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ArticleAbstracts presented for the 1973 Durban Strikes Conference
Following is a list of abstracts presented for the 1973 Durban Strikes - Celebrating 50 Years Conference. “White ladies [do not] push heavy skips”:…
ArticlePass Laws and Sharpeville Massacre
Pass laws in South Africa were met with fierce resistance during the 20th century. But earlier forms of passes, had in fact been used in various instances…
ArticlePort Elizabeth the Segregated city
Contents 1910-1950 Apartheid ideology and implementation from 1950 Conclusion 1910-1950 By 1950, the population of New Brighton had grown from 3,650 in…
ArticleGandhi and the Passive Resistance Campaign 1907-1914
The passive resistance campaigns led by MK Gandhi in South Africa had huge consequences not only for the history of the country but also for world history in…
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…
ArticleWomen’s Role in the Negotiations by Nicole Dellaportas
This article was written by Nicole Dellaportas and forms part of the SAHO and Southern Methodist University partnership project Women’s Role in the…
ArticleAfrican National Congress Youth League (ANCYL)
The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) was established on 2 April 1944, by Anton Lambede (who became the League’s first President), Nelson Mandela,…
A growing urban African population
As Johannesburg expanded, so did its need for African labour. After the First World War, a large number of factories were being established and were growing in…
Hunter-Gatherers in Southern Africa
For more than 95% of the last 100 000 years, most people all over the world followed a hunting and gathering way of life. Until recently, people living by…
ArticleTeachers League of South Africa (TLSA) conference in 1925
Background The establishment of the Teachers’ League of South Africa (TLSA) emerged out of increasing racial segregation in the Cape. While segregation had…
ArticleThe Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa
The landscape of Black political activity in the 1960s was different that of the previous decade. The apartheid government had banished the Black resistance…
ArticleColonial History of Port Elizabeth
Colonial settlement Land wars The 'Frontier Wars' in the Eastern Cape Europeans who came to stay in South Africa first settled in and around Cape Town. As…
Growth of African Nationalism and Defiance
The 1940s saw a growth of African nationalism that positioned itself to challenge the rising Afrikaner nationalism. The ANC which was weak in the 1920 and…
A brief history on South African prisons and prisoners
Introduction In 1948 the National government was voted into power and instituted apartheid. This lead to an increase in the number of people being…
ArticleTowards a people’s culture - Art and Resistance under Apartheid
Art in the state of siegeThe Sharpeville Massacre was one of the most important turning points in the history of South Africa. It triggered a chain of events,…
ArticleA history of Soweto
The consequence of this promising wealth was that a great number of people left their farms, rural homes and other towns in South Africa to make a quick buck…
ArticleThe Angolan Civil War (1975-2002): A Brief History
The overthrow of Portugal’s Prime Minister, Marcello Caetano, on 25 April 1974 hailed a watershed moment for the former Portuguese colonies of Mozambique,…
The historical significance of COSATU’s Workers’ Charter Campaign
Introduction During the late 1970s and early 1980s the issue of drawing up a Workers’ Charter became a leading item on the agenda of the South African labour…
ArticleHistory of elections in South Africa
Introduction The South Africa Act passed by the British Parliament in 1909 combined the self-governing British colonies of the Natal, Cape, Transvaal and…
ArticleGarment Workers Union (GWU)
Formed in 1928 by Emil Solomon (Solly) Sachs, this was a union of women factory workers that transcended barriers of colour and class. In the late 1920s and…
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…
ArticleThe Youth Struggle
From the early years of colonial rule, South African youth had participated in various forms against the racist character of colonialism, oppression, and…
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…
ArticleWestern Cape Civic Association (WCCA)
Civic organisation also experienced problems in organising across the racial divide. Initially the emerging civic organisation in African township and coloured…
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…
The Afrikaanse Handelsinsituut
The Afrikaanse Handelsinsituut (AHI – in English the Afrikaans Commercial Institute) was formed during WWII to create Afrikaner businesses and represent their…
Grade 12 - Topic 4 - The end of the Cold War and a new global world order 1989 to present
There were many reasons why apartheid collapsed. You can read about the crisis of Apartheid in the 1980s in section 5 of the grade 12 material. The collapse of…
ArticleCommemoration, remembering and memorialising June 16 Soweto uprising
Since the early 1990s, June 16, now known as Youth Day, has been remembered, commemorated, and memorialised as public history. There have been different ways…
Conflict among civic organisations
Civic organisations in the Western Cape, particularly in Cape Town did not share the same ideological stance, interests and outcomes. One of the major…
ArticleThe Society of Young Africa (SOYA)
The Society of Young Africa (SOYA) held its opening conference on 20th December 1951. Led by I. B. Tabata, SOYA was closely linked to the Non European Unity…