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ArticleAnglo-Zulu Wars 1879-1896
The destruction of the Zulu kingdom 1879 -1896 In the 1870s settler and colonial determination to bring Blacks under firm political control had undermined the…
Why protect worker’s rights?
The exploitation of workers was a feature of life in South Africa for decades. Apartheid thrived on cheap labour: workers had to contend with the migrant…
ArticleAnti-pass campaigns, 1910s
By the turn of the century, despite the fact that women of all races were still virtually restricted to the home, migrant labour had already begun to forge…
ArticleSouth African Police Services (SAPS)
The South African Police Service (SAPS) that we are familiar with today has its origin after the Second Anglo-Boer War in 1902. Prior to the war each colony or…
ArticleAfrica: What’s in a name?
Africa is the world’s second largest continent, both by size and number, after Asia. Its landmass holds 54 countries and nine territories. Over 1.11 billion…
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…
Yusuf Dadoo Timeline: 1900 - 1909
1902 At the cessation of hostilities, Sir Alfred Milner, the former British High Commissioner and Governor of the Cape and now administrator of the two…
ArticleCurries Fountain events timeline
1870s-1880s Discovery of a reliable water source. "To the present generation Currie's Fountain is but a name which marks the recreation grounds below Botanic…
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…
ArticleNational Youth Uprising
Strikes in the Schools Presumably, not all students of the earlier generation 'worshipped the school authorities'! The first, recorded stoppages of lessons,…
ArticleGeneral South African History Timeline: 1900s
1900 7 May, Paul Kruger addresses the volksraad for the last time before being forced to travel on the Delagoa line to Machadodorp, where he lives on his…
ArticleDespite the 1994 political victory against apartheid, its economic legacy persists by Haydn Cornish-Jenkins
Abstract In 1994, South Africans were liberated from a system of apartheid which had controlled their lives for nearly fifty years. Twenty-one years later,…
ArticleAmersfoort Legacy - History of education in South Africa
The opening moment of education in South Africa coincides with the foundation of the colonial experience at the Cape in 1652. Six years after the Dutch East…
ArticleThe Empty Land Myth
The Empty or Vacant Land Theory is a theory that was propagated by European settlers in nineteenth-century South Africa to support their claims to land. Today…
English Settlement in South Africa
British presence in the Cape between the 1600s and 1795 was largely confined to the shores of the Cape and Table Bay as a halfway stop by the East India…
ArticleTimeline of the German and Herero, Nama War and Genocide
1904 6 January, The settler Frau Sonnenberg tells German soldiers stationed at the Waterberg, including the Sergeant in charge, Sergeant Rademacher, that…
ArticleWhat has been the impact of the democratic transformation on the position of women within South African society? by Lucy Doyle
Abstract Through the efforts of a dominant women’s movement in apartheid, the democratic transition in South Africa has enshrined gender equality within the…
ArticleWhen, why and where the first African farmers settled in Southern Africa
What is farming? Farming is the practice of breeding animals or growing crops for food or clothes. Human ancestors stopped relying on hunting and gathering…
The International Socialist League (ISL)
The International Socialist League (ISL) was formed in September 1915. It was created by a progressive faction of the South African Labour Party (SALP) as a…
ArticleThe Jameson Raid
By 1895 Britain was getting more confident about taking action in South Africa. Joseph Chamberlain was appointed Colonial Secretary. He joined forces with…
ArticleANC Women’s League (ANCWL)
When the African National Congress (ANC) was formed in 1912, it did not accept women as members. In 1918, the government threatened to reintroduce pass laws…
ArticleSouth West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO)
The South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO) was founded in Windhoek, South West Africa (presently Namibia) on 19 April 1960 by Herman Toivo ja Toivo…
ArticleThe environmental impact of different types of transport
Air pollution The ways in which we travel have changed a lot over the last few centuries. Transport has become faster, easier and sometimes cheaper. But the…
ArticleGreat Trek 1835-1846
The Great Trek was a movement of Dutch-speaking colonists up into the interior of southern Africa in search of land where they could establish their own…
ArticleDecember 16 and the Construction of Afrikaner Nationalism
The date, December 16, holds a special significance in South African history. On this day in 1838, the Voortrekkers fought a battle for survival against…
ArticleA list of South African Shipwrecks
Antipolis (1977) The Antipolis, a Greek oil tanker, ran aground on the rocks near Victoria Road in Oudekraal in the Cape on 29 July 1977. It was being…
ArticleThe Zulu kingdom and the colony of Natal
The need for a controlled labour force: Indentured Labourers There is an indentured labour gallery on the SAHO site, webteam please select an image from there…
Zulu Community
Late nineteenth century postcard of Zulu Warriors. Note the Europeans in the background. Source: Frescura Collection The pre-1994 apartheid system of…
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…
ArticleThe impact of Lenin and Stalin’s policies on the rights of the Russian people
We have already examined Lenin's policies, lets briefly examine Stalins. The impact of the policies is examined in the table at the end. Stalin: The First…