Is a segregated/Apartheid South Africa inevitable?

From my (Wikipedia) readings on the history of the Cape Colony and figures like Saul Solomon and John Molteno, I've gotten the impression that they were fighting a losing battle. Perhaps the Cape Qualified Franchise could've been maintained in a Cape on its own, but it almost certainly couldn't impose that on the rest of a united South Africa? And that's not counting internal opposition to the Cape Qualified Franchise, like from Cecil Rhodes.

So, yeah. Is a segregated South Africa an inevitability, and if not, how can a democratic+multiracial South Africa come into being?

(Preferably with a post 1872 POD, but that's certainly not a requirement)
 
Was it inevitable? No, but it certainly was the most likely scenario. Just look at the other settler colonies and how they treated the native population. Look at the USa and the Indians or Australia and the aboriginals. They all treated them like shit. The only difference between South Africa and the other was that in South Africa the native population outnumbered the setlers.

That said, I think it could be possible for the upper classes of the native population being treated more or less as equals or at least not as bad as OTL (having lots of money or power often softens racism, especialy if you can make money out of it somehow), while the poor native population being treated as badly as ever.
 
Here's what the Wikipedia article on the Union of South Africa says: "The Molteno Unification Plan (1877), put forward by the Cape government as a more feasible unitary alternative to confederation, largely anticipated the final act of Union in 1909. A crucial difference was that the Cape’s liberal constitution and multiracial franchise were to be extended to the other states of the union. These smaller states would gradually accede to the much larger Cape Colony through a system of treaties, whilst simultaneously gaining elected seats in the Cape parliament. The entire process would be locally driven, with Britain’s role restricted to policing any set-backs. While subsequently acknowledged to be more viable, this model was rejected at the time by London.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_South_Africa#cite_note-8 At the other extreme, another powerful Cape politician at the time, Saul Solomon, proposed an extremely loose system of federation, with the component states preserving their very different constitutions and systems of franchise."

Sounds like it would have been ASB for Britain to approve of Molteno's or Solomon's proposals?

Would it not have been ASB as much for South Africa to become a federation rather than a unitary state in 1910?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_South_Africa#cite_note-9
 
Sounds like it would have been ASB for Britain to approve of Molteno's or Solomon's proposals?

Would it not have been ASB as much for South Africa to become a federation rather than a unitary state in 1910?

I'd think that the only way the Molteno Plan could go into effect if there was a corresponding liberal movement in Britain that held emancipation of non-whites to be a good idea, which would have wide-reaching consequences empire wide. Or, a liberal movement amongst the Boers; probably once pigs fly.

The Solomon Plan seems more feasible, if only because the Cape would be left untouched and the other bits would (hopefully) join them. I'd hope that a looser federation would be like that.

Or, least likely, just avert federation/unification altogether. The Cape would thus be that one (relatively) progressive dominion next to the more traditional ones.
https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=320743
 
I'd think that the only way the Molteno Plan could go into effect if there was a corresponding liberal movement in Britain that held emancipation of non-whites to be a good idea, which would have wide-reaching consequences empire wide. Or, a liberal movement amongst the Boers; probably once pigs fly.

The Solomon Plan seems more feasible, if only because the Cape would be left untouched and the other bits would (hopefully) join them. I'd hope that a looser federation would be like that.

Did the British reject the Solomon Plan for the same reason that they rejected the Molteno Plan? Or for a different reason? Plus, would the British have accepted the Solomon Plan (and maybe also the Molteno Plan) had Lord Carnarvon not imposed his disastrous confederation scheme for South Africa around that time?

Or, least likely, just avert federation/unification altogether. The Cape would thus be that one (relatively) progressive dominion next to the more traditional ones.

What would be a good POD for that - the Boer republics winning the second Boer War of 1899-1902?
 
So, to review, which of the following PODs is/are the best to get South Africa to avoid at least apartheid, probably also the Boer Wars, and possibly also the Great Trek:

1) no union or federation of southern Africa along the lines of, for example, the Union of South Africa (i.e. the British Colonial Office decides to keep the four colonies separate in 1909)

2) the Solomon (or Molteno) plan of the 1870s

3) no Mfecane (Shaka assassinated in 1819 instead of 1828, or he dies later than 1828)
 
Sorry, I know this thread is old but I noticed that no one has mentioned Sir George Grey. He was a governor of the Cape Colony who was ahead of his time. He wanted to unite the various white-led colonies of the area as he felt it would solve several problems at the same time. Though relatively new, the Cape Colony DID have a franchise for coloured people so it would make sense that like Molteno's plan, the franchise would be extended to coloured in this new federation over time.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Grey#Governor_of_Cape_Colony
 
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Not having the South African Nationalist Party (I think that's what its called) not rise to power would help. It also depends on what you consider to be "South Africa." A South African nation led by the Boers like in OTL would be completely different from a South Africa with another ruler.
 
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