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PlaceFraserburg
The division of Fraserburg was originally part of the district of Worcester and was proclaimed a separate division on 12 December 1853. In about January 1890…
EventEquatorial Guinea gains Independence from Spain
The colonial history of Equatorial Guinea dates back to 1471 when Portuguese explorers descended on the country. On their way to India, Portuguese explorers…
EventSir John Robinson forms Natal’s first ministry as Prime Minister
On 10 October 1893, Natal's first ministry was formed, with Sir John Robinson as Prime Minister, Minister of Education, and Colonial Secretary. Robinson, who…
EventPresident Paul Kruger lays the foundation stone of the Raadsaal on Pretoria’s Church Square
Church Square, which was initially called Market Square, was home to the first church built in Pretoria, which burnt down in 1882. The square's current layout…
EventFirst Tramway Company in Cape Town commences operations, with a horse
Public transport in South Africa commenced in Cape Town in May 1801, when a weekly coach service from Cape Town to Simon's Town was announced. Many years later…
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…
PlaceGreat Fish River, Eastern Cape
The Great Fish River, distinguishable from the Namibian Fish River by the word ‘great’, that runs through the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, flows for…
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…
PlaceFourteen Streams
Fourteen Streams is located in Frances Baard District Municipality, Northern Cape, South Africa. The estimate terrain elevation above seal level is 1226 metres…
PlaceSedgefield
The Cape Fold Mountains of the Western Cape create the great divide that separates the temperate region of the Garden Route from its drier inland counterpart,…
The War
The flag of the Boer Republic of the Orange Free State On 9 October 1899 the SAR issued an ultimatum to Britain and two days later, on 11 October the war was…
EventCape of Good Hope Royal Observatory is founded
On 20 October, 1820, South Africa’s first permanent modern observatory was erected at the Cape of Good Hope (now known as Cape Town) byFearon Fallows, a…
EventKing Leopold II of Belgium hands over the administration of the Congo to the Belgian parliament
From the beginning of colonialism in the 1880s following the 'scramble for Africa', the Congo had been regarded as Leopold II's personal fiefdom. Leopold's…
EventAnglo-Boer War 2 - Kitchener proposes establishment of concentration camps
The arrival of Lord Kitchener and Lord Roberts, with the latter taking up the role of Supreme Commander of British forces in 1900 helped turn the tide in the…
ArticlePrehistory of the Durban area
Prehistory of Southern Africa The Durban area is probably best known for the historic Zulu kingdom, dating to the early 19th century. To understand the…
EventGreat Trek Centenary Celebrations commence
The Great Trek was a migration that took place between 1838 and the 1840s, and involved the Boers leaving the Cape Colony and settling in the interior of South…
ArticleMaps of Africa through the centuries
As Africa was largely unexplored by Europeans for many centuries the maps that were created were by and large grossly inaccurate. They are still a fascinating…
ArticleLesotho Timeline
Pre-1804 Khoisan hunter gatherers are the first inhabitants of the region, before Sotho-Tswana peoples colonized the general region between the third and…
BiographyAlbertina Nontsikelelo Sisulu
IntroductionNontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu (née Nontsikelelo Thethiwe) was one of the prominent anti-apartheid South African leaders, widely referred to as the …
BiographyPregaluxmi (Pregs) Govender
Pregaluxmi (Pregs) Govender was born on 15 February 1960 in Durban, Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal). Her father – a writer and, mother, a teacher – valued critical…
BiographyAhmed Mohamed "Kathy" Kathrada
Ahmed Mohamed "Kathy" Kathrada was born on 21 August 1929, to Indian immigrant parents in Schweizer Reneke, a small town in Western Transvaal [now North West…
Book 3: Migration, Land and Minerals in the Making of South Africa - Chapter 2 - Imperialism and the Union in South Africa by Timothy Keegan
From the book: Book 3: Migration, Land and Minerals in the Making of South Africa commissioned by The Department of Education Thenineteenth century, leading…
PlaceWellington, Western Cape
The picturesque town of Wellington is a scenic 45-minute drive from Cape Town. The train station is built on land donated to the Town Council in 1863, as part…
PlaceKuGompo was called East London, Eastern Cape
East London, (Afrikaans-'Oos-Londen'), is a Port City is situated in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It lies at the mouth of the Buffalo River along…
Rustenburg the Segregated city
Rustenburg the Segregated city Towards Union The Afrikaner character of the town persisted after Union in 1910, and there was little to attract other…
EventSir Christoffel Joseph Brand succeeds his brother, P.A. Brand, as editor of De Zuid
De Zuid-Afrikaan (The South African) was the first proper Dutch newspaper in South Africa, and was first published on 9 April 1830. The publication was…
EventSir John Frederick William Herschel dies
On 11 May 1871 astronomer, Sir John Frederick William Herschel, died. Herschel began to take a serious interest in astronomy from about 1816. Herschel's father…
PlaceuMnambithi was called Ladysmith
Ladysmith today acts as a commercial centre for the large surrounding farming district became the centre of attention during the Anglo Boer War. After it it…
PlaceWitwatersrand, Johannesburg (Gauteng)
Witwatersrand, ridge of gold-bearing rock mostly in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Its name means “Ridge of White Waters, in Afrikaans.” The highland, which…
EventField Marshal Lord Roberts is appointed British supreme commander in South Africa
The appointment of Lord Roberts as Supreme Commander of the British forces in South Africa came after a series of failed campaigns against Boer Commandos in…