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EventThe Korean War ends
The undeclared Korean War ended after three years of fighting between North Korean and Chinese Communists against the United Nations (UN) forces (mainly South…
EventThe last passenger boat of the Union Castle line, the Windsor Castle, leaves Table Bay
Once part of a vital communications link between Europe and Southern Africa, the RMS Windsor Castle was the last of the Union Castle Line's, "Cape Mail Express…
EventMadagascar adopts its second constitution
Madagascar came under the colonial French Protectorate in 1890. By the late 1940's, the Malagasy had started to demand independence. A national uprising took…
EventSir Benjamin D’Urban accepts the Mfengu as British subjects
The Mfengu (or Fingo in the colonial lexicon) were defeated and left landless by King Shaka's Zulu army, and slowly arrived in Xhosa territory over a period of…
EventSevered human leg drops off SAA plane
A human leg was dropped from a South African Airways (SAA) aircraft as it was preparing to land at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. Pam Hearne, the owner…
EventBasutoland (now Lesotho) becomes British territory
Moshoeshoe is credited as "the father of the Basotho people" as he was responsible for the creation of Lesotho (The Basotho Kingdom), and the drawing together…
EventFirst postage stamp in Africa is issued in the Cape Colony
On 1 September 1853, the first adhesive postage stamp in Africa was issued in the Cape of Good Hope, a British colony at the time. The triangular shaped stamp…
PlaceEbenezer, Limpopo
Ebenezer was established in 1831 as a station of the Rhenish Missionary Society. The 1875 census indicated that the Village had a population of 291. It was…
University of York Student Submissions 2015
Joshua Richman Joshua Richman is a final year English and Politics student at the University of York. From October 2015, he will read Law at Hughes Hall,…
ArticleAfrican National Congress Timeline 1866-1909
In this period early African political organisations were formed; these organisations precipitated the formation of the African National Congress. 1866 …
ArticleThe role of traditional leaders during Apartheid
Introduction The institution of traditional leadership represents an early form of societal organisation. It embodies the protection of culture, traditions,…
ArticleLand: dispossession, resistance and restitution
Introduction The history of white colonial land dispossession began at the Cape with the expansion of the Dutch colonial settlement established by Jan van…
PlaceFranschhoek Motor Museum
The Franschhoek Motor Museum offers visitors a special opportunity to look back at more than 100 years of motoring History with its unique and exciting…
ArticleGreat Trek 1835-1846
The Great Trek was a movement of Dutch-speaking colonists up into the interior of southern Africa in search of land where they could establish their own…
Chapter 3 - The Cigarette-Makers Strikes and the First Workers Co-operative Society in South Africa, Cape Town 1906 - 1907
From: Labour Struggles in South Africa The Forgotten Pages 1903 - 1921 by Evangelos A. Mantzaris INTRODUCTION In May 1906 smoking habits amongst the ladies…
EventSculptor Lucas Sithole is born in KwaThema
Lucas Sithole, renowned South African sculptor, was born in KwaThema, Springs, Transvaal (now Gauteng) to a Zulu father and a Swazi mother. He created more…
EventSASOL plant explodes again
The SASOL petrol plant in Secunda, Mpumalanga Province, went up in flames after a giant gas explosion, this time not as result of a political attack or…
ADDRESS AT THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT, 13 June 2001
Honourable Speaker, First Minister, Ministers, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen: I am greatly honoured that you have given us the opportunity to…
Document 57 - Lionel Forman, “Self-Determination in South Africa: A Contribution to Discussion”, Liberation, 37, July 1959
From: South Africa's Radical Tradition, a documentary history, Volume Two 1943 - 1964, by Allison Drew Document 57 - Lionel Forman, "Self-Determination in…
Chapter 9. The Struggle against Sweating - Garment Workers in Action by E. S. Sachs
All South African labour laws have objectionable features which cause bitter resentment among the workers, and nearly all of them are punitive in character. …
Document 29 - Letter from S. P. Bunting to E. R. Roux, 5 December 1928
From: South Africa's Radical Tradition, a documentary history, Volume One 1907 - 1950, by Allison Drew Document 29 - Letter from S. P. Bunting to E. R. Roux, 5…
ArticleThe Durban strikes and the resurgence of the trade union movement in 1973
When Black workers in Durban embarked on a wave of strikes in January 1973, the government and employers were shocked, and they responded mainly by giving in…
PlaceWagendrift Nature Reserve and Dam, Escourt
Wagendrift Dam and Moor Park Nature Reserve is situated just off the N3 highway, near Estcourt. The Reserve is roughly 980 square Kilometers, in extent and…
EventThomas Kgope is born
Thomas Kgope, talented SA artist, was born in Rustenburg, Transvaal. After Kgope showed interest in art, artist Norman Catherine, for whom he worked as…
EventS.A. beats New Zealand by 3
Daryll Cullinan and Jacques Kallis sent South Africa to a 3-2 win over New Zealand, with SA being unbeaten in six series matches, with Kallis and Cullinan…
PlaceSt. Francis Church, Simonstown
In the Year 2014, St Francis of Assisi Parish Church Celebrated its Bicentenary. The History of the first Anglican Church in Southern Africa, is beautifully…
PlaceTime Ball Tower, Table Bay Harbour, Cape Town
This structure was erected in 1883 and was used as a repeater-station for harbour signals between the observatory and Signal Hill. In 1895 its height was…
PlaceEastern Fort/Battery and Blockhouse, Chapman’s Peak, overlooking Hout Bay, Cape Town
Early Dutch Settlers soon realised that Hout Bay could serve as an alternative anchorage when prevailing winds made Table Bay unsafe. However, successive Dutch…
PlaceRichtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape, Northern Cape
The 1600 square kilometers in area is the Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape. This is a dramatic Mountainous Desert in the Northern Cape of South…
PlaceIrish House, Polokwane Museum
Right in the centre of the city of Polokwane is Irish House, a Victorian building that was prefabricated and moved complete to the City by a German immigrant,…