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Legislation, Dissent, and Violence in Sophiatown under Apartheid
AbstractThis article traces the major segregation laws in South Africa that acted as precedent for the 1954 Native Resettlement Act. This apartheid law…
PlaceGanyesa
The massive North West Province of South Africa is home to Ganyesa, which is formally part of the Kagisano / Molopo Municipality. This is a rural Village that…
ArchiveAll That Glitters - The glitter of gold by Emilia Potenza
From the book: All That Glitters by Emilia PotenzaA change so unexpected and a development never known before were due to the discovery in 1886 of the greatest…
PlaceMalay Quarter, Cape Town
The area, known as the Malay Quarter of Cape Town, nestles against the steep slopes of Signal Hill. It formerly covered a much larger piece of land but this…
Prehistory: Pre colonial farmers in Gauteng
Prehistory of Southern AfricaFarming people did not inhabit the Greater Johannesburg region until the Late Iron Age. Then, beginning in the 15th century,…
ArticleThe Namibian struggle for independence – 1966 – 1990 – a historical background
During the 1960s most of Africa’s countries had gained independence except for Namibia. Geographically, Namibia is made up of savannah, dry scrub land, as well…
ArticleFootball in South Africa
On 15 May 2004 in Zurich, Switzerland, Joseph (Sepp) Blatter, president of FIFA, world soccer's governing body, made an historic announcement: South Africa…
ArticleBlack South African literature
The origins of Black South African literature in English lie in the Eastern Cape. The Glasgow Missionary Society founded the school of Lovedale at Alice in the…
PlaceMarket Square, Port Elizabeth
The Market Square in the heart of the Port Elizabeth town centre is a historical icon that reveals much about this old coastal town. It is home to the City…
PlaceConstitution Hill Museum, Johannesburg
Constitution Hill is a Living Museum that tells the story of South Africa’s journey to democracy. The site is a former Prison and military Fort that bears…
EventSheikh Yusuf, regarded as the founder of the Islamic faith in the Cape, dies at Zandvliet (Macassar)
In the late 1600s many Muslim men of wealth and influence were banished to the Cape from their homeland in the East because the Dutch feared them as a threat…
ArticleThe Grey Street Mosque, 1880-1930
The Grey Street Mosque, 1880-1930 Indians began settling in Natal from 1860 when the first indentured workers arrived.1 They were followed from the mid-1870s…
ArticleTransport on land
The first form of transport on land was, of course, WALKING! Content Animals Carts, wagons and coaches The bicycle The steam engine and the train …
PlaceCape Agulhas, Western Cape
Cape Agulhas is some 32 km South of Bredarsdorp. The name is Portuguese for 'needle' and is said to have been given because the compass needle was seen to…
BiographyMakhanda Nxele
Born Makhanda but also known as Nxele, the itola, he is best known in history for leading the ‘Battle of Grahamstown’ in 1819. Except for his political and…
PlaceRailway Station, Muizenberg
This impressive building surmounted by a Clock Tower was built in 1912-13 and was officially opened on 7 June 1913 by the Minister of Railways & Harbours, Mr…
EventThe Directors of the Dutch East India Company propose Hout Bay to Jan van Riebeeck as a possible area to settle some Dutch families
Hout Bay is a sheltered cove along South Africa's Cape Peninsula. Before European settlement, the area was populated by Khoisan hunter-gathers who lived…
EventThe first family at the Cape moves into the fort
On 4 June 1652, sick-comforter at the Cape, Willem Barentz Wijlant and his wife became the first people to move into the semi-completed fortress, the Fort de…
PlaceRosemount
Woodbrook Farm was established at about the same time as East London, and was located immediately south of the town. By the early 1900s it had been overtaken…
ArticleEastern Cape Wars of Dispossession 1779-1878
The series of clashes historically known as, Frontier Wars date back to 1779 when Xhosa people, Boers, Khoikhoi, San and the British clashed intermittently for…
History of Muslims in South Africa: 1700 - 1799 by Ebrahim Mahomed Mahida
From the book: History of Muslims in South Africa by Ebrahim Mahomed Mahida 1700 Number and origin of slaves at the Cape The Dutch East India Company…
PlaceVineyard Hotel, Colington Road, Newlands
It was declared a National Monument under old NMC legislation on 18 February 1977.Over the past two Centuries, The Vineyard has proudly evolved into one of the…
David Goldblatt by Jean Dykstra, 11 September 2011
In a videotaped interview with David Goldblatt that is included in his current exhibition at the Jewish Museum, the South African photographer ponders how it…
PlacePella
In the mid-1880s a huge Cathedral was built in the Bushmanland desert oasis of Pella by French Missionaries who at first had absolutely no idea what they were…
America, Spanish conquest
All the content in this America section was developed from 2003 lessons, namely; – America in the 1500s – The Slave TradeThe content below has been modified…
PlaceCameroon
Cameroon is sometimes referred to as a “true African crossroads” not only because of its geographical position, but also because of the country's great variety…
ArticleExample of a local history: Pretoria
The places we come from are a part of our heritage. Where we grew up and where we live are important because we learn from the people who live there with us,…
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 new settlement. As…
PlaceTanzania
The Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama explored the East African coast in 1498 on his voyage to India. By 1506, the Portuguese claimed control over the entire…
PlaceThe Fourth Raadsaal, Bloemfontein
The Raadsaal building which currently stands in President Brand Street, is the fourth such to have been Built by the old Republic of the Orange Free State…