 For the regime, those overseas possessions were a matter of national interest.The year 1960 was rife with change.Starting with the surprising announcement by Prime Minister Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd that a referendum would be held in regards to whether South Africa should become a republic; After Harold Macmillan’s speech on 3 February, there was an assassination attempt made against Verwoerd on 9 April, and the African National Congress (ANC) and Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) were declared illegal in a state of emergency, along with other controversies.