township

In South Africa, an urban settlement designated for non-white residents by the apartheid government 1948-94. Townships such as Soweto (South Western Township), Johannesburg, a pre-existing shanty town, were created on the edges of major towns and cities. Their purpose was to control and preserve a local black workforce while ensuring separation from white residential areas. Poor living conditions and harsh laws made them a focus for the struggle between black South Africans and the forces of apartheid, a conflict that formed the main image of South Africa held by the world during the apartheid years.

Although permanent settlements, the townships were rarely provided with basic services, such as electricity, waste disposal, and clean water. Their close proximity but obvious differences to the white districts fuelled tensions between the majority black population and the white government. The townships became a fertile breeding ground for black South African organizations such as the African National Congress (ANC) and the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC). These political groups organized regular rent strikes and demonstrations in the townships, which were put down with force by white police and army forces.