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ArticleSharpeville Timeline
16 December 1959 - At the annual African National Congress (ANC) conference, Chief Albert Luthuli declared that 1960 would be the "Year of the Pass", with a…
ArticleResponse to the June 16 Soweto Youth Uprising by organisations in exile
June 16 marks the commemoration of National Youth Day in South Africa. This is the day the country reflects on the massacre of school children during the…
Township Uprising, 1984-1985
On 3 September the Tricameral Parliament opened in Cape Town while protest demonstrations began in the Transvaal, marking the start of the longest and most…
ArticleAlbertina Sisulu Timeline 1918 - 2011
1918 21 October Nontsikelelo Thethiwe was born in the village Camama in the Tsomo district of the Transkei to a very large family. Circa 1926 Albertina…
ArticleYusuf Dadoo Timeline: 1950 - 1959
Yusuf Dadoo Timeline: 1950 - 1959 1950 January 6-8, The Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA) holds its last legal conference in Johannesburg prior to…
ArticleIndian South Africans timeline 1930-1939
1930 The Durban Municipality was a major employer of Indian labour, employing an average of 2 000 workers through the 1930s and 1940s. Municipal workers…
ArticleThe South African War 1899-1902
On 9 October 1899 the SAR issued an ultimatum to Britain and two days later, on 11 October the war was officially declared between Britain and the Boers. The…
ArticleNUSAS Wages Commission Timeline 1971-1973
1971 11 March, A resolution is passed at a student body meeting for the establishment of a student Wages Commission. David Hemson, Halton Cheadle, David…
Increasing repression and the turn to the armed struggle
A series of legislations were passed by the NP led government in the 1950s as it sought to deal with dissent and entrench apartheid. Leading political…
ArticleThe 52nd ANC National Conference - Polokwane 2007
The 52nd African National Congress (ANC) National Conference took place from 16 – 20 December 2007 at the University of Limpopo in Polokwane. This conference…
ArticleThe Founding of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)
According to the EFF’s publication ‘The Coming Revolution’, Julius Malema had earned the title of Commander-in Chief of the Economic Freedom Fighters when he…
The armed struggle and state repression of the 1960s
A turning point in the struggle against apartheid came about in the 1960s. This change was the result of combined elements, including the formation of the PAC,…
ArticleThe Pietermaritzburg Treason Trial, 1984
Context In the early 1980s the government took steps to control the level of resistance in the country. Its solution was to arrest key people and charge…
ArticleHighlights for 2013
South African History Online believes that history is made every day and to that effect we have compiled what we feel are the key historical events of 2013. We…
ArticleDurban Timeline 1497-1990
1497 - 1699 1497 24 December, A flotilla of three Portuguese ships under the command of Capt Vasco da Gama sailed up the eastern seaboard of southern…
ArticleTimeline — Land Dispossession and Restitution in South Africa - 1995-2013
After the advent of democratic rule in 1994, the newly elected ANC led government was faced with the task of dealing with a legacy of centuries of land…
Colonial history of Rustenburg
Origins of colonial settlement It is thought that Andries Hendrik Potgieter was one of the first Voortrekkers to settle in the Rustenburg area. David…
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…
ArticleTransvaal Indian Youth Congress (TIYC)
The Transvaal Indian Youth Congress (TIYC) was formed in Transvaal (now Gauteng) as the youth wing of the Transvaal Indian Congress (TIC) in 1945. Its…
Indian South Africans timeline 1940-1949
Indian South Africans Timeline: 1940-1949 1940 January, A meeting is held between the Nationalist Bloc, Transvaal Indian Congress (TIC) leadership and…
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…
ArticleAnti-Pass Campaign
In the latter part of 1959, PAC membership was still below expectations, and it became clear to the leadership that the movement would have to produce some…
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…
Biography of Heinz Klug by Ashley Rogers
ABSTRACT Heinz Klug is a white man born in South Africa who vehemently fought apartheid from both within South Africa and outside in exile. Klug believed that…
Last of The Gandhians in South Africa
You are here: homehome libraryarticles & documents NANA SITA: LAST OF THE GANDHIANS IN SOUTH AFRICA (2) Among those who kept the spirit of Mahatma…
ArticleThe History of May Day in South Africa
The struggle for a shorter workday, a demand of major political significance for the working class dates back to the 1800s. On 7 October 1884, the Federation…
ArticleAfrican National Congress Timeline 1930-1939
During this period the ANC cooperated with other organisations such as the APO and the NIC to fight increasing segregation imposed by the white minority…
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…
Biography of Lindiwe Mabuza by Kayla Johansen
Born: 1939, Newcastle, Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal) In Summary: Poet, African National Congress Chief Representative to Sweden and United States of America,…
ArticleAfrican National Congress Timeline 1920-1929
The ANC in the 1920s was largely weakened and suffered from both organisation incapacity and financial constraints. During this period, the party attempted to…