soweto

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English - English
a large township that was established near Johannesburg in South Africa for black people to live in, because they were not allowed to live in Johannesburg under the old system of apartheid, although they were allowed to work there. In 1976 a student protest against the use of the Afrikaans language instead of English in schools became a riot and almost 200 people, including many children, were killed by the South African police and army. As a result, Soweto became an important centre for opposition to the white government. Township (pop., 1991 596,632), northeastern Republic of South Africa. It adjoins Johannesburg on the southwest, and its name is an acronym derived from South-Western Townships. It was originally set aside by the South African white government for residence by blacks. The townships constituting Soweto grew out of shantytowns that arose with the arrival of black labourers from rural areas, especially between the World Wars. There is little industrial development; most of Soweto's residents commute to Johannesburg for employment. It is the country's largest black urban complex, and its residents were active in the protests that helped bring an end to apartheid by 1991
a large collection of African townships southwest of Johannesburg in South Africa; inhabited solely by Black Africans
soweto
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