War, the National Party gained even more power as increasing numbers of Afrikaners saw the need for national unity. After the war, the National Party won South Africa's 1948 elections and Dr. Daniel Malan became the nation's Prime Minister. Dr. Malan was responsible for introducing the policy of apartheid into South Africa's government and society. This policy, which called for racial segregation, was designed to benefit the white minority by preventing the black majority from having a voice in politics. In 1961, the nation obtained its independence from the British and became designated as the Republic of South Africa. Soon after, apartheid was instituted as the official policy of the South African government. This occurred under the leadership of H. F. Verwoerd, who was elected Prime Minister in 1958. Verwoerd and his government established new laws which ...