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Politics & Society

Explore Politics & Society content from South African History Online, featuring articles, biographies, and resources.

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Azanian People’s Organization (AZAPO)
Article
Mar 30, 2011

Azanian People’s Organization (AZAPO)

In aftermath of the June 16 Uprising, the government cracked down on student activists and organisations alike. On 19 Oc...

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South African Defence Force (SADF)
Article
Mar 30, 2011

South African Defence Force (SADF)

Early years The history of the South African Defence Force (SADF) can be traced to the 1660s. When Jan van Riebeeck la...

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Pan Africanist Congress (PAC)
Article
Mar 30, 2011

Pan Africanist Congress (PAC)

The Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) is a political party whose presence in the South African political landscape spans jus...

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South African Indian Congress (SAIC)
Article
Mar 30, 2011

South African Indian Congress (SAIC)

The period 1860-1923 is characterised firstly by the introduction of indentured Indian labourers into Natal and of the "...

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National Union of South African Students (NUSAS)
Article
Mar 30, 2011

National Union of South African Students (NUSAS)

In 1924 the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) was founded aimed at representing and promoting the interes...

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South African Communist Party (SACP)
Article
Mar 30, 2011

South African Communist Party (SACP)

On 30 July 2011, the South African Communist Party (SACP) celebrated its 90th anniversary. Initially known as the Commun...

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South African Student Organisation (SASO)
Article
Mar 30, 2011

South African Student Organisation (SASO)

The Origins and formation: The South African Student Organisation (SASO) was formed in 1968 after some members of th...

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South African Youth Congress (SAYCO)
Article
Mar 30, 2011

South African Youth Congress (SAYCO)

SAYCO was regarded as the most significant youth organization to emerge during the 1980s. Initiated by COSAS, it focused...

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Prehistory of the Cape Town area
Article
Mar 30, 2011

Prehistory of the Cape Town area

Prehistory of Southern Africa The Dutch East India Company (VOC) established Cape Town as a refuelling station in 1652 ...

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Colonial history of Bloemfontein
Article
Mar 30, 2011

Colonial history of Bloemfontein

The area between the Orange and Vaal rivers, originally known as Transoranje, with its abundance of permanent water sour...

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Prehistory of the Pretoria area
Article
Mar 29, 2011

Prehistory of the Pretoria area

The Pretoria region was initially occupied by the southern Ndebele people, led by Chief Musi. They inhabited this area a...

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Article
Mar 24, 2011

Afrikaner

From European to "Africaander” The modern Afrikaner is descended mainly from Western Europeans who settled on the sou...

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The San
Article
Mar 24, 2011

The San

The San, the first people in South Africa The earliest hunter-gatherers in southern Africa were the San people. The San...

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Kingdoms of southern Africa: Mapungubwe
Article
Mar 22, 2011

Kingdoms of southern Africa: Mapungubwe

Landing page content This topic provides a brief introductory overview of the settlements in the Limpopo Valley before ...

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Kingdoms of southern Africa: Great Zimbabwe
Article
Mar 22, 2011

Kingdoms of southern Africa: Great Zimbabwe

Where is Great Zimbabwe? The Great Zimbabwe ruins date from the Iron Age and lie between the Limpopo and Zambezi Rivers...

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Early African Civilisations: Ancient Egypt, Nubia and Swahili
Article
Mar 22, 2011

Early African Civilisations: Ancient Egypt, Nubia and Swahili

Ancient Egypt The ancient Egyptian civilisation grew for thousands of years intact because the Nile River Valley and ...

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European missionaries in southern Africa: the role of the missionaries
Article
Mar 22, 2011

European missionaries in southern Africa: the role of the missionaries

European missionaries to southern Africa during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries played a strangely ambiguous role...

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Afrapix
Article
Mar 22, 2011

Afrapix

Afrapix – Comrades with Cameras A history of a South African anti apartheid Documentary Photography Collective A...

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HIV/Aids in South Africa
Article
Mar 21, 2011

HIV/Aids in South Africa

HIV/Aids is a deadly disease, which is currently not curable. The United Nations AIDS agency (UNAIDS) says the evidence ...

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The Khoisan
Article
Mar 21, 2011

The Khoisan

In around 2300 BP (Before Present), hunter-gatherers called the San acquired domestic stock in what is now modern day Bo...

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Indian South Africans
Article
Mar 21, 2011

Indian South Africans

From bondage to freedom - The 160th anniversary of the arrival of Indian workers in South Africa  The feature on...

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A history of Indians in South Africa Timeline: 1654-2008
Article
Mar 21, 2011

A history of Indians in South Africa Timeline: 1654-2008

This is a collection of timelines of Indians in South Africa  from 1654 until 2008.

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Defiance Campaign 1952
Article
Mar 21, 2011

Defiance Campaign 1952

The post-1948 period saw the African National Congress (ANC) abandoning its traditional reliance on tactics of moderatio...

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1946 African Mineworkers Strike
Article
Mar 21, 2011

1946 African Mineworkers Strike

"Two hundred thousand subterranean heroes who, by day and by night, for a mere pittance lay down their lives to the fami...

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History of Women’s Struggle in South Africa
Article
Mar 21, 2011

History of Women’s Struggle in South Africa

Women at the start of the 20th century It is only over the last three or four decades that women's role in the histor...

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Article
Mar 21, 2011

State policies and social protest, 1924-1939

One of the most important developments in South Africa in this period was the formation of the Pact Government in which ...

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Second Anglo-Boer War - 1899 - 1902
Article
Mar 21, 2011

Second Anglo-Boer War - 1899 - 1902

'South African War ( a.k.a. the Anglo-Boer War) remains the most terrible and destructive modern armed conflict in South...

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The Jameson Raid
Article
Mar 21, 2011

The Jameson Raid

By 1895 Britain was getting more confident about taking action in South Africa. Joseph Chamberlain was appointed Colonia...

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Pedi & Anglo-Pedi Wars 1876-1879
Article
Mar 21, 2011

Pedi & Anglo-Pedi Wars 1876-1879

The largest North-Sotho language group in South Africa are the Bapedi group, who arrived in the northern province around...

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Basotho Wars 1858 - 1868
Article
Mar 21, 2011

Basotho Wars 1858 - 1868

The three Basotho Wars (1858-68) and the formation of Lesotho The conflict between the Basotho people and White settl...

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