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86-717: Soshanguve is a township situated about 30 km north of Pretoria , Gauteng , South Africa , just east of Mabopane . The name Soshanguve is an acronym for Sotho, Shangaan, Nguni and Venda, thus showing the multi-ethnic composition of the population. The major African languages of South Africa are heard in Soshanguve. It was formerly known as Mabopane East. The acronym divided the Soshanguve residents according to their tribe when they were resettled from Mamelodi and Atteridgeville in 1974. The people of Soshanguve speak Pretoria Sotho called Se Pitori and listen to local music genres called Barcadi & Amapiano . Soshanguve

172-501: A change in which the Coloured minority was to be allowed limited rights and self-governance in "Coloured areas", but continuing the policy of denationalising the Black majority and making them involuntary citizens of independent homelands. The internal rationale was that South African whites, more numerous at the time than Coloureds and Indians combined, could bolster its popular support and divide

258-475: A colonially admixed population cluster, hence the concatenation, and is not a straightforward reference to ancient African pastoralist and hunter ancestry, which is often demarcated by the L0 haplogroup ancestry common in the general South African native population which is also integral part of other aboriginal genetic reference cluster terms like "South-East African Bantu". In the 21st century, Coloured people constitute

344-449: A plot of land that are rented out by the land owner for additional income. Plots of land designed for single-family houses have been turned into plots, that, on average hold six families instead of one. These structures are illegally built in violation of planning and building codes and strain the infrastructure. Governments are loath to act on backyard dwellings, as doing so would result in large-scale displacement of people. A 2001 study of

430-654: A plurality of the population in the provinces of Western Cape (48.8%), and a large minority in the Northern Cape (40.3%), both areas of centuries of mixing among the populations. In the Eastern Cape , they make up 8.3% of the population. Interracial unions solely between the European men and Khoi Khoi women in the Cape formed mixed race descendants that became the Griqua people. Most of

516-506: A problem in townships and children as young as 12 or 13 get initiated into local gangs. Some see violence and gangs as a way of life and a part of their culture. The weapon of choice for most is a gun and with easy accessibility anyone is able to get one. It is estimated that out of the 14 million guns in circulation, in South Africa, only four million are registered and licensed to legal gun owners. Largest townships in South Africa at

602-614: A provincial leader of the New National Party) has sought to portray his New Labour Party as the political voice for Coloured people. Coloured people supported and were members of the African National Congress before, during and after the apartheid era: notable politicians include Ebrahim Rasool (previously Western Cape premier), Beatrice Marshoff , John Schuurman, Allan Hendrickse and Trevor Manuel , longtime Minister of Finance. The Democratic Alliance won control over

688-410: A rapid period of urbanisation as the colour bar was relaxed due to the war. Neither employers nor the government built new accommodations or homes for the influx of new residents. This led to overcrowding, poor living conditions, thus, contributing to high levels of crime and violence . High rents and overcrowding led to land invasions and the growth of shack settlements, which were largely ignored by

774-529: A result of attempts at redress such as Black Economic Empowerment and Employment Equity . In the Western Cape , a distinctive Cape Coloured and affiliated Cape Malay culture developed. Genetic studies suggest the group has the highest levels of mixed ancestry in the world. The majority of Coloureds are found in the Western Cape but are prevalent throughout the country. In Cape Town, they form 43.2% of

860-477: A result, the Cape Coloureds ended up having the most diverse ancestry in the world with a blend of so many different cultures mixed together. However, not all Coloureds in the Cape region have the same ancestry. At least one genetic study indicates that most Cape Coloureds have ancestries from the following ethnic groups: It is important to note here that genetic reference cluster term "Khoisan" itself refers to

946-419: A separate ethnic group that are sometimes considered a sub-group of the Coloured population of that country. Under South African rule, the policies and laws of apartheid were extended to what was then called South West Africa . In Namibia, Coloureds were treated by the government in a way comparable to that of South African Coloureds. In Zimbabwe and to a lesser extent Zambia , the term Coloured or Goffal

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1032-626: A separate voters' roll from the 1958 election to the House of Assembly and forward. They could elect four Whites to represent them in the House of Assembly . Two Whites would be elected to the Cape Provincial Council and the governor general could appoint one senator . Both blacks and Whites opposed this measure, particularly from the United Party  and more liberal opposition. The Torch Commando

