A bantustan was a territory set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa, as part of the policy of apartheid. Ten bantustans were established in South Africa, and ten in neighbouring South-West Africa, for the purpose of concentrating the members of designated ethnic groups, thus making each of those territories ethnically homogeneous as the basis for creating "autonomous" nation states for South Africa's different black ethnic groups. The term was first used in the late 1940s, and was coined from Bantu and -stan. The word sthān originates in Sanskrit meaning land or kingdom. It was regarded as a disparaging term by some critics of the apartheid-era government's "homelands". The word "bantustan", today, is often used in a pejorative sense when describing a region that lacks any real legitimacy, consists of several unconnected enclaves, and/or emerges from national or international gerrymandering. Some of the bantustans received independence. In South Africa, Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda, and Ciskei were declared independent, while others, received partial autonomy, but were never granted independence. In South-West Africa, Ovamboland, Kavangoland, and East Caprivi were granted self-determination. The independence was not officially recognised outside of South Africa. Wikipedia [ - ]

A bantustan was a territory set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West... [ + ]