Politics & Society
258 records
ArticleMangosuthu Buthelezi was a man of immense political talent and contradictions
Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi, who has died, was a history maker. He was born on 27 August 1928 into a tumultuous global century, and into…
ArticleMangosuthu Buthelezi: the Zulu nationalist who left his mark on South Africa’s history
Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi played a prominent role in South African politics for almost half a century. He was one of the last of a…
ArticleThe Seriti Commission
Background Terry Crawford-Brown petitioned the Constitutional Court in 2011 to compel former president Jacob Zuma to establish a…
ArticleSocialism
Socialism is a political and economic ideology aiming to create a society where all members distribute resources and wealth equally. It is…
ArticleVlakplaas and the History of Apartheid's Death Squad
Vlakplaas is the name of an undercover counterinsurgency division of the apartheid police that operated in the 1980s. Vlakplaas is also…
Article1949 Anti Indian Pogrom in Durban
On 13 January 1949 an Indian store-keeper in central Durban assaulted an African youth. This incident resulted in a wave of violence,…
ArticleNatal Indian Association (NIA)
The Natal Indian Association (NIA) was formed when the Natal Indian Congress (NIC) and the Colonial Born and Settlers Indian Association …
ArticleChanging Perceptions of Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela is a figure who has undergone many transformations in the eye of the South African public as well as in the global…
ArticleMandela and the South African Communist Party
Mandela and MK The late 1950s saw the first hints of an armed struggle occurring in certain parts of South Africa. Various types of…
ArticleThe Daily Dispatch
Together with the Rand Daily Mail, the Daily Dispatch was one of the loudest mouthpieces for mainstream liberal critique of the Apartheid…
ArticleBureau of State Security (BOSS)
The telling of the history of South African Intelligence Agencies is somewhat hamstrung by the fact that people from these agencies do not…
ArticleThe Black Sash: A History of Transformation
This article was written by Ashley Schumacher and forms part of the SAHO and Southern Methodist University partnership project During…
Zarina Maharaj Biography by Sarah Rahimi
This article was written by Sarah Rahimi and forms part of the SAHO and Southern Methodist University partnership project Zarina…
ArticleThe Group Areas Act of 1950
The National Party was elected in 1948 on the policy of Apartheid ('separateness'). This 'separateness' put South Africans of different…
Article2014 South African platinum strike: longest wage strike in South Africa
In democratic South Africa, the government allows citizens to express dissatisfaction through peaceful demonstrations. Workers are also…
ArticleYusuf Dadoo Timeline
The Yusuf Dadoo timeline includes the history of one the leading members of the South African communist movement. Starting at the beginning…
ArticleThe Anti-Pass Campaigns 1960
1959-1960: Formation, Sharpeville and Banning For many years there was tension inside the African National Congress (ANC) between those…
ArticleMarikana Massacre - 16 August 2012
On 16 August 2012, the South African Police Service (SAPS) opened fire on a crowd of striking mineworkers at Marikana, in the North West…
Article16 June 1976 - Soweto Uprising
IntroductionThe 16 June 1976 Uprising that began in Soweto and spread countrywide profoundly changed the socio-political landscape in South…
ArticleA History of Abantu-Batho Newspaper 1912-1931
Newspapers or publications by African people played a critical role in giving them an alternative space to articulate their views. The…
ArticleLand: dispossession, resistance and restitution
Introduction The history of white colonial land dispossession began at the Cape with the expansion of the Dutch colonial settlement…
ArticleAfrican Peoples Democratic Union of Southern Africa (APDUSA)
The African People’s Democratic Union of Southern Africa (APDUSA) was launched in Duncan Village outside East London in March 1961. The…
ArticleCuba and the struggle for democracy in South Africa
The revolution in Cuba, culminating in Fidel Castro’s seizure of power on 1 January 1959, was from the beginning based on a non-racial…
ArticleThe Durban strikes and the resurgence of the trade union movement in 1973
When Black workers in Durban embarked on a wave of strikes in January 1973, the government and employers were shocked, and they responded…
ArticleUnited Women’s Organisation (UWO)
The United Women’s Organisation (UWO) was launched in April 1981 with 400 delegates from the Western Cape attending. Some of the women who…
ArticleSlave Resistance
Slavery was introduced to the Cape Colony by the VOC in its desire to boost the agriculture and food supply while retaining control in the…
The Development of Indian Political Movements in South Africa, 1924 - 1946 by Essop Pahad
THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDIAN POLITICAL MOVEMENTS IN SOUTH AFRICA, 1924-1946 by ESSOP PAHAD D. Phil Thesis, University of Sussex, July…
Indian South Africans timeline 1940-1949
Indian South Africans Timeline: 1940-1949 1940 January, A meeting is held between the Nationalist Bloc, Transvaal Indian Congress …
ArticleIndenture: A new system of slavery?
Was the system of indentured Indian labour "a new system of slavery"?as Hugh Tinker entitles his book? The answer would depend on how the…
ArticleIndian South Africans timeline 1900-1909
Indian South Africans timeline 1900-1909 1900 The East London Mayor's Minute for 1899-1900 states that 1,000 refugees from war in the…