Only 20 per cent of South Africans white, but by the middle of the twentieth century they owned almost 90 per cent of the land. In 1948 the government start apartheid, which means 'separateness'. 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 and vote. Apartheid was very unfair, but people who protested against it were often prison or murdered.