Final answer:
The discovery of gold in Transvaal spurred Britain's interest in South Africa, leading to the Boer Wars and subsequent British colonization with a white-dominated power structure. This resulted in rigid racial segregation laws, including the Natives Land Act and apartheid, affecting the native and Black populations.
Step-by-step explanation:
The discovery of gold in the Afrikaner republic of Transvaal led to significant political and economic changes in South Africa. It resulted in Britain's involvement in the region, and ultimately, the Boer Wars fought between the Boers and Britain over control of South Africa's lucrative mineral resources. After the wars, the region saw the establishment of a British colony dominated by a white power structure, with a significant impact on the native African population. Furthermore, racial segregation policies, such as the 1913 Natives Land Act and later the institution of apartheid, were enacted to control and manage the booming populace attracted by the gold rush.
In response to the discovery, many Black South Africans left rural areas to work in the highly segregated and controlled mining industry. The immigrants and the emerging stable Black urban population posed a perceived threat to the White minority government, thus prompting the aforementioned legislative measures. This economic discovery also accelerated changes in land ownership, social structures, and eventually led to the redrawing of provincial boundaries upon South Africa's political transformation in the 1990s.