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EventBreyten Breytenbach; SA poet, activist and painter, receives the Hertzog Prize for his poetry
Breyten Breytenbach, South African poet, painter and activist, received the Hertzog Prize for his two Afrikaans poetry volumes, an elegy 'Oorblyfsels: