Mahatma Gandhi supported the resolution of the African People's Organisation (APO) to declare the day of arrival of the Prince of Wales in Cape Town as a day of mourning, in protest against the South Africa Act's disenfranchisement of Indians, Coloureds and Africans in the upcoming Union of South Africa.

George Frederick Labram, manufacturer of a cannon popularly known as 'Long Cecil' in the De Beers' workshop in Kimberley, was killed by a shell from a Boer 'Long Tom' cannon during the siege of Kimberley. Labram, who was chief mechanical engineer at the De Beers Consolidated Mines, manufactured the gun from steel shafting. Within twenty-four days it was shelling the Boer lines. Labram was one of the defendants when Kimberley was under siege by the Boers during Anglo-Boer War 2. He died only a few days before the siege was lifted.

The 104mm field-gun designed by American George Labram and manufactured in the De Beers workshop in Kimberley, known as 'Long Cecil' after Cecil John Rhodes, was test fired for the first time at Boer forces during the Siege of Kimberley. Rhodes, who had taken interest in the gun, was present along with eminent local figures and senior officers of the British garrison. He extended an invitation to Lt-Col Chamier, as the senior gunner, to fire the first round. However, the first round was fired by Mrs Pickering, wife of the Secretary of the De Beers Company, after Chamier had turned down Rhodes' invitation on the ground that, as a member of the Royal Regiment, he was permitted to fire only such guns as had been officially approved of by the War Office and 'Long Cecil' definitely did not fall within this category. The round landed and burst in the middle of a safe and quiet Boer laager at the Intermediate Pumping Station, causing considerable alarm and dismay to the Boers. 'Long Cecil' did more firing whilst in service than any other gun in Kimberley throughout the whole period of the siege, certainly not a bad performance for a home-made gun!

On 18 May 1899, a statue of the first European to settle at the Cape, Jan van Riebeeck, was unveiled. The statue stands on Heerengracht Street in Cape Town. It was sculpted in bronze by John Tweed and donated to the city by Cecil John Rhodes, a politician and financier of the late 19th century. Near this statue, at the bottom end of Adderley Street, are statues of Bartholomew Dias, a Portuguese explorer who was the first European to reach the Cape of Good Hope in 1487, and Maria van Riebeeck, wife of Jan van Riebeeck. These statues were donated by the Portuguese and Dutch governments respectively in 1952, for Cape Town's tercentenary celebrations. References: This day in History: 18 May [online] Available at: news24.com [Accessed 11 may 2009] Van Riebeeck Statues [online] Available at: mytravelguide.com [Accessed 11 may 2009]

On 10 October 1893, Natal's first ministry was formed, with Sir John Robinson as Prime Minister, Minister of Education, and Colonial Secretary. Robinson, who is regarded as a loyal Natalian, first came to South Africa as a child in 1850. He later became a journalist and political leader, and was joint founder and the first editor of The Natal Mercury, together with his father, George Robinson. He became the owner of the publication in 1855. After devoting his time to the newspaper, Robinson went on to play an important role in Natal politics for over three decades. He was elected to the Legislative Council in 1863, and attended the South African federation conference in 1876. He also attended the Colonial Conference of 1887 and the South Africans customs conference in 1888. In 1889 he was knighted for his efforts. Due to ill health he resigned from office in 1897, and wrote an autobiography called A life time in South Africa in 1900. He died on 5 November 1903 in Durban, the capital city of present day KwaZulu-Natal.

Harold Cressy, co-founder of the Teachers League of South Africa (TLSA), educationist and teacher, is born in Rorke's Drift, Kwazulu-Natal. He was the only Black student of the South African College, now the University of Cape Town. During his studies, having been denied entry to the Rhodes University College in Grahamstown and Victoria College in Stellenbosch, now the University of Stellenbosch, because of his race.

Frederick Timpson l'Ons (85), SA painter of the early life in the Eastern Cape, died in Grahamstown. He was born in Islington, Middlesex, England on 15 November 1802 and, accompanied by his wife, moved to the Cape Colony in 1834. They settled in the district of Albany, Eastern Cape, shortly before the sixth Frontier War broke out. His works portrayed life on the frontier and included portraits of the Khoikhoi and Africans as well as landscapes.

