Sharpeville massacre

Date

21 March 1960

Category

Social & demographic

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa (South Africa)

Era

Contemporary

Significance

On 21 March 1960 South African police opened fire on a crowd of several thousand unarmed Black protesters outside the police station in the township of Sharpeville, in the Transvaal.

The demonstration, called by the Pan-Africanist Congress, was part of a campaign against the apartheid pass laws, which compelled Black South Africans to carry identity documents restricting where they could live, work and move. Police fired into the crowd, killing 69 people, many shot in the back as they fled, and wounding roughly 180. The massacre provoked international outrage and focused global attention on apartheid. In its aftermath the government declared a state of emergency, detained thousands, and banned the African National Congress and the Pan-Africanist Congress, prompting both organisations to turn toward armed struggle. The event marked a turning point in the anti-apartheid movement, spurred United Nations condemnation, and contributed to the development of international human rights and anti-racism norms. The date is now commemorated as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Empires active in 21 March 1960

• Soviet Union
  1922 CE – 1991 CE
• French Colonial Empire (Second)
  1830 CE – 1962 CE
• British Empire
  1583 CE – 1997 CE
• Spanish Empire
  1492 CE – 1976 CE
• Portuguese Empire
  1415 CE – 1999 CE
• Solomonic dynasty
  1270 CE – 1974 CE

Related social & demographic events

• Defiance Campaign Against Apartheid in South Africa
  1952
• Soweto Uprising Galvanises Anti-Apartheid Struggle
  1976
• The Great Leap Forward and the Great Chinese Famine
  1958–1962
• The AIDS Epidemic Is First Identified
  1981
• The COVID-19 pandemic
  11 March 2020
• FDA approves the oral contraceptive pill
  9 May 1960

Further reading

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

The wider story

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

Yuval Noah Harari

Global best-seller on how our species, its populations and societies remade the world.

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