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What caused the Sharpeville massacre?

What caused the Sharpeville massacre?

Story text. On March 21, 1960, police officers in a black township in South Africa opened fire on a group of people peacefully protesting oppressive pass laws, killing 69.

What was the main cause of the Soweto uprising?

… massive uprising known as the Soweto Rebellion, which began as a protest against the government’s insistence that the Afrikaans language be used as the medium of instruction in Soweto’s high schools. Years of violence and repression followed.

Who was responsible for the Sharpeville massacre?

In the Black township of Sharpeville, near Johannesburg, South Africa, Afrikaner police open fire on a group of unarmed Black South African demonstrators, killing 69 people and wounding 180 in a hail of submachine-gun fire.

What did ANC do?

The ANC represented the main opposition to the government during apartheid and therefore they played a major role in resolving the conflict through participating in the peacemaking and peace-building processes.

How many students were killed in the Soweto uprising?

They were met with fierce police brutality and many were shot and killed. The number of people killed in the uprising is usually given as 176, but estimates of up to 700 have been made….

Soweto uprising
Date 16–18 June 1976
Deaths Minimum of 176 with some estimates ranging up to 700
Injured 4,000
Victims Students

What was the Sharpeville massacre of 1960?

The Sharpeville Massacre, 1960. Police Attack Demonstrators in Sharpeville, March 21, 1960. Few events loom larger in the history of the apartheid regime than those of the afternoon of March 21, 1960, in Sharpeville, South Africa. Throughout the 1950s, South African blacks intensified their resistance against the oppressive apartheid system.

What happened in Sharpeville South Africa?

Massacre in Sharpeville. In the Black township of Sharpeville, near Johannesburg, South Africa, Afrikaner police open fire on a group of unarmed Black South African demonstrators, killing 69 people and wounding 180 in a hail of submachine-gun fire.

What happened on 21 March in Sharpeville?

On the morning of 21 March, PAC members walked around Sharpeville waking people up and urging them to take part in the demonstration. Other PAC members tried to stop bus drivers from going on duty and this resulted in a lack transport for Sharpeville residents who worked in Vereeniging.

How many people died in Sharpeville?

Sharpeville Massacre, 1960. Official figures counted 69 dead and about 50 wounded, though further analysis has raised the human toll to at least 200 wounded, “mowed down” by police who fired into a crowd of about 4,000 unarmed protesters.