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ArticleYoung Communist League of South Africa (YCLSA)
… in the wake of the 1924 congress. Towards the end of the 1920s, many trade unions involving African workers were …
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,…
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…
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…
Segregationist Legislation Timeline 1930-1939
… of 1936 The Bills proposed by General Barry Hertzog in the 1920s finally got the two-thirds majority required to be …
ArticleGrade 9 - Term 3: Turning points in South African History, 1960, 1976 and 1990
… rights, and they bought properties in the suburb. By the 1920s whites had moved out, leaving behind a vibrant …
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…
ArticleDecember 16 and the Construction of Afrikaner Nationalism
… The so-called poor-white problem that emerged in the 1920s saw the emergence of the ‘Second Great Trek’. Poorer …
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…
ArticleThe 1913 Women’s anti-pass campaign in the Orange Free State
… women in the subsequent years. The general unrest of the 1920s, the African mineworkers strike, the white mine workers …
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…
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…
ArticleFatima Meer Timeline 1928-2010
1928 Fatima Meer was born in Durban, daughter of Moosa and Amina Meer. 1940s Established literacy classes for adults in her father's garage She spent…
In summary: Factors resulting in the crisis
The emergence of South Africa's democracy in the 1990s The crisis of apartheid in the 1980s Factors contributing to the crisis: * A global economic crisis:…
ArticleThe spread of these ideas to Europe and Australia
The indigenous inhabitants of Australia The continent of Australia was settled about 60,000 years ago. Before European settlement, most of the inhabitants of…
Port Elizabeth an Overview
The first formal settlement of the Algoa Bay region took place in 1776 when a number of farms were allocated to local Dutch graziers. In 1799 the British…
Article1973 Durban Strikes
Introduction On 9 January 1973, workers at the Coronation Brick and Tile factory, outside Durban, came out on strike. Immediately thereafter, workers from…
Polokwane an Overview
'Street soccer' game on a makeshift field, near Polokwane in the Limpopo Province. 2010. © Chris Ledowchowski The Limpopo Province was the scene of scores of…
Liberation organisations
UDF The United Democratic Front (UDF) was a non-racial alliance of about 400 national, regional and local organisations. It was launched in Cape Town in 1983,…
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…
ArticleCall for submissions: The Politics of Armed Struggle in Southern Africa Conference
Conference: THE POLITICS OF ARMED STRUGGLE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA Conference Date: 23-25 November 2016 Venue: University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg) …
ArticleTimeline of the Labour and Trade Union Movement in South Africa 1881 - 1919
… political landscape in South Africa particularly in the 1920s when the other black led political forces such as the …
Student Politics in the Era of Democracy
During the 1990-1994 period of political liberalisation and negotiations leading to the first democratic elections the South African Students Organisation …