Racism in South Africa

Racism in South Africa can be traced back to the earliest historical accounts of interactions between African, Asian, and European peoples along the coast of Southern Africa. It has existed throughout several centuries of the history of South Africa, dating back to the Dutch colonisation of Southern Africa, which started in 1652. Before universal suffrage was achieved in 1994, White South Africans, especially Afrikaners during the period of Apartheid, enjoyed various legally or socially sanctioned privileges and rights that were denied to the indigenous African peoples and to the immigrants and descendants of immigrants who had not originated from Europe. Examples of systematic racism over the course of South Africa's history include forced removals, racial inequality, racial segregation, uneven resource distribution, and disenfranchisement. Racial controversies and politics remain major phenomena in the country.

Colonial racism

The region that would become modern-day South Africa was located in a position of advantage for European merchants who were seeking to organize and carry out trade in the East Indies, primarily Portuguese and Dutch colonists. In 1652, the Dutch East India Company founded the Cape Colony at the Cape of Good Hope. The purpose of the colony was to ensure that Dutch ships sailing to and from Batavia would have a source of fresh provisions, as death by starvation claimed a large number of passengers. During the period of Dutch rule, Dutch settlers (eventually known as Boers) began to migrate to the colony, instituting settlements throughout the region.

The region attracted Dutch slave traders, who imported slaves for wheat farming and viticulture to serve the various Dutch settlements.