The first arrival of Muslims in South Africa took place in the 17th century, when Malay slaves were brought to the Cape. This was followed by the arrival of free Muslims and political exiles from Sumatra. By the mid 18th century, Islam had spread significantly amongst the Cape slave population. By 1804, Muslims had been granted religious freedom and in 1805, they had been allocated a piece of land - the Tana Baru Cemetery - for burial purposes. In 1886, the cemetery was closed under the Public Health Act of 1883. This left the Muslim community with no alternate burial ground. On 17 January 1886, in defiance of the closure, 3000 Muslims buried a child at Tana Baru. This was followed by a march. General unrest continued in the Cape for another three days. The Tana Baru cemetery uprising was one of the most significant political events in the 19th Century history of Cape Muslims. In commemoration of the 124th anniversary, a remembrance march will be held on this day in 2010 from the Boorhanool Centre to the Tana Baru Cemetery. Related: SAHO Feature: History of Muslims in South Africa SAHO Archive: 1804-1899

The newly appointed British High Commissioner for Southern Africa delivers to Cetshwayo the Zulu king to disband his army, handover offenders. Frere who was appointed in 1877 wanted to pursue the idea of creating a Confederation of all Southern African territories, with a view to being appointed Governor of the entire region. Frere immediately realised that Cetshwayo was a major stumbling block in the attempt to bring all of Southern Africa under British control. He was thus determined to break Cetshwayo's resistance, hoping that this would pave the way for the British to extend their rule into the interior of the country. Cetshwayo's ruled the Zulu nation at a time when British colonial penetration of the South African hinterland was gaining momentum. Successive British Colonial administrations in Natal, beginning with the occupation of the Territory in 1843, had been wary of provoking a war with the Zulu Kingdom. But with changed circumstances in the 1870s and 1880s as European powers began to take up colonies in Africa. South Africa took on a new significance and importance to the British Colonial Office. As part of the British efforts to gain control of South Africa, Frere's demanded that Cetshwayo disband his army. Meanwhile Cetshwayo who had cultivated a very close friendship with a Scottish hunter and trader John Dunn appointed him as his advisor, especially in his dealings with the British. Dunn was allocated land between the Mhlathuze and Tugela Rivers and installed as a 'chief'. When war between British and the Zulu became inevitable, Dunn who was anxious to keep his chiefdom and wealth approached the British government, offering his services. War broke out between the British and the Zulu and at the battle of Ulundi on 4 July 1879, Cetshwayo's forces were defeated and he was captured and exiled to London until 1883.

Piet Retief completes the manifesto that sets out the reasons why the Voortrekkers are leaving the Cape Colony. It is published in English in the Graham's Town Journal on 2 February 1937. To understand the mass emigration of the Afrikaans frontier farmers out of the Cape Colony it is important to look at the circumstances in the Cape at that time. On the one hand there was ongoing conflict between these farmers and the Xhosa inhabitants on the frontier, as well as growing resentment between the farmers and the British colonial authorities. The farmers argued that because the colonial government limited the activities of the burgher commandos, and refused to let them handle the law and order on the frontier themselves, they could not protect themselves from Xhosa attacks. Furthermore, they blamed the government of not giving them any financial support in the frontier wars and other confrontations with the Xhosa. The conflict on the frontier was an indication of how scarce land had become in the region. Both the Xhosa and Afrikaner farmers needed land to support themselves and their livestock. Land prices had also increased considerably during the 1820s and 1830s. This meant that the younger generation could not afford their own pieces of land, and this problem would surely grow. Another reason for the Great Trek was a lack of labour. In 1828 the government passed Ordinance 50, which outlawed slavery. This Ordinance has been called 'The Magna Carta of the Khoikhoi', as it determined that the Khoikhoi was equal to White people and did not need to carry passes anymore. Not many of these farmers owned slaves, but some did suffer losses with the emancipation of slaves, like Trek leader Gert Maritz. For the frontier farmers, the Ordinance meant less strict control over their servants and farm labourers. It also meant that many labourers left the farms, and many of them formed moving gangs. These plundering gangs were the first grievance Retief mentioned in his manifesto. Many farmers believed that in the country's interior, there was land in abundance (and therefore cheap land), and especially no British government. Between 1834 and 1840 about 15 000 Afrikaners left the Cape Colony permanently. They called themselves 'emigrants' and their mass-trek an 'emigration', but in the late 19th century this mass-movement became known as the Great Trek, and the emigrants Voortrekkers.