1118-494: A significant role in defining racial identities in the country. One of the most noteworthy aspects of this census was the instructions given to enumerators on how to classify individuals into different racial categories. The category of "Coloured persons" was used to refer to all people of mixed race, and this category included various ethnic groups such as Hottentots , Bushmen , Cape Malays , Griquas , Korannas , Creoles , Negroes , and Cape Coloureds . Of particular importance

1204-470: A son named Henry, he also fathered multiple mixed-race children with his Zulu concubines at his kraal near Umkomaas . Eventually, mixed race people in Natal also became 'coloured'. During the apartheid era in South Africa of the second half of the 20th century, the government used the term "Coloured" to describe one of the four main racial groups it defined by law (the fourth was "Asian," later "Indian"). This

1290-539: A township (in the legal sense) is established and then the adjoining townships, with the same name as the original township, and with a numbered "Extension" suffix are later established. For example, the Johannesburg suburb of Bryanston has an extension called Bryanston Extension 3 . In traditionally or historically white areas, the term "suburb" is used for legally-defined residential townships in everyday conversation. A suburb's boundaries are often regarded as being

1376-563: A while if at all. The average family size of six does not differ from those of other Western families and, as with the latter, is generally related to socio-economic status. Extended families are common. Coloured children are often expected to refer to any extended relatives as their "auntie" or "uncle" as a formality. While many affluent families live in large, modern, and sometimes luxurious homes, many urban coloured people rely on state-owned economic and sub-economic housing. There are many singing and choir associations as well as orchestras in

1462-516: Is John Robert Dunn , a white trader with Scottish parents who became a Zulu chief with 48 Zulu wives and 118 mixed race children; and most of his mixed-race descendants (who became 'Coloureds' in Natal) still live in present-day KwaZulu-Natal . Another British man who practised polygamy was Henry Fynn who had four Zulu wives and multiple mixed-race children. Although Henry Ogle (a British trader from Yorkshire ) married an English wife named Janie and had

1548-547: Is also used in Eswatini . As far as family life, housing, eating habits, clothing and so on are concerned, the Christian Coloureds generally maintain a Western lifestyle. Marriages are strictly monogamous, although extramarital and premarital sexual relationships can occur and are perceived differently from family to family. Among the working and agrarian classes, permanent relationships are often officially ratified only after

1634-448: Is home to Tshwane University of Technology 's Soshanguve North & South Campuses & Tshwane north college (TNC) which draw their students from every corner of the country. This Gauteng location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Township (South Africa) In South Africa , the terms township and location usually refers to an under-developed , racially segregated urban area, from

1720-508: Is informal and unregulated by the government. This results in a lack of access to basic services such as sewerage, electricity, roads, and clean water, which adversely affects the residents' quality of life. Sewerage, water, and electrical infrastructure within townships are often in need of repair, resulting in a lack of sanitation due to problems with accessibility and availability. Electricity, water, and sewerage are managed by different government departments, resulting in inefficiencies in

1806-431: Is mainly attributable to higher and more rapid drop-out rates among the poor, rather than to a lack of initial access to schooling. The formerly white schools uniformly produce better results as their governing bodies are able to raise substantial private funds. These funds are used to get resources that are usually inaccessible for the rural and township schools which survive on the commitment of their teachers. Gangs are

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1892-438: Is the fact that the instruction to classify "coloured persons" as a distinct racial group included individuals of African descent, commonly referred to as Negroes . Therefore, it is important to note that Cape Coloureds, as a group of mixed-race individuals, also have African ancestry and can be considered as part of the broader African diaspora . Although the apartheid government recognised various Coloured subgroups, including

1978-604: The African National Congress and the United Democratic Front . Whether in these organisations or others, many Coloured people were active in the fight against apartheid. The political rights of Coloured people varied by location and over time. In the 19th century they theoretically had similar rights to Whites in the Cape Colony (though income and property qualifications affected them disproportionately). In

2064-611: The Democratic Alliance (DA). The Western Cape is considered as an area in which this party might gain ground against the dominant African National Congress. The Democratic Alliance drew in some former New National Party voters and won considerable Coloured support. The New National Party collapsed in the 2004 elections. Coloured support aided the Democratic Alliance's victory in the 2006 Cape Town municipal elections. Patricia de Lille, who became mayor of Cape Town in 2011 on

