South Africa

=== Apartheid era ===
{{Main|Apartheid}}
{{Further|Disinvestment from South Africa}}
[[File:ApartheidSignEnglishAfrikaans.jpg|thumb|"For use by white persons"&nbsp;– apartheid sign in English and Afrikaans]]
In 1948, the National Party was elected to power. It strengthened the racial segregation begun under Dutch and British colonial rule. Taking Canada's [[Indian Act]] as a framework,<ref>Gloria Galloway, [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/chiefs-reflect-on-apartheid-and-first-nations-as-atleo-visits-mandela-memorial/article15902124/ "Chiefs Reflect on Apartheid"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502050752/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/chiefs-reflect-on-apartheid-and-first-nations-as-atleo-visits-mandela-memorial/article15902124/|date=2 May 2019 }}, ''The Globe and Mail'', 11 December 2013</ref> the [[Nationalism|nationalist]] government classified all peoples into three races (''Whites, Blacks, Indians and Coloured people (people of mixed race)'') and developed rights and limitations for each. The white minority (less than 20%)<ref>Beinart, William (2001). ''Twentieth-century South Africa.'' Oxford University Press. p. 202. {{ISBN|978-0-19-289318-5}}.</ref> controlled the vastly larger black majority. The legally institutionalised segregation became known as ''[[apartheid]]''. While whites enjoyed the highest [[standard of living]] in all of Africa, comparable to [[First World]] Western nations, the black majority remained disadvantaged by almost every standard, including income, education, housing, and life expectancy.<ref>{{Cite web|title=apartheid {{!}} South Africa, Definition, Facts, Beginning, & End |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/apartheid|access-date=2022-05-15|website=Britannica|language=en}}</ref> The [[Freedom Charter]], adopted in 1955 by the [[Congress Alliance]], demanded a non-racial society and an end to discrimination.

On 31 May 1961, the country became a republic following [[1960 South African republic referendum|a referendum]] (only open to white voters) which narrowly passed;<ref>{{cite web|title=Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd|url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/hendrik-frensch-verwoerd|publisher=South African History Online|quote=On 5 October 1960 a referendum was held in which White voters were asked: "Do you support a republic for the Union?" – 52 percent voted 'Yes'.|access-date=9 March 2013|archive-date=29 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171129002322/http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/hendrik-frensch-verwoerd|url-status=live}}</ref> the British-dominated Natal province largely voted against the proposal. [[Elizabeth II]] lost the title [[Monarchy of South Africa|Queen of South Africa]], and the last [[Governor-General of South Africa|Governor-General]], [[C. R. Swart|Charles Robberts Swart]], became [[State President of South Africa|state president]]. As a concession to the [[Westminster system]], the appointment of the president remained an appointment by parliament and was virtually powerless until [[P. W. Botha]]'s [[South African Constitution of 1983|Constitution Act of 1983]], which eliminated the office of [[Prime Minister of South Africa|prime minister]] and instated a unique "strong presidency" [[Parliamentary system|responsible to parliament]]. Pressured by other [[Commonwealth of Nations]] countries, South Africa withdrew from the organisation in 1961 and rejoined it in 1994.

Despite [[Internal resistance to apartheid|opposition to apartheid]] both within and outside the country, the government legislated for a continuation of apartheid. The security forces cracked down on internal dissent, and violence became widespread, with anti-apartheid organisations such as the [[African National Congress]] (ANC), the [[Azanian People's Organisation]], and the [[Pan Africanist Congress of Azania|Pan-Africanist Congress]] carrying out guerrilla warfare<ref name="Biko1">{{cite book|last1=Gibson|first1=Nigel|last2=Alexander|first2=Amanda|last3=Mngxitama|first3=Andile|title=Biko Lives! Contesting the Legacies of Steve Biko|date=2008|page=138|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|location=Hampshire|isbn=978-0-230-60649-4}}</ref> and urban sabotage.<ref name="Switzer">{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bUvA7PHnCrUC&q=breytenbach+dakar&pg=PA415| title=South Africa's Resistance Press: Alternative Voices in the Last Generation Under Apartheid. Issue 74 of Research in international studies: Africa series| publisher=Ohio University Press| author=Switzer, Les| year=2000| page=2| isbn=978-0-89680-213-1| access-date=19 October 2020| archive-date=11 December 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211144708/https://books.google.com/books?id=bUvA7PHnCrUC&q=breytenbach+dakar&pg=PA415| url-status=live }}</ref> The three rival resistance movements also engaged in occasional inter-factional clashes as they jockeyed for domestic influence.<ref name="Mitchell">{{cite book|last1=Mitchell|first1=Thomas|title=Native vs Settler: Ethnic Conflict in Israel/Palestine, Northern Ireland and South Africa|date=2008|pages=194–196|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|location=Westport|isbn=978-0-313-31357-8}}</ref> Apartheid became increasingly controversial, and several countries began to boycott business with the South African government because of its racial policies. These measures were later extended to international sanctions and the [[Disinvestment from South Africa|divestment of holdings]] by foreign investors.<ref name="Bridgland">{{cite book|first=Fred|last=Bridgland|title=The War for Africa: Twelve months that transformed a continent|year=1990|publisher=Ashanti Publishing|location=Gibraltar|page=32|isbn=978-1-874800-12-5}}</ref><ref name="Landgren">{{cite book| first = Signe| last = Landgren| title = Embargo Disimplemented: South Africa's Military Industry| edition = 1989| pages = [https://archive.org/details/embargodisimplem0000land/page/6 6–10]| publisher = Oxford University Press| isbn = 978-0-19-829127-5| year = 1989| url = https://archive.org/details/embargodisimplem0000land/page/6}}</ref>