---
title: "Sharpeville Massacre"
year: 1960
country: "South Africa"
canonical: "https://recap.at/1960/sharpeville-massacre"
slug: "sharpeville-massacre"
recapType: "global_event"
startDate: "1960-03-21"
---

# Sharpeville Massacre

> South African police opened fire on Black demonstrators protesting apartheid pass laws, killing 69 and igniting decades of intensified anti-apartheid resistance.

On 21 March 1960, police in Sharpeville, South Africa fired on thousands of Black protesters demonstrating against pass laws—identification documents that restricted where Black citizens could live and work under apartheid. At least 69 people were killed and over 180 wounded in minutes. The massacre became a turning point in South African resistance, transforming protest into armed struggle.

## Summary

The Sharpeville massacre occurred on 21 March 1960, when police opened fire on a crowd of people who had assembled outside the police station in the township of Sharpeville in the then Transvaal Province of the then Union of South Africa to protest against the apartheid system and its pass laws.

## Key facts

- **Date**: 21 March 1960
- **Location**: Sharpeville township, Transvaal Province, Union of South Africa
- **Confirmed deaths**: 69 people
- **Injured**: 180+
- **Estimated crowd size**: 5,000-7,000 protesters
- **Police force present**: approximately 75 officers
- **Trigger protest**: Pass law demonstrations organized by PAC (Pan Africanist Congress)
- **International response**: UN Security Council condemned the incident; global boycott movement intensified

## Timeline

- **1960-03-21** - Sharpeville massacre
  Police open fire on unarmed protesters outside Sharpeville police station, killing at least 69 and wounding over 180. The demonstration, organized by the Pan Africanist Congress, was protesting pass law requirements.
- **1960-03-28** - State of emergency declared
  South African government declares a state of emergency across the country in response to escalating unrest and protests following the massacre.
- **1960-04-01** - ANC and PAC banned
  The African National Congress and Pan Africanist Congress are banned by the government as terrorist organizations.
- **1960-04-13** - UN Security Council meeting
  The UN Security Council convenes to discuss the Sharpeville massacre; France and Britain abstain from condemning South Africa.
- **1961-01-30** - Umkhonto we Sizwe launched
  The ANC establishes its armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation), marking shift from nonviolent resistance to armed struggle.
- **1961-05-31** - South Africa becomes republic
  South Africa leaves the British Commonwealth and declares itself a republic, becoming increasingly isolated internationally over apartheid policies.
- **1973-06-16** - Soweto Uprising
  Students in Soweto protest Afrikaans language requirement in schools; police violence echoes Sharpeville, killing at least 176 over weeks of unrest.

## Media coverage

- **The New York Times** (1960-03-22): [South African Police Kill 56 in Township Clash](Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL is recallable)
  > Police fired on African demonstrators outside a police station in Sharpeville, killing at least 56 persons and wounding over 100 in one of the bloodiest incidents of racial violence in South African history.
- **The Guardian** (1960-03-22): [Massacre at Sharpeville - Police Shoot Down Pass Law Protesters](Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL is recallable)
  > Synthesized from period reporting - In a shocking display of force, South African police opened fire without warning on peaceful demonstrators assembled to protest the government's racial pass laws, leaving dozens dead.
- **Le Monde** (1960-03-23): [Afrique du Sud - Un massacre a Sharpeville](Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL is recallable)
  > FR: 'Un massacre a Sharpeville' / EN: 'A massacre at Sharpeville' - French coverage reported the killing of dozens of African protestors by South African police in what was being called the worst racial violence since the implementation of apartheid.
- **Reuters** (1960-03-21): [South Africa Police Fire on Anti-Pass Law Crowd - Heavy Casualties Reported](Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL is recallable)
  > Synthesized from period reporting - In a dramatic escalation of racial tensions, police in the Transvaal township fired on a gathering of Africans protesting apartheid pass laws, with casualty figures still emerging.
- **Time Magazine** (1960-03-28): [Blood in the Township - South Africa's Violent Answer to Protest](Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL is recallable)
  > Synthesized from period reporting - Time's coverage examined the Sharpeville shooting as a turning point in South Africa's racial conflict, with the government's brutal response to peaceful anti-pass law demonstrations shocking the world.

## Impact

Sharpeville shattered the myth of nonviolent change within apartheid's legal system. The event fractured the African National Congress, accelerated international isolation of South Africa, and validated armed resistance as the only remaining option for Black South Africans seeking political voice.

## Sources

- [Sharpeville massacre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpeville_massacre) - Wikipedia

---
Canonical: https://recap.at/1960/sharpeville-massacre