South African Native Affairs Commission

The South African Native Affairs Commission (SANAC) was established in 1905 to address the "native question" in South Africa. Its report proposed significant territorial separation between Black and white landownership. It also advocated for systematic urban segregation through the creation of Black "locations" and the removal of Black "squatters" from white farms, replacing them with wage laborers. Furthermore, SANAC recommended the segregation of Black and white people in the political sphere.1

These recommendations formed the basis for laws enacted between 1910 and 1936, shaping policies of racial segregation and control in South Africa. The Union of South Africa itself was formed in 1910 through the South Africa Act, unifying four British colonies. This act was drafted by white delegates and effectively excluded Black, Coloured, and Asian representatives, disenfranchising the nonwhite majority and limiting their political power.2