2150-563: The Karoo during the 18th century and after British annexation of the Cape in the 19th century. By the mid 18th century, the territory of the Dutch Cape Colony had reached to present-day Swellendam and by the end of the Dutch rule (after British annexation in 1814), the territory of the Cape had already reached certain parts of the Eastern Cape and the Northern Cape . With the gradual expansion of

2236-593: The Transvaal Republic or the Orange Free State , they had few rights. Coloured members were elected to Cape Town's municipal authority (including, for many years, Abdurahman). The establishment of the Union of South Africa gave Coloured people the franchise, although by 1930 they were restricted to electing White representatives. They conducted frequent voting boycotts in protest. Such boycotts may have contributed to

2322-571: The 17th century (in this case, from 1652-1700), the Dutch Cape Colony consisted only of present-day Cape Town with its surrounding areas such as Paarl , Stellenbosch and Franschhoek . However, from the 18th century until the formation of the Union of South Africa in the year 1910, the territory of the Cape expanded gradually to the North and to the East. This happened, especially after the Trekboers migrated into

2408-531: The 17th century in the Dutch Cape Colony where the Dutch married the Khoi Khoi , Bantu and Asians and mixed-race children were conceived. Eventually, interracial unions happened throughout South Africa and the rest of Southern Africa with various other European nationals that also contributed to the growing mixed-race people, who would later be officially classified as 'Coloured' by the apartheid government in

2494-401: The 1950s. Modern science regards race as a social construct , an identity which is assigned based on rules made by society. While partly based on physical similarities within groups, race does not have an inherent physical or biological meaning. The concept of race is foundational to racism, the belief that humans can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. Coloured

2580-590: The ANC." In the 2004 election, voter apathy was high in historically Coloured areas. The ANC faces the dilemma of having to balance the increasingly nationalistic economic aspirations of its core black African support base, with its ambition to regain control of the Western Cape, which would require support from Coloureds. The term Coloured is also used in Namibia, to describe persons of mixed race, specifically part Khoisan, and part European. The Basters of Namibia constitute

2666-546: The Boer republic Natalia got annexed by the British rulers, it became Natal in 1845. When the British started settling in Natal from the mid-19th century, they established sugarcane plantations especially in the coastal regions (such as Durban , Stanger etc.) and these plantations required intensive labour as well. Struggling to find labour from the local Zulu , the British decided to import thousands of labourers from India to work on

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2752-811: The Cape Coloured community, a small minority of them have retained their community and culture, therefore, they became known as the Cape Malay . However, during the Apartheid regime , the Cape Malays were classified as a sub-group of the Cape Coloured due to similar ancestries and because South Africa's population was grouped into four races under the Population Registration Act, 1950 : Black , White , Coloured and Indian . Therefore, many Cape Malays were forced to live in Coloured townships of Cape Town. During

2838-409: The Cape Malays and Cape Coloureds, the Coloured population, was for many purposes treated as a single group, despite their varying ancestries and cultures. Also during apartheid, many Griqua began to self-identify as Coloureds during the apartheid era, because of the benefits of such classification. For example, Coloureds did not have to carry a dompas (a pass, an identity document designed to limit

2924-555: The Cape and the additional arrival of various European nationalities (such as the British, Irish etc.), there were more interracial unions, this time between the white and the Khoisans in the Northern Cape and between the white and the Xhosa in the Eastern Cape with more mixed race children being conceived, adding on to the Coloured population of the entire Cape. After British annexation in

3010-525: The Cape grew up and married amongst themselves, forming a community that would later be known as the " Cape Coloured ". The first interracial marriage in the Cape was between Krotoa (a Khoi Khoi woman who was a servant, a translator and a crucial negotiator between the Dutch and the Khoi Khoi. Her Dutch name was "Eva Van Meerhof") and Peter Havgard (a Danish surgeon whom the Dutch renamed as "Pieter Van Meerhof"). Having conceived 3 mixed-race children, Krotoa

3096-699: The Cape. Some of the Khoi Khoi became labourers in the Cape. Despite this, there was resistance by the Khoi Khoi, which led to the Khoikhoi-Dutch Wars . As a result of this resistance, the Dutch imported slaves from other parts of the world, especially the Bantu people from other parts of southern Africa and Malay people from present-day Indonesia. To a smaller extent, slaves were also imported from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, Madagascar, Mauritius and other parts of Africa. The slaves were almost invariably given Christian names but their places of origin were indicated in

