SAHO global search
350 records
The Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA): CODESA 2
On October 25 1991, ninety-two organisations that were united in their opposition to apartheid gathered in Durban to form the Patriotic Front. The Front…
James Stewart - the ANC fighter who spoke truth to power by Martin Plaut, 1 February 2016
This is the obituary of Hermanus Loots, better known by his nom de guerre, James Stewart, who exposed the atrocities in the ANC’s Quatro prison camp. Martin …
ArticleThe African Mine workers strike of 1946
Introduction The strike by some 76,000 black miners in 1946 was one of the most significant examples of industrial action by black workers in South Africa…
ArticleA timeline of Zuma-Gupta issues from Nenegate to the firing of Pravin Gordhan
1993 The Guptas arrive in SA. 1994 The Guptas establish Sahara Computers. The Guptas fund Essop Pahad’s publication, The Thinker. 2002 Jacob…
ArchiveChapter 7 - Planning for people's war `Blow on the embers and it will catch alight', January 1983 - March 1984 by Howard Barrell
It was...a way in which we could give real meaning to people's involvement; to once and for all take away this myth that MK is their highly trained,…
ArticleHistory Grade 11 - Topic 4 Contextual Overview
Figure 1.1. With his call to put “America First”, Donald Trump is the latest recruit to a dangerous nationalism. Flagrantly authoritarian figures like Donald…
Book 6: Negotiation, Transition and Freedom - Chapter 4 - The Fruits of Freedom by Eddy Maloka
From the book: Book 6: Negotiation, Transition and Freedom commissioned by The Department of Education The first ten years of South Africa’s democracy…
ArticleTimeline 20 years of Democracy 1994 to 2014
1994 27 April,South Africa's interim constitution which was adopted in November 1993 came into effect on 27th April 1994 to administer South Africa’s first…
ArticleThe South African Communist Party and Mozambique
The South African Communist Party and Mozambique Introduction The Mozambique Liberation Front, popularly known by its Portuguese acronym, FRELIMO (Frente…
ArticleGeneral South African History Timeline: 1980s
1980 is declared the Year of the Charter, marking the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Freedom charter in 1955. 1980 SACTU declares the year as…
ArchiveBiography of Florence Mkhize by Rachel Manak
Florence Mkhize was an active member and leader in some of the most prominent organizations that worked to end apartheid in South Africa, including the…
ArticleA Charge of Treason by Norman Levy
This article was taken from the book The Final Prize by Norman Levy (Chapter 12) A Charge of Treason When detectives invaded the Congress of the People on 26…
ArticleAfrican National Congress Timeline 2011 - 2020
AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS TIMELINE — 2011 – 2020 2011 8 January 2011 African National Congress (ANC) President Jacob Zuma delivers the traditional ANC…
ArchiveAfrican Women`s Resistance to the Pass Laws in South Africa 1950-1960, by Elizabeth S. Schmidt
Introduction The decade of the 1950s was a decade of turmoil in South Africa. In the urban areas, a strong alliance was being forged between racially…
BiographyNelson Rolihlahla Mandela
Childhood in the Eastern CapeNelson Rolihlahla Mandela was the son of Nonqaphi Nosekeni and Henry Mgadla Mandela, a chief and chief councillor to the paramount…
Liberation
"We the marginalised people of South Africa, who are landless and land hungry, declare our need for all the world to know. We are the people who have borne the…
ArticleA Short History of ESKOM, Part 2 (2001-2022)
Following on from Part 1, this article seeks to analyse some of the historical and present dynamics bedevilling ESKOM. Over the past twenty years, ESKOM’s…
Book 4: Industrialisation, Rural Change and Nationalism - Chapter 2 - Industrialisation and the Revitalisation of Black Politics in the1940s by Mohamed Adhikari
From the book: Book 4: Industrialisation, Rural Change and Nationalism commissioned by The Department of Education Three documents, fundamental changes that…
Resistance Photography and Mobilization of the Resistance, 1946-1976
Before presenting the history and impact of resistance photography we must consider the historical moment in which resistance photography in South Africa came…
2007 ANC National Policy Conference: Report of the Commission on Legislatures and Governance, 30 June 2007, Gallagher Estate
Electoral System Noting 1. The commissions discussed the different options outlined in the discussion document on Legislatures and Governance for a National…
42. Petition from Indians at the time of Union
From the book: A Documentary History of Indian South Africans edited by Surendra Bhana and Bridglal Pachai This document, dated 10 July 1909, was submitted…
ArticleThe British Anti-Apartheid Movement
The reaction of the outside world to the development of apartheid was widespread, and by the 1980s posed a sustained challenge to the South African regime,…
ArticleLiberation history Timeline 1960-1969
The 1960s witnessed the banning of both the ANC and the PAC in the aftermath of the Sharpeville Massacre. In response to the banning, both parties were forced…
ArchiveChapter 12 Hangings by Denis Goldberg
After the escape of Tim, Stephen and Alex we who remained behind bore the consequences. The prison was rebuilt and we politicals were held in another prison…
PlaceMcGregor, Western Cape
Legend has it that our Breede Valley neighbors would admonish their errant children with "Behave! Or I'll send you to McGregor!" and no one can deny that…
GEAR and Neo-Liberalism (Part 2) by Thabo Mbeki, 28 March, 2016
V During the whole period when GEAR has been challenged “from the left”, the assertion was made that GEAR sought to replace the RDP. I am certain that there…
Links & Partnerships
All of the below links are to websites that SAHO recommends (and uses) for further research about South African History. Please inform us if links are no…
ArchiveBiography of Florence Matomela by Maximiliano Rubio
Her collegue in the anti-apartheid struggle, Hilda Bernstein, describes Florence Matomela as ‘a woman who gave out warmth and life like the African sun, full…
ArchiveBarberton Prison by Sloane Fuller
While the South African press readily covered stories of those having committed acts of treason or communism during the apartheid era, little attention was…
Challenge to the church: A Theological Comment on the Political Crisis in South Africa | The Kairos Document, 1985
The Kairos document preface The KAIROS document is a Christian, biblical and theological comment on the political crisis in South Africa today. It is an…