Sharpeville

Sharpeville is a township of Vereeniging, town of South Africa located at about fifty kilometers in the south of Johannesburg to the Transvaal in current the Province of the Gauteng.

Foundation

The township of Sharpeville was founded during the Second world war on levels drawn in 1935 envisaging the construction of 3.165 houses quickly carried with 5.466. It was intended to lodge South-African nonwhite race exclusively and was managed and financed by the municipality of Vereeniging.

In 1942, the township was inaugurated by John Sharpe, the mayor of Vereeniging under the name of Sharpe Native Township . The township then one of was best equipped with South Africa. The houses had two rooms, a living room and a kitchen on an average surface of 45m2. The roofs were covered with Asbestos and the toilets were located outside each house.

In 1950, the township took its current name of Sharpeville.

The township was going quickly to count not less than 40.000 people. This population growth was all the more important with the installation of the Apartheid starting from 1948. Sharpeville was indicated like black suburbs obliging the Indien S to settle in Roshnee and the Métis in Rustervaal. The black residents of the area of Vereeniging, in particular of Signal Hiring, were concentrated on Sharpeville.

The massacre of Sharpeville

The March 21st 1960, Sharpeville was the theater of known as the Massacre of Sharpeville which caused an international shock wave as well as riots in all the country.

This nonviolent Demonstration of protest against the law on the passes, has leads to shootings of the police officers against the demonstrator blacks. The assessment of 69 had died among the demonstrators and more than 150 wounded.

The government of Hendrik Verwoerd issued the state of emergency then and prohibits ANC and the Congrès African Side of Robert Sobukwe.

Consequently, Nelson Mandela forsook the non-violent tactics of the ANC and created a military body to him: the Umkhonto we Sizwe (the Lance of the Nation).

Sharpeville forms today part of the town of Vereeniging.

External bonds

Site of Sharpeville

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