I have always thought that Nelson Mandela was one of the most important people in history. I find it very fascinating that one man can end apartheid and that's why I want to know more about it. South Africa is a country with a history of enforced racism and separation of its multiracial community. White Europeans invaded South Africa and started a political system known as "apartheid" (meaning "apartheid"). This system severely limited the rights and lifestyle of the country's non-white inhabitants, forcing them to live separately from white Europeans. I chose to investigate how apartheid affected people's lives, and also how and why the apartheid system rose and fell in South Africa. Racial segregation and white supremacy existed in South Africa long before the onset of apartheid. The Natives Land Act of 1913 marked the beginning of apartheid. This act was passed due to pressure from whites to prevent blacks from spreading into white areas. Millions of Africans have been affected. The most catastrophic aspect of this law is that it prevented black Africans from buying or renting land in 93% of South Africa. This Act incorporated land segregation into legislation for the first time since the Union in 1910. (South African History, 2013) Opposition to the Land Act formed the African National Congress (ANC). The African National Congress wanted a democratic future in which all races would enjoy equal rights. (Encyclopedia, 2008) South Africa was going through a difficult period, the “Great Depression” and the “Second World War” brought economic problems to Africans. The government needed to enforce its racial segregation policies, and it did. In 1948, Afrikaners... center of paper... held the first free multiracial elections and Nelson Mandela was elected president of South Africa, marking the official end of the apartheid system. (HistoryWiz, 2013 )Nelson Mandela is known as one of the most respected people and peace fighters in history. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election in 1994. He was born on 18 July 1918 in South Africa. Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist and the leader of the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). In 1962 he was arrested and found guilty of sabotage and other charges and sentenced to life in prison. Mandela served 28 years in prison, spending many of these years on Robben Island. He was released on February 11, 1990. Nelson Mandela is one of the main factors explaining the fall of the apartheid system. (Encyclopedia, 1997)