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EventQueen Elizabeth ascends to the throne
On 17 November 1558 the British Queen, Queen Elizabeth I ascended to the throne following the death of her half-sister, Mary. The Queen of England, who was…
EventSekonyela, chief of the Batlokwa, dies in the Wittebergen Reserve, Herschel district.
Kgosi Sekonyela (c. 1804 – 20 July 1856) was a chief of the Batlokwa people. He effectively took over the chieftainship from his mother queen Manthatisi in…
EventDr. Hendrik Verwoerd announces his plan to grant Transkei independence
On 23 January 1962, Dr Hendrik Verwoerd announced his plan to grant independence to the Transkei, a homeland proposed for Xhosa people under the apartheid…
Event20 000 Women march to the Union Buildings in protest of pass laws
In one of the largest demonstrations staged in this country's history, 20 000 women of all races marched to Pretoria's Union Buildings on 9 August 1956, to…
EventUSA drops atomic bomb on Nagasaki
The Second World War broke out with the German invasion of Poland in 1939. By 1941, the Japanese had launched a military strike on the United States by…
EventSimon Petros Matseke, prominent in African social and political life, dies in Pretoria
Peter Matseke was born in 1878 in Pretoria. When the Anglo-Boer War broke out, he was drafted as driver for Boer Commandos. Through that experience, he learnt…
EventMinister announces compulsory education for Black children
The minister of (Black) education and training, Dr Ferdinand Hartzenberg, announced that compulsory education for Black children would be introduced in stages,…
EventDr Chris Barnard performs the world’s first human heart transplant
On 3 December 1967, South African doctor, Dr Christiaan (Chris) Barnard, performed the world's first human to human heart transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital,…
EventEnforcement of military conscription for all white males in SA
The Union Defence Force was created in 1912 and served as the South African Army. It was renamed as the South African Defence Force (SADF) by the passing of…
EventGeneral Louis Botha wins elections
On 15 September 1910, General Louis Botha and Hertzog's South African Party (SAP) won the majority number of seats in the House Assembly forming the first…
EventBambatha Rebellion
The Bambatha Rebellion took place near Greytown in KwaZulu-Natal. The first signs of discontent started at the end of 1905, when government introduced a new £1…
EventGeneral De la Rey protests British mistreatment of women and children
The Anglo-Boer War broke out in 1899 and was the result of the British annexation of the Transvaal, soon after gold had been discovered in the region in 1886…
EventKitchener succeeds Roberts as Commander-in-Chief
On Lord Roberts' return to England in November 1900 Lord Kitchener succeeded him as Commander-in-Chief of the British forces during the second Anglo Boer War …
EventC James reports that South Africa is a poor market for produce
In 1900, C James, an official of the British colonial administration, went on a voyage to South Africa to evaluate the market for produce. He undertook this…
EventMorgan Tsvangirai becomes Prime Minister of Zimbabwe
Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe on 11 February 2009 as part of what was known as The Unity Government, in partnership with Robert…
EventThe British successfully thwart the Zulu attack at Rorke’s Drift
During the Anglo-Zulu war Lord Chelmsford, commander of the British forces, took over the buildings of the Swedish Mission at Rorke's Drift, near Isandlwana…
EventKing Moshoeshoe II is reinstated as King of Lesotho
On 25 January 1995, King Moshoeshoe II was formally reinstated as King of Lesotho. Moshoeshoe had a turbulent reign over Lesotho as he was twice dethroned,…
EventThe Native Land Act is passed
The Natives Land Act (No. 27 of 1913) was passed to allocate only about 7% of arable land to Africans and leave the more fertile land for whites. This law…
2012 ANC National Policy Conference: Opening Address by President Jacob Zuma, Midrand, 26 June 2012
National Chairperson, Deputy President Comrade Kgalema Motlanthe, ANC Officials and Members of the National Executive Committee, ANC leadership of all…
Extract from a speech made in the House of Assembly on 4 February 1974 in reply to a motion of no confidence in the Government by the Leader of the Opposition
The beginning of 1974 was characterised by confusion and uncertainly in international relations. There was the Watergate scandal in which President Nixon of…
Book 5: People, Places and Apartheid - Chapter 2 - The Soweto Uprising of June 1976: A Turning Points Event by Phil Bonner
From the book: Book 5: People, Places and Apartheid commissioned by The Department of Education By 10:30 on 16 June 1976, thousands of students had gathered…
Chapter 2 - The Soweto Uprising of June 1976: A Turning Points Event
By 10:30 on 16 June 1976, thousands of students had gathered in Orlando West to begin a protest march against the imposition of the Afrikaans language as the…
ArticleHistory Grade 11 - Topic 4 Source-based Questions
QUESTION 1: HOW WAS AFRIKANER NATIONALISM PROMOTED IN SOUTH AFRICA DURING THE 1930s TO 1940s? Study Sources 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D and answer the questions that…
Re-emergence of resistance, 1980-89
By the early 1980s, the Congress movement was becoming established as the most effective force in the fight against apartheid throughout the country. With the…
ArticleNelson Mandela Timeline 1930-1939
1930 White women get the vote. This means in effect that the weight of the black vote is decreased from 3.1% to 1.4%. The first restrictions against the…
ArticleThe Crackdown on the Black Consciousness Movement in 1973
The period after the Sharpeville Massacre and the banning of the African National Congress (ANC) and the Pan African Congress (PAC), especially after the…
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 the push for independence from Britain…
ArticleYoung Communist League of South Africa (YCLSA)
The history of the Young Communist League (YCL) dates back to 1921, although the organisation observes 25 May 1922 as the date of its official formation…
ArticleuMkhonto weSizwe (MK)
On 16 December, 1961, Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) was launched as an armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). The formation of the MK Umkhonto…
Origins: Formation, Sharpeville and banning, 1959-1960
For many years there was tension within the African National Congress (ANC) between those with different ideological and theoretical views. One of these views…