SAHO global search
2,867 records
ArticlePseudo-scientific racism and Social Darwinism
Before learning about Social Darwinism, it is important to understand Darwinism. Here is a brief summary, but you can read more in the section in Grade 7 Human…
ArticlePrehistory of the Pretoria area
The Pretoria region was initially occupied by the southern Ndebele people, led by Chief Musi. They inhabited this area about 300 to 400 years ago. The period…
ArticleEnd Conscription Campaign (ECC)
In the late 1970s four young men publicly refused to obey their army call-ups by the South African Defence Force (SADF) and were sentenced to up to 18 months…
ArticleThe Sedition Trial 1946 - 1948
The history of the struggle against racial oppression and exclusion in South Africa is inextricably intertwined with the struggle of workers against…
Early struggles, contact and conflict in the Cape Colony
The rounding of the Cape and the establishment of the trade route to the Far East had far reaching consequences not just for the Cape, but for Southern Africa…
The Rise of Women’s Trade Unionism in South Africa by Peter LaNasa
This article was written by Peter LaNasa and forms part of the SAHO and Southern Methodist University partnership project Abstract: This essay discusses…
ArticleGeneral South African History Timeline: 1950s
1950 - 1960 In Fietas, Johannesburg, the Transvaal Indian Congress (TIC) initiates and implements the 'Decade of Defiance'. 1950 Florence Matomela…
People Against Gangsterism and Drugs
People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD) came into being in 1996 when communities on the Cape Flats, Cape Town decided to form an anti-crime organisation…
ArticleTimeline: Father Trevor Huddleston
1913 15 June, Trevor Huddleston is born in Chaucer Road, Bedford, England. Huddleston is christened at St Paul’s Church in Bedford. 1921-1937 …
ArticleCongress of the People and the Freedom Charter
As the struggle for freedom reached a new intensity in the early fifties, the ANC saw the need for a clear statement on the future of South Africa. The idea of…
PlaceLamont-Hussey Observatory
The name of the Observatory refers to W.J. Hussey and a good friend of his, R.P. Lamont. Hussey and Lamont were University students in engineering in Michigan,…
EventDr. Silas Modiri Molema dies in Mafikeng
Dr Seetsele Silas Modiri Molema, medical doctor, politician and historian, died in Mafeking at the age of 74. He was the eldest son of Silas Thelesho Molema,…
ArticlePretoria Timeline 1800-2009
1825 Mzilikazi's arrival in Transvaal region. 1836 Andries Potgieter's arrives in the area north of the Vaal. 1837 Mzilikazi defeated by the…
ArticleNelspruit Timeline 1815-1996
1815 Louis Trichardt and Hans van Rensburg cross the Oranje/Gariep river. June 1836, Van Rensburg leaves Trichardt while Potgieter goes on an expedition to…
ANC Election victory party, 19 May 2010
With the number of ballots already counted following yesterdays local government elections signalling yet another convincing victory for the African National…
EventMarianne Kriel was born on this day
Marianne Kriel was born in Bellville on 30 August 1971.[i] She attended Bellville High School, and completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at Stellenbosch…
PlaceSoccer City (FNB Stadium) -Johannesburg
Stadium built in Johannesburg for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The design concept of the Stadium is: 'The Calabash, or African pot'.This iconic, 87 436-seater is…
EventHundreds of thousands of people killed as tsunamis devastate large swathes of South and Southeast Asia, coming as far as South Africa
On the morning of 26 December 2004, a magnitude 9.3 earthquake struck off the Northwest coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The earthquake deformed the…
EventBoeremag bomb blasts rock Soweto and Bronkhorstspruit
Just after midnight on 30 October 2002 eight bomb blasts rocked Soweto. Seven of the blasts occurred on main commuter railway lines running through the…
EventDemonstrators close down businesses and government offices in Lesotho
On 17 September 1998, demonstrators closed down businesses and government offices in Lesotho as protests against the outcome of the 23 May 1998 election…
EventMandela signs SA Constitution into law
Two years after the first democratic election (1994) the President of the Republic of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, signed the final draft of the constitution…
EventThe Rand Revolt breaks out
The end of World War I was followed by a global depression that affected South Africa as well. Soon after the war, in 1918 and 1919, Black workers across…
PlaceRobert Sobukwe Town, was called Graaf-Reinet
The oldest town in the Eastern Cape, the fourth oldest in South Africa and certainly one of the most atmospheric, Graaff-Reinet lies enclosed by a bend in the…
EventuMkhoto weSizwe (MK) launches its first acts of sabotage
On this date, uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the military wing of the African National Congress (ANC) announced its existence by launching its first acts of sabotage…
ArchiveThe Women’s Jail at the Old Fort and its Impact by Claire Ennis
Alternating from prison to fort to prison to museum, the Old Fort in Johannesburg has served a variety of unique purposes since its creation in 1893.[1] In an…
ArticleHistory Grade 10 - Topic 3 Contextual Overview
While colonialism and slavery flourished in the 18th century, the foundations of modern democracy were also being established. It is important to consider the…
ArticleGeneral South African History Timeline: 1920s
July, Industrial and Commercial Workers Union of South Africa (ICU) is established as national Black trade union in Bloemfontein. 11 September, Gerrit…
ArticleAfrica Timeline
100 000 BC Humans begin to migrate from Africa to other parts of the world 8500 BC – 6500 BC In the Sahara Desert region, the people develop the use…
European Revolutions 1750-1850
In this topic, we will identify and explain the changes that took place in Europe between 1750 and 1850. Change is the driving force in history. Without…
ArticlePretoria: The Founding of the City
Pretoria’s founder – a man by the name of Marthinus Wessels Pretorius - arrived in Pretoria in 1848 [i]. At the time of his arrival, King Mzilikazi and the…