SAHO global search
477 records
ArticlePeople and Culture of South Africa
South Africa has early human fossils at Sterkfontein and other sites. The first modern inhabitants of the country were the hunter-gatherer San (‘bushman’) and…
ArticleNontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu’s “Mother of the Nation” Legacy
Nontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu, affectionately known as Ma Sisulu, has been described countless times as a caring and service-oriented individual who spent her…
Luli
Deep Level Mining Only twenty years after the first mine was started at Langlaagte, gold had become the most important industry in South Africa, bringing…
ArticleQuotations by Oliver Tambo
"We seek to create a united Democratic and non-racial society. We have a vision of South Africa in which black and white shall live and work together as equals…
ArticleSouthern Methodist University Partnership Project - 2013 submissions
Max Agadoni Max Agadoni is a sophomore at Southern Methodist University, studying business and engineering. He is originally from Leawood, Kansas, and…
Dealing with the past and facing the future
The text that follows is a brief summary of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. You can read far more detail by going to SAHO's TRC feature In an…
ArticleThe African Union (AU)
Context As the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), founded in 1963, was established as a loose association of African states with limited mechanisms for…
Formation and launch of the UDF
UDF launch at Mitchell's Plain in Cape Town. Source: http://www.nelsonmandela.org In the late 1970s moves to form united front against apartheid were set in…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Rustenburg the Segregated city
Rustenburg the Segregated city Towards Union The Afrikaner character of the town persisted after Union in 1910, and there was little to attract other…
ArticleBoipatong massacre - 17 June 1992
On 17 June 1992 the Joe Slovo Informal settlement in Boipatong outside Vereeniging was attacked by a group of about 300 armed men from Kwa Madala Hostel in…
ArticleThe history of labour movements in Namibia
Background During the 1930s and 1940s, there were few black workers organisations in Namibia (then known as South West Africa). However, there were a number…
ArticleGrade 10 - Topic 1: The world around 1600
Topic 1: The world around 1600 What was the world like around 1600? Europe is considered as one of the world’s major super powers which played a…
ArticleThe Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire was one of the most powerful states in the world during the 15th and 16th centuries. It lasted until the 20th century. …
ArticleHistory of Africa Day - 25 May
After World War II, the process of decolonization of the African continent gathered momentum as Africans increasingly agitated for more political rights and…
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…
ArticleImperialism and socialism in the context of Africa
Please note: This topic's content was written in 2003 and is part of the old curriculum content, we have modified it slightly to fit the new curriculum but we…
ArticleNelson Mandela Awards 1960s - 2000s
Awards 1960s 1964 Elected Honorary President of the Students' Union, University College, London. 1965 Elected Honorary President of the Students'…
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…
ArticleNelson Mandela Timeline 1980-1989
1980 25 January, Three MK cadres, on their way to carry out a sabotage mission, take refuge in the Silverton branch of Volkskas Bank after realising they were…
A Chronological look (1943 to 1986) at the Life and Times of Mr George Ponnen
GANGEN-GEORGE PONNEN - SPEAKS OF HIS LIFE AND INVOLVEMENT IN THE TRADE UNION, POLITICAL AND NATIONAL LIBERATION MOVEMENTS IN HIS COUNTRY, SOUTH AFRICA. I was…
ArticleBureau of State Security (BOSS)
The telling of the history of South African Intelligence Agencies is somewhat hamstrung by the fact that people from these agencies do not want their stories…
ArticleArts and Cultural Organisations
South Africa History Online has embarked, with the support of the NIHSS, on researching the role of the arts under apartheid. We hope that our work will…
ArticleSouth West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO)
The South West African People's Organisation (SWAPO) was founded in Windhoek, South West Africa (presently Namibia) on 19 April 1960 by Herman Toivo ja Toivo…
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…
ArticleInfecting the City Public Arts Festival
Infecting the City is an annual arts festival that takes place in communal areas of Cape Town and Mbombela, Mpumalanga, South Africa. The festival aims to…
ArticlePan-Africanism
Pan-Africanism is the belief that people of African descent have common interests and should be unified. Historically, Pan-Africanism has often taken the shape…