Sharpe ‧ ville /ˈʃɑːpvɪl $ ˈʃɑːrp-/ BrE AmE
a town near Johannesburg, South Africa, known as the place where the Sharpeville Massacre happened. On 21 March 1960 police shot dead 69 black people who were protesting against the country's system of ↑ apartheid . Many countries criticized the South African government for allowing the massacre to happen, and it is seen as an important event in South Africa's development from a political system based on apartheid to a ↑ democracy .