3182-544: The Cape. There was also interracial mixing between the slaves and mixed-race children were also conceived from these unions as well because the slaves were of different races ( African and Asian ). . Unlike the One-drop rule in the USA, mixed-race children in the Cape were not viewed as "white enough to be white", "black enough to be black" nor "asian enough to be asian", therefore, mixed race children from all these interracial unions in

3268-535: The Coloured community. The Eoan Group Theatre Company performs opera and ballet in Cape Town. The Kaapse Klopse carnival, held annually on 2 January in Cape Town, and the Cape Malay choir and orchestral performances are an important part of the city's holiday season. Kaapse Klopse consists of several competing groups that have been singing and dancing through Cape Town's streets on New Year's Day earlier this year. Nowadays

3354-510: The Coloureds elected forty onto the council to supplement the twenty nominated by the government, taking the total number to sixty. Following the 1983 referendum , in which 66.3% of White voters supported the change, the Constitution was reformed to allow the Coloured and Indian minorities limited participation in separate and subordinate Houses in a tricameral Parliament . This was part of

3440-645: The Griqua people moved from the Cape (present-day Western Cape ) to other areas in South Africa, especially in present-day Northern Cape where they established a Griqua state called Griqualand West during the mid 19th century. They also established another state called Griqualand East in between present-day KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape with Kokstad being its capital. The Griqua were subjected to an ambiguity of other creole people within Southern African social order. According to Nurse and Jenkins (1975),

3526-448: The NNP into the ANC in 2005, Coloured voters have generally drawn to the Democratic Alliance , with some opting for minor parties such as Vryheidsfront and Patricia de Lille 's Independent Democrats , with lukewarm support for the ANC. Since the late 20th century, Coloured identity politics have grown in influence. The Western Cape has been a site of the rise of opposition parties, such as

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3612-494: The North", continued the impetus to restrict Coloured rights, in order to entrench the new-won National Party majority. Coloured participation on juries was removed in 1954, and efforts to abolish their participation on the common voters' roll in the Cape Province escalated drastically; it was accomplished in 1956 by a supermajority amendment to the 1951 Separate Representation of Voters Act , passed by Malan but held back by

3698-754: The Senate to 77 in total. The Appellate Division Quorum Bill increased the number of judges necessary for constitutional decisions in the Appeal Court from five to eleven. Strijdom, knowing that he had his two-thirds majority, held a joint sitting of parliament in May 1956. The entrenchment clause regarding the Coloured vote, known as the South Africa Act, were thus eliminated and the Separate Representation of Voters Act passed, now successfully. Coloureds were placed on

3784-492: The Western Cape during the 2009 National and Provincial Elections and subsequently brokered an alliance with the Independent Democrats. The ANC has had some success in winning Coloured votes, particularly among labour-affiliated and middle-class Coloured voters. Some Coloureds express distrust of the ANC with the comment, saying that the Coloured were considered "not white enough under apartheid and not black enough under

3870-475: The absence of substantial coordination at all stages of the project planning, budgeting, and implementation cycle. The sewer systems within townships are poorly planned and constructed. The population of townships typically grows faster than what the infrastructure was planned for, causing overloads that result in blockages, surges, and overflows. There often are only a limited number of public toilets that are overused, abused, and quickly become health hazards for

3956-534: The act as a subgroup of Coloured. As a consequence of Apartheid policies and despite the abolition of the Population Registration Act in 1991, Coloureds are regarded as one of four race groups in South Africa. These groups ( blacks , whites , Coloureds and Indians) still tend to have strong racial identities and to classify themselves and others as members of these race groups. The classification continues to persist in government policy, to an extent, as

4042-415: The communities. Another issue is poor access to maintenance activities, which is caused by a lack of space between houses. Some of the areas on the township peripheries or near the riverbanks do not have access to sanitation facilities because they are not connected to the formal waterborne sewerage system. A consequence of inadequate pumping infrastructure and large populations is that the water pressure in

4128-452: The continuing growth of the townships. Constructing houses in the dried up tributaries is a potential problem in the event of a large storm as the tributary starts to fill up with water again or in case of a backup of sewerage coming into the tributary. The houses built in that area stand the risk of being destroyed by natural occurrences. As the area grows, the tributaries are piped and a number of concrete aprons and gullies are constructed over

4214-408: The culture and language shared by White and Coloured New National Party members, who both spoke Afrikaans. In addition, both groups opposed affirmative action programmes that might give preference to Black South Africans, and some Coloured people feared giving up older privileges, such as access to municipal jobs, if African National Congress gained leadership in the government. After the absorption of

