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403 records
ArticleOral tradition and indigenous knowledge
Written documents are very important sources of history. Letters, diaries, and even old shopping lists can tell us a lot about how people lived, what they…
Biography of Lionel Ngakane by Rod Reyna
Abstract Lionel Ngakane was a filmmaker, a writer, a director, an advocate and a political activist. Ngakane served South Africa during the apartheid era…
ArticleA Short History of ESKOM, Part 1 (1923-2001)
This short history of Electrical Supply Commission (ESKOM) aims to provide an overview of the history of the power utility over its first seventy-eight years…
ArticleGrade 9 - Term 1: World War II (1939 - 1945)
World War II (1939 to 1945) was the most devastating war in history, accounting for between 50 million to 80 million deaths. What made the war significant was…
Last of The Gandhians in South Africa
You are here: homehome libraryarticles & documents NANA SITA: LAST OF THE GANDHIANS IN SOUTH AFRICA (2) Among those who kept the spirit of Mahatma…
ArticleGeneral South African History Timeline: 1950s
1950 - 1960 In Fietas, Johannesburg, the Transvaal Indian Congress (TIC) initiates and implements the 'Decade of Defiance'. 1950 Florence Matomela…
ArticleYusuf Dadoo Timeline: 1920 - 1929
1920 January, Gandhi wrote to the press on the South African Appellate Court's judgment in the case of the Krugersdorp Municipality vs. Mohamed Dadoo. The…
Harry Snitcher 1, Unite Against Segregation! Condemn the C.A.C. [1943]
South Africa’s Radical Tradition: A documentary history, Volume two 1943 – 1964. Edited by Alison Drew.Part oneHarry Snitcher 1, Unite Against Segregation!…
ArticleA history of Apartheid in South Africa
Background and policy of apartheidBefore we can look at the history of the apartheid period it is necessary to understand what apartheid was and how it…
Apartheid - A Crime Against Humanity: The Unfolding of Total Strategy 1948-1989
The content of this article was taken from the book A Crime Against Humanity - Analysing the Repression of the Apartheid State edited by Max Coleman, (Cape…
The girl child
Gender differences manifest themselves in South Africa in the altogether different experiences of boys and girls in schools. A girl's position in the school …
Control: 1910 - 1948
Intervention from Above: The 1913 Native Land Act "Awaking on Friday morning, June 20, 1913, the South African Native found himself, not actually a slave,…
Timeline: All-Africa Convention (AAC)
1935 15 December, Professor Davidson Don Tengo (D. D. T.) Jabavu, Prixley Ka Isaka Seme, President of the African National Congress (ANC), Africans from…
ArticleDutch settlement, the Indian Ocean slave trade and slavery at the Cape - seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
Reasons: DEIC permanent settlement at the Cape 1652 The DEIC (Dutch East India Company) in the Netherlands was set up in 1602 to trade. In 1647, the Haerlem,…
ArticleThe South African War 1899-1902
On 9 October 1899 the SAR issued an ultimatum to Britain and two days later, on 11 October the war was officially declared between Britain and the Boers. The…
ArticleIndian Indentured Labour in Natal 1860-1911
The majority of Indian South Africans are the descendants of indentured workers brought to Natal between 1860 and 1911 to develop the sugar industry in this…
ArticleExample of a local history: Pretoria
The places we come from are a part of our heritage. Where we grew up and where we live are important because we learn from the people who live there with us,…
ArticlePseudo-scientific racism and Social Darwinism
Before learning about Social Darwinism, it is important to understand Darwinism. Here is a brief summary, but you can read more in the section in Grade 7 Human…
ArticleThe Freedom Charter
Adopted at the Congress of the People, Kliptown, on 26 June 1955 We, the People of South Africa, declare for all our country and the world to know: that…
ArticlePrehistory of the Pretoria area
The Pretoria region was initially occupied by the southern Ndebele people, led by Chief Musi. They inhabited this area about 300 to 400 years ago. The period…
Submissions by the McGill University students 2012
Ben Forstate Ben Forstate is a U3 Student at McGill University studying Political Science and Geography. He enjoys basketball, reading, writing and…
The Afrikaner Bond
The Origins of the Afrikaner Bond The Afrikaner Bond, an Afrikaner political organisation that was effectively the first political party in South Africa, was…
Into the Fifties: Defiance by Norman Levy
From the book: The Final Prize by Norman Levy Chapter 8 Into the Fifties: Defiance Mass trials and mass action characterised the next two decades. The …
ArticleThe ANC’s MK Special Ops Unit Material - Yunus Carrim Collection - 6 November 2025
The ANC’s MK Special Ops Unit Material Yunus Carrim Collection 06 November 2025 What is this about? The material in this collection was used to put together…
Abdullah Ibrahim and the Politics of Jazz in South Africa
Jazz has had an especial role in the social and cultural politics of South Africa. This paper will trace its function in the political struggle waged by Black…
ArticleA list of South African Shipwrecks
Antipolis (1977) The Antipolis, a Greek oil tanker, ran aground on the rocks near Victoria Road in Oudekraal in the Cape on 29 July 1977. It was being…
ArticleYusuf Dadoo Timeline: 1930 - 1939
1930 October 5, The Asiatics Land Tenure (Amendment) Bill imposes segregation on Indians in the Transvaal. The South African Indian Congress meets at an…
ArticleEskom Energy Crisis: Will there be a “just transition” to renewable energy? by Kyla Jade Mc Nulty
“Just Transition” has become the buzz term used to explain the socioeconomic need to address the jobs and communities built around fossil fuel industries,…
ArticleGangsterism in Sophiatown
Gangsterism is often characterized as anti-social behaviour frowned upon by polite sections of society. There is no doubt that the behaviour of gangsters like…
ArticleBattle of Cuito Cuanavale 1988
Introduction The battle of Cuito Cuanavale and the Cuban intervention in Angola is one of the turning points in Southern African History. It led to the…