There’s no one answer to this question – apartheid was the result of a long history of discrimination and violence against black South Africans. However, if we want to understand why apartheid was implemented, we need to look at the political and economic reasons for its existence.
Political reasons for apartheid include the desire to maintain white minority rule in South Africa and to preserve the unique character of South African society. The National Party, which came to power in 1948, was committed to maintaining white supremacy. To do this, they needed to keep black people from participating in the political process and from challenging the white rule.
Economic reasons for apartheid include the desire to protect white-owned businesses and to preserve the cheap labour force that black South Africans provided. The National Party believed that white-owned businesses were essential to the economic development of South Africa. They also believed that black workers were paid too little and that they were taking jobs away from whites.
So, apartheid was implemented for both political and economic reasons. However, it’s important to remember that the discrimination and violence that black South Africans faced was the main reason why apartheid was able to exist in the first place.