4300-435: The democratic opposition while maintaining a working majority. The effort largely failed, with the 1980s seeing increased disintegration of civil society and numerous states of emergency, with violence increasing from all racial groups. The separate arrangements were removed by the negotiations which took place from 1990 to hold the first universal election . During the 1994 all-race elections, Coloured people voted heavily for

4386-492: The drumlines in cheerful, brightly Coloured costumes perform in a stadium. Christmas festivities take place in a sacred atmosphere but are no less vivid, mainly including choirs and orchestras that sing and play Christmas songs in the streets. In the field of performing arts and literature, several Coloureds performed with the CAPAB (Cape Performing Arts Board) ballet and opera company, and the community yielded three major Afrikaans poets

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4472-626: The early 19th century, slavery was abolished in the Cape, which lead to the Great Trek when the Boere left the Cape as Voortrekkers and migrated into the interior of South Africa to form the Boer republics . Most of the freed slaves(who became Cape Coloureds) remained behind. Many freed slaves moved to an area in Cape Town that became known as District Six and by the turn of the 20th century, District six became more established and populated. Although its population

4558-604: The government relocated Coloured from the urban Cape Town areas of District Six , which was later bulldozed. Other areas they were forced to leave included Constantia , Claremont , Simon's Town . Inhabitants were moved to racially designated sections of the metropolitan area on the Cape Flats . Additionally, under apartheid, Coloured people received education inferior to that of Whites. It was, however, better than that provided to Black South Africans. J. G. Strijdom , known as "the Lion of

4644-411: The government's disinclination to encourage power usage by non-residents. Some townships, such as Alexandra and Diepsloot , are built near rivers, and on flood plains . These areas are extremely dense with only tortuous, narrow access, few communal water points and banks of chemical toilets on the peripheries of the settlements. The settlements are beginning to be built in the old tributaries due to

4730-623: The government. By 1950, a large portion of the urban black population lived in townships. In 1950, upwards of 100,000 people were living in townships on the Witwatersrand area ; 50,000 people lived in Cato Manor in Durban; and an estimated 150,000 black and coloured people lived in townships in Cape Town . Living conditions in the shack township settlements were poor, but they had some advantage over

4816-579: The judiciary as unconstitutional under the South Africa Act , the Union's effective constitution. In order to bypass this safeguard, enforced since 1909 to ensure Coloured political rights in the then-British Cape Colony , Strijdom's government passed legislation to expand the number of Senate seats from 48 to 89. All of the additional 41 members hailed from the National Party, increasing its representation in

4902-455: The largest phase of interracial marriages / Miscegenation in South Africa happened in the Dutch Cape Colony which began from the 17th century, shortly after the arrival of Dutch settlers, who were led by Jan van Riebeeck . When the Dutch settled in the Cape in 1652, they met the Khoi Khoi who were the natives of the area. After settling in the Cape, the Dutch established farms that required intensive labour therefore, they enforced slavery in

4988-571: The late 19th century until the end of apartheid , were reserved for non-whites, namely Black Africans , Coloureds and Indians . Townships were usually built on the periphery of towns and cities. The term township also has a distinct legal meaning in South Africa's system of land title , which carries no racial connotations. Townships for non-whites were also called locations or lokasies in Afrikaans and are often still referred to as such in

5074-473: The leader of this "mixed" group, Adam Kok I , was a former slave of the Dutch governor who was manumitted and provided land outside Cape Town in the eighteenth century. With territories beyond the Dutch East India Company 's administration, Kok provided refuge to deserting soldiers, runaway slaves, and remaining members of various Khoikhoi tribes. In South Africa and many neighbouring countries,

5160-520: The mixed-race populations as a separate group, and a growing number of mixed-race people also embraced a shared identity. Another phase of interracial marriages/miscegenation in South Africa happened in the Colony of Natal (present-day KwaZulu-Natal ) during the 19th century and early 20th century. This time, it was mainly between British and the Zulu , with an addition of British intermixing with Indians . After

5246-587: The movements of the black population), while the Griqua, who were seen as an indigenous African group, though heavily mixed, did. Zimbabwean Coloureds are descended from Shona or Ndebele , British and Afrikaner settlers, as well as Arab and Asian people. Coloured people played an important role in the struggle against apartheid and its predecessor policies. The African Political Organisation , established in 1902, had an exclusively Coloured membership; its leader Abdullah Abdurahman rallied Coloured political efforts for many years. Many Coloured people later joined

