US and EEC place economic sanctions on South Africa

Historical Context Note

Lucas Paul Richert (University of Saskatchewan)
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During the 1980s, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher came under growing pressure to effect change in South Africa, a country which promoted apartheid. In 1983, over 1,000 black and white South African launched the United Democratic Front. Thereafter, this group organized a number of strikes, boycotts, and attacks on South African police. In response, the Pieter Botha government resisted the UDF pressure and in 1985 declared a formal state of emergency. South African armed forces thus brutally cracked down on dissent through the use of draconian tactics. S.A. forces razed squatter camps and raided certain townships. The United States government, in response to widespread public opposition to …

192 words

Citation: Richert, Lucas Paul. "US and EEC place economic sanctions on South Africa". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 October 2008 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=3842, accessed 26 November 2024.]

3842 US and EEC place economic sanctions on South Africa 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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