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The people armed, 1984-1990
Introduction 1985, Desmond Tutu, armed only with the bible under his arm, confronts the SA forces during their attempts to break up a demonstration…
ArticleSPEAK Magazine (1982 - 1994)
This article was written by Carly Spagnola and forms part of the SAHO and Southern Methodist University partnership project Since the beginning of the…
PlaceDelmas
Delmas became famous in the latter part of 2010 for its proximity to the missing tiger known as Panjo. The tiger, only 17-months old, disappeared somewhere…
ArticleDavid Goldblatt Timeline
1930 Born in Randfontein, South Africa, in 1930, the third son of Eli Goldblatt and Olga Light, both of whom came to South Africa as children with their…
ArticleCouncil of Non-European trade unions (CNETU)
During the 1930s there were attempts by African workers to organise and reconstruct all fragmented African trade unions into a large federation of non-racial…
ArticleThe Black Sash: A History of Transformation
This article was written by Ashley Schumacher and forms part of the SAHO and Southern Methodist University partnership project During the year of 1955 in…
X - Counsel’s Submission on behalf of the Biko Family
From the book: No.46 - Steve Biko by Hilda Bernstein, 1978, South Africa These are the indisputed facts concerning the treatment of Mr. Biko. Mr. Biko was…
Article2016 in Review
In 2016 South Africa History Online celebrates 15 years of being a public open source heritage site. What a journey it has been. At the end of the first week…
ArticleXenophobic violence in democratic South Africa
Xenophobic violence against foreign nationals in South Africa has worsened. South Africa witnessed widespread xenophobic attacks since 1994 in provinces such…
Chapter 7 - 1957-58: The Movement in a Crucial Phase
From: Lessons of the 1950s By Richard Monroe, March-May 1984 Chapter 7 - 1957-58: The Movement in a Crucial Phase By 1957 any relative lull in the mass…
ArticleChanges in modern forms of communication
The Postal system The act of sending letters from one person to another developed soon after the invention of writing, however, the creation of a formal…
ArticleNatal Indian Association (NIA)
The Natal Indian Association (NIA) was formed when the Natal Indian Congress (NIC) and the Colonial Born and Settlers Indian Association (CBSIA) amalgamated.[1…
ArticleWalter Sisulu Timeline 1912-2003
1912 18 May, Walter Ulyate Max Sisulu is born in Engcobo District in the Transkei, in the same year, the ANC was formed. 1920 Walter returns from his…
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…
Address by President Nelson Mandela at the Golden Doves of Peace Awards ceremony 7 June 1994
(Madame/Master) of Ceremonies Members of the National Peace Secretariat Members of the Diplomatic Corps Distinguished guests For me personally, the…
EventJoyce Mashamba passed away
Happy Joyce Mashamba passed away at the age of 67 after battling with a long illness, the details of which have not yet been disclosed to the public. [i] Born…
ArchiveMDM (Mass Democratic Movement)
Cream poster with title in black letters. Initials of all trade unions and student bodies in red and black letters around the border. Artwork of a black hand…
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…
Women at the start of the 20th century
It is only over the last three or four decades that women's role in the history of South Africa has, belatedly, been given some recognition. Previously the…
”The Future of the Bill”. Editorial in August 15, 1894
The next stage that the Native Bill has to pass is the Governor's. On Sir William Cameron, who is now administering the Government, rests a heavy…
EventThe Pretoria Supreme Court orders for an inquiry into the doctors' treatment of Steve Biko at the time of his death
The Pretoria Supreme Court ordered the South African Medical and Dental Council (SAMDC) to hold an inquiry into the conduct of the two doctors who treated…
XII - Unanswered Questions
From the book: No.46 - Steve Biko by Hilda Bernstein, 1978, South Africa Despite limitations of method and purpose, the inquest had in some respects assumed…
ArticleWomen’s Workplace Oppression in 1970s South Africa by Cait Chapman
This article was written by Cait Chapman and forms part of the SAHO and Southern Methodist University partnership projectWomen’s Workplace Oppression in 1970s…
The search for Peter Johnson’s story
In 1975, Peter Johnson, joined the ranks of the uMkhonto we Sizwe and disappeared into exile. Nearly a decade later, on the 26 October 1984, Johnson, now known…
Chapter 14. Rebuilding the Union-Constitution
When I returned to South Africa in March 1933, I found the stillness of the grave in the union office. The mass of workers in the factory section had lost…
Chapter 28. I Fight Back
Serving the orders upon me at the union office was the first of a series of blunders on Swart's part. For many months the committee had been discussing what…
EventA strike by White mineworkers turns into open rebellion
Angry White workers, on strike since 28 December 1921, stormed and occupied police stations, railway installations and mines on the Witwatersrand. They also…
ArticleCongress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU)
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) was launched on 1 December 1985, at the height of the struggle against apartheid. As a federation, it…
ArchiveNational service need not be military service.
ECC Poster. Dark blue poster with title in white lettering. Black and white images of soldiers on right hand side. Blue, green and yellow blocks of men in…
ArticleChanging Perceptions of Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela is a figure who has undergone many transformations in the eye of the South African public as well as in the global imagination. He has played…