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ArticleLouis van Mauritius and the Slave Revolt of 1808
The unique nature of slavery in the Cape Colony hindered many attempts at wide-scale resistance on the part of Cape slaves. Instead many slaves’ attempts at…
Insurrections I,II and III: Music as Ancient as the Future by Samuel Hove
Rumours had it that the Insurrections Ensemble was working on a piece loosely based on Aime Cesaire’s version of the Tempest for 2015. It has been hard to say…
PlaceCape Town City Hall, Darling Street
The mayor of Cape Town, Thomas Ball, laid the cornerstone of the City Hall on 29 August 1900, but the Hall was only opened in 1905. It was designed by…
ArticleChieftaincy and Kingship in South Africa
Introduction In a democratic society, the observance of chieftaincy faces many problems. One of the key issues relates to chieftaincy operating on principles…
ArticlePass Laws in South Africa
The Pass Laws was a system used to control the movement of Black, Indian and Coloured people in South Africa. The pass said which areas a person was allowed to…
ArchiveMemories of Trafalgar High, District Six by Warren Ludski
Not much of District 6 was left when the apartheid regime forced the residents out onto the grassless Cape Flats and razed their homes. What remained,…
ArticleCommunity histories in Port Elizabeth
Xhosa community The pre-1994 apartheid system of homelands or 'Bantusans' denied Xhosa people South African citizenship and attempted to confine them to the…
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 mainly by giving in…
ArticleLife in Sophiatown
As population in the freehold townships swelled, overcrowding and rack renting became the order of the day. Black property owners in Sophiatown were themselves…
ArticleMissionary settlement in Southern Africa 1800-1925
A study of missionary settlement and the spread of Christianity in southern Africa during the period 1800 - 1925, including a piece on the role of missionaries…
ArticleXenophobic violence in democratic South Africa timeline
1994 to 1995 In December 1994 and January 1995, armed youth gangs in Alexandra Township outside of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, destroyed the homes and…
ArticleAftermath of the Bhambatha Rebellion 1906
The Bambatha Rebellion claimed the lives of 4000 Zulu and 30 white people and cost the colonial government £740,000. Some of the Zulu died fighting on the side…
ArticleTimeline of the 2014 general elections
2013 9 and 10 November 2013, South Africa’s first registration weekend for the 2014 National and Provincial elections. 25 November 2013, by this date…
PlaceStevenson Gallery, Woodstock-Cape Town
The gallery, Stevenson, was founded in 2003 after two of its founding directors Michael Stevenson and Andrew da Conceicao, visited Documenta 11, and felt that…
ArticleThe Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896
The conflict between the British Empire and the Zanzibar Sultanate in 1896 is most notable for being the shortest war in recorded history, lasting less than…
ArticleThe South African Strategic Defence Procurement Package known as “The Arms Deal”
Between 1996 and 1999 the South Africa government commissioned the purchase of R30 billion worth of armaments specifically submarines and frigates from a…
ArticleLand, Labour and Apartheid
Land and labour are two very important elements of the economic development of a society, and the way they are used will influence how the society develops. In…
ArchiveGeneral History of Africa Collection
This groundbreaking work was the first of its type to present the entire history of the African continent. The collection sheds light on the pre-colonial era…
A Brief History of Niger - Part 2 by US Department of State
From Military Chairman to President of the Republic: After dissolving the national electoral committee, Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara organized and won a flawed…
19. Lawrence asks for exemption from discriminatory laws
From the book: A Documentary History of Indian South Africans edited by Surendra Bhana and Bridglal Pachai Vendenayagum Lawrence petitioned the Natal…
ArticleFatima Meer Timeline 1928-2010
1928 Fatima Meer was born in Durban, daughter of Moosa and Amina Meer. 1940s Established literacy classes for adults in her father's garage She spent…
ArticleWay of life in ancient Egypt
Social structure in ancient Egypt Ancient Egyptians are the inventors of another feature of civilization still existing today - the complete dictator! Social…
Statement by Olive Tambo at the freedom rally organised by the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement, 26 January 1979, Dublin
Dear Friends and Comrades, We bring you greetings on behalf of the African National Congress, the cadres of Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation), inside…
ArchiveDavid Goldblatt brings ex-offender portrait series to British jails by Helen Stoilas, 30 May 2017
The South African photographer David Goldblatt has installed photographs of former criminals in prisons in Birmingham and Manchester. The portraits, part of a…
PlaceJohannesburg Art Gallery
The Johannesburg Art Gallery was first commissioned to be built in 1910, and was initially housed on the campus of Witwatersrand. The gallery was overlooked by…
ArticleKingdoms of Southern Africa: Mapungubwe
Landing page contentThis topic provides a brief introductory overview of the settlements in the Limpopo Valley before Mapungubwe, and a brief concluding…
ArticleThe Tricameral Parliament
Introduction The Tricameral Parliament, a three-tiered assembly that presided over the last decade of Apartheid, was inaugurated to allow for parliamentary…
The Heritage Museum at Villa Zain by Joline Young
“People who come here say how alive this place is. They say they actually feel the vibration of the rich history that fills these walls. I have given 19 years…
ArticleIndian Indentured Labour in Natal 1860-1911
The majority of Indian South Africans are the descendants of indentured workers brought to Natal between 1860 and 1911 to develop the sugar industry in this…
Growing social unrest: Community mobilisation, strikes and student protests in the Western Cape in the 1980s
The late 1970s witnessed increased labour unrest in the region of the Western Cape. For instance, the Fattis and Monis strike and boycott, Saldanha Bay fish…