ExodusMagApril2017

INTEREST
Second Boer War of 1899–1902, which Britain won. In 1910, Britain
established the Union of South Africa, which unified the Cape Colony
with the two defeated Boer Republics and the British colony of
Natal. Cape Town became the legislative capital of the Union,
and later of the Republic of South Africa.
In the 1948 national elections, the National Party won on a platform
of apartheid (racial segregation) under the slogan of "swart
gevaar". This led to the erosion and eventual abolition of the
Cape's multiracial franchise, as well as to the Group Areas Ac,
which classified all areas according to race. Formerly multi-racial
suburbs of Cape Town were either purged of unlawful residents or
demolished. The most infamous example of this in Cape Town was
District Si. After it was declared a whites-only region in 1965, all
housing there was demolished and over 60,000 residents were
forcibly removed. Many of these residents were relocated to the
Cape Flat and Lavender Hill. Under apartheid, the Cape was considered
a "Coloured labour preference area", to the exclusion of
"Bantu", i.e. Africans.
School students from Langa, Gugulethu and Nyanga in Cape
Town reacted to the news of protests against Bantu Education in
Soweto in June 1976 and organised gatherings and marches
which were met with resistance from the police. A number of
school buildings were burnt down.
Cape Town was home to many leaders of the anti-apartheid
movement. On Robben Island, a former penitentiary island 10 kilometres
(6 miles) from the city, many famous political prisoners were
held for years. Nobel Square in the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront
features statues of South Africa's four Nobel Peace Prize winners:
Albert Luthuli, Desmond Tut, F. W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandel.
Since 1994, the city has struggled with problems such as drug, a
surge in violent drug-related crimes and more recently gang violence.
At the same time, the economy has surged to unprecedented
levels due to the boom in the tourism and the real estate
industries.
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