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ArticleTransition and negotiation, 1990-1994
'Laws do not make a better society, people do ... it is crucial that the people of South Africa unite around a common respect for the Constitution…
ArticleDefiance Campaign 1952
The post-1948 period saw the African National Congress (ANC) abandoning its traditional reliance on tactics of moderation such as petitions and deputations. In…
ArticleDefiance Campaign timeline 1948-1952
1948 May 26, The National Party (NP) wins election and immediately introduces apartheid (separateness) measures against Blacks, Indian immigrants and those…
ArticleIndian South Africans
From bondage to freedom - The 160th anniversary of the arrival of Indian workers in South Africa The feature on Indian South Africans forms part of our…
ArticleA history of Indians in South Africa Timeline: 1654-2008
This is a collection of timelines of Indians in South Africa from 1654 until 2008.
Article1970s: Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa
Teachers and learners should note that there are many links on this site which deal with the depth and breadth of the Black Consciousness Movement in South…
Afrikaner
From European to "Africaander” The modern Afrikaner is descended mainly from Western Europeans who settled on the southern tip of Africa during the middle…
Prehistory of the Rustenburg area
Prehistory of the Region Pre-history of Southern Africa Africans who worked with copper and iron inhabited the area between 350AD to 600AD. Linguistic and…
Prehistory of the Nelspruit area
Prehistory of the Nelspruit area Prehistory of Southern Africa Lying just below the escarpment, Nelspruit is the capital of a region with important…
ArticlePartial State of Emergency, July 1985
On 20 July 1985 the government declared a State of Emergency in 36 magisterial districts in the Eastern Cape and PWV (now Gauteng) areas. This was the first…
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…
ArticleUnited Democratic Front (UDF)
The United Democratic Front (UDF) was an anti-apartheid body that incorporated many anti-apartheid organisations. It was launched in 1983, in Mitchells Plain…
ArticleNational Party (NP)
The first leader of the National Party (NP) became Prime Minister as part of the PACT government in 1924. The NP was the governing party of South Africa from…
ArticleSouth African Communist Party (SACP)
On 30 July 2011, the South African Communist Party (SACP) celebrated its 90th anniversary. Initially known as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), the…
ArticleNational Union of South African Students (NUSAS)
In 1924 the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) was founded aimed at representing and promoting the interests of university and college students…
ArticleSouth African Indian Congress (SAIC)
The period 1860-1923 is characterised firstly by the introduction of indentured Indian labourers into Natal and of the "passenger" Indians who came to trade,…
Origins: Formation, Sharpeville and banning, 1959-1960
For many years there was tension within the African National Congress (ANC) between those with different ideological and theoretical views. One of these views…
ArticlePan Africanist Congress (PAC)
The Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) is a political party whose presence in the South African political landscape spans just over half a century. The PAC’s…
ArticleSouth African Congress of Democrats (COD)
In 1952, Whites who identified themselves with the aspirations of those who participated in the Defiance Campaign formed the South African People's Congress…
ArticleSouth African Defence Force (SADF)
Early years The history of the South African Defence Force (SADF) can be traced to the 1660s. When Jan van Riebeeck landed at the Cape in 1652, he had with…
ArticlePoqo
Poqo was formed as an armed wing to the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) during the 1960's and was known for its aggressively violent sabotage campaign. Unlike…
ArticleAzanian People’s Organization (AZAPO)
In aftermath of the June 16 Uprising, the government cracked down on student activists and organisations alike. On 19 October 1977 the Black Consciousness…
ArticleTransvaal Indian Congress (TIC)
The TIC (Transvaal Indian congress) was first called the TBIA (Transvaal British Indian Association) which was founded in 1903. The organization was later…
ArticleNon-European Unity Movement (NEUM)
This article was written by Baruch Hirson A Short history of the Non-European Unity – An insider's view Where is the Non-European Unity Movement? The Non…
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…
ArticleNatal Indian Congress (NIC)
The NIC (Natal Indian Congress) was the first of the Indian Congresses to be formed. It was established in 1894 by Mahatma Gandhi to fight discrimination…
Article1960 - 1994: Armed Struggle and Popular Resistance
1984-1990:- The people armedIntroductionNumerous factors characterised the intensification of the freedom struggle against the National Party government in the…
ArticleSouth Africa’s Foreign Relations during Apartheid, 1948
The position of South Africa in international affairs remained important throughout apartheid. The South African government needed to rely on the external…
Colonial conquest and resistance, Pre 1900
Several factors seemed to pave the way to apartheid, among them a colonial conquest, land dispossession, economic impoverishment, and exclusion from…
ArticleAZAPO’s Women’s Wing - Imbeleko
Imbeleko is the women's wing of the Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO), formed in 1982 to address the specific challenges faced by black women under…