It is not known exactly how many people live in Soweto. Estimates vary between 2 and 4 million people. Today Soweto is a suburb of Johannesburg. In the Apartheid era, it was the largest of the so-called Townships. These townships were founded as an industrial need arose to utilize cheap labor. Black people were not allowed to stay in cities, resulting in townships emerging adjacent to every town and city.
The uprising against Apartheid was prominent in Johannesburg. Nelson and Winnie Mandela's home is situated in Soweto. It was here in 1976 that a renewed uprising against the apartheid regime started as a result of a dispute concerning the status of Afrikaans in schools.
Soweto is a fascinating suburb. On the one hand there are squatter camps with dwellings built from materials picked off rubbish heaps and on the other hand multi-million Rand villas and mansions of millionaires and drug bosses.