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5332-457: The new voters' roll and the number of Coloured voters dropped dramatically. In the next election, only 50.2% of them voted. They had no interest in voting for White representatives — an activity which many of them saw as pointless, and only persisted for ten years. Under the Population Registration Act , as amended, Coloureds were formally classified into various subgroups, including Cape Coloureds , Cape Malays and "other coloured". A portion of

5418-588: The other more established options, like hostels, of being cheap and largely unregulated by the apartheid-era South African Police . In 1950, the Group Areas Act was enacted, which empowered the Governor-General to designate land for the sole use of a specific race. Under this law, black people were evicted from properties that were in areas designated as "white only" and forced to move into segregated townships. Separate townships were established for each of

5504-424: The platform of the now-defunct Independent Democrats , does not use the label Coloured but many observers would consider her as Coloured by visible appearance. The Independent Democrats party sought the Coloured vote and gained significant ground in the municipal and local elections in 2006, particularly in districts in the Western Cape with high proportions of Coloured residents. The firebrand Peter Marais (formerly

5590-558: The records of sales and other documents so that it is possible to get an idea of the ratio of slaves from different regions. These slaves were, however, dispersed and lost their cultural identity over the course of time. Because most of the Dutch settlers in the Cape were men, many of them married and conceived mixed-race children with the Khoi Khoi, the Southern African Bantu, the Malay from Indonesia and other enslaved ethnic groups in

5676-515: The same as the (legal) township boundaries, along with its numbered extensions, and it usually shares its name with the township (with some notable exceptions, such as the Johannesburg suburb known as Rivonia , which is actually the township of Edenburg with numbered extensions called Rivonia Extensions). Occasionally, formerly independent towns, such as Sandton (which itself consists of numerous suburbs), are referred to as "suburbs". Coloureds Interracial unions in South Africa began from

5762-506: The small Chinese South African community was also classified as a coloured subgroup. In 1958, the government established the Department of Coloured Affairs, followed in 1959 by the Union for Coloured Affairs. The latter had 27 members and served as an advisory link between the government and the Coloured people. The 1964 Coloured Persons Representative Council turned out to be a constitutional hitch which never really got going. In 1969,

5848-471: The smaller towns. The slang term " kasie / kasi ", a popular short version of " lokasie " is also used. Townships sometimes have large informal settlements nearby. During 1900–1950 (roughly), the majority of the black population in the major urban areas lived in hostels or servants' accommodations, these were provided by employers, and the workers were mostly single men. In the period during and following World War II , urban areas of South Africa experienced

5934-468: The sugarcane plantations of Natal. Just like the Dutch settlers in the Cape, most of the British settlers in Natal were men, therefore, many of them married the Zulu while some married Indians and mixed-race children were also conceived. Some of the British men with interracial marriages in Natal practised polygamy, having multiple Zulu wives while others had multiple Zulu concubines. The perfect example of this

6020-480: The terms township, location, and informal settlement are not used pejoratively. However, policymakers are, as in the 1950s, once again using the term ' slums ' in a highly pejorative way. Informal settlements that are normally self established around regulated townships are faced with several social problems. Most often, the residents of informal settlements do not own the land on which their houses are built. In effect, these houses are built illegally. Construction

6106-442: The three designated non-white race groups: black people, Coloureds , and Indians – as per the Population Registration Act, 1950 . Most South African towns and cities have at least one township associated with them. Some old townships have seen rapid development since 1994, with, for instance, wealthy and middle-income areas sprouting in parts of Soweto and Chatsworth . Despite their origins in apartheid South Africa, today

6192-561: The time of the 2011 census: The legal meaning of the term "township" in South Africa differs from the popular usage and has a precise legal meaning without any racial connotations. The term is used in land titles and townships are subdivided into erfs (stands). "Township" can also mean a designated area or district, as part of a place name. For instance "Industrial Township" has been used in reference to an industrial area, e.g. "Westmead Industrial Township", in Pinetown , South Africa. Often

6278-555: The total population, according to the South African National Census of 2011 . South Africa is known as a " Rainbow Nation " because of its massive diversity with so many different regions , cultures , tribes , races , religions and nationalities . Due to this massive diversity, Coloured people have different ancestries as they come from different regions in South Africa that has different groups of people that went through different phases of history. The first and

6364-467: The township called Diepsloot near Johannesburg showed that 24% of the residents lived in brick structures, 43% were in shack areas, and 27% were in backyard shacks. Township schools are often overcrowded, and lack adequate infrastructure. There is a high dropout rate among poor youth, particularly around Grade 9. Despite government interventions, education outcomes remain skewed, with township students continuing to under-perform. This skewed distribution

6450-423: The townships is very low. Each section of the townships normally has one pump per section. The water is used for everything from washing clothes to cooking, drinking, bathing, and cleaning the house. Having limited water accessible to each section makes it very hard to meet the daily water needs per household. Illegal electricity connections are all-pervasive in the townships with electrical wires strung along

6536-446: The trees leading to power boxes. Although dangerous, every house in the area has a wire coming out of it and every wire is known by their owner in order to fix problems as soon as they arise. Most of the sub-stations are very unsecured to begin with so having so many additional wires coming from them is very dangerous for the people nearby and the kids playing in the area. The electricity infrastructure has not undergone upgrades because of

6622-513: The tributary into which the communal water points drain. The gullies are then choked with garbage and the tributaries appear to be substantially blocked but this will not hold off the water for very long if a flood comes through. Due to overcrowding, residents choose to build on river banks in hopes of easy access to water and laundry facilities, however, the available water is unsuitable for these purposes due to pollution, and they remain vulnerable to floods. Backyard shacks are additional units on

6708-467: The victory of the National Party in 1948. It carried out an apartheid programme that stripped Coloured people of their remaining voting powers. The term " kaffir " is a racial slur used to refer to Black African people in South Africa. While it is still used against black people, it is not as prevalent as it is against coloured people. Coloured people were subject to forced relocation. For instance,

6794-505: The white National Party , which in its first contest with a non-white majority won 20% of the vote and a majority in the new Western Cape province – much due to Cape Coloured support. The National Party recast itself as the New National Party after De Klerk's departure in 1996, partly to attract non-White voters, and grew closer to the ANC. This political alliance, often perplexing to outsiders, has sometimes been explained in terms of

6880-413: The white minority governments historically segregated Africans from Europeans after settlement had progressed, and increasingly classified all mixed race people together into a third group, despite their numerous ethnic and national differences in ancestry. The imperial and apartheid governments categorized them as Coloured. In addition, other distinctly homogeneous ethnic groups also traditionally viewed

6966-412: Was a legally defined racial classification during apartheid referring to anyone not white or of the black Bantu tribes, which effectively largely meant people of colour. The apartheid-era Population Registration Act, 1950 and subsequent amendments, codified the Coloured identity and defined its subgroups, including Cape Coloureds and Malays. Indian South Africans were initially classified under

7052-416: Was an effort to impose white supremacy and maintain racial divisions. Individuals were classified as White South Africans (formally classified as "European"), Black South Africans (formally classified as "Native", "Bantu" or simply "African" and constituting the majority of the population), Coloureds (mixed-race) and Indians (formally classified as "Asian"). The census in South Africa during 1911 played

7138-645: Was known as the mother that gave birth to the Coloured community in South Africa. With the arrival of more Europeans (such as the French Huguenots and the Germans ) and the arrival of more African and Asian slaves in the Cape Colony, there were more interracial unions, whose mixed-race children got absorbed into the Cape Coloured community. The predominant Asian slaves in the Cape were the Malay that came from Indonesia. Although most of them got interracially mixed into

7224-469: Was predominantly Cape Coloured, District Six (just like many places in the Cape) was diverse with different ethnicities, races and nationalities living there (this includes Blacks, Whites, Asians etc.) . Many of these groups got absolved into the Cape coloured community. The Cape also attracted many European immigrants, many of whom married into the Cape Coloured, adding on to the ancestry of the Cape Coloured. As

7310-432: Was used to refer to people of mixed race. Most are descended from mixed African and British, or African and Indian, progenitors. Some Coloured families descended from Cape Coloured migrants from South Africa who had children with local women. Under Rhodesia 's predominantly white government, Coloureds had more privileges than black Africans, including full voting rights, but still faced social discrimination. The term Coloured

7396-466: Was very prominent, while the Black Sash (White women, uniformly dressed, standing on street corners with placards) also made themselves heard. In this way, the question of the Coloured vote became one of the first measures of the regime's unscrupulous nature and flagrant willingness to manipulate its inherited Westminster system . It would remain in power until 1994. Many Coloureds refused to register for

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