Only 20 per cent of South Africans are white, but by the middle of the twentieth century they owned almost 90 per cent of the land. In 1948 the government started apartheid,which means 'separateness'. With apartheid,African,Indian and Asian South Africans were discriminated against, while whites had many privileges. Only white South Africans could live in certain areas, have certain jobs anf vote. Apartheid was very unfair, but people who protested against it were often sent to prison or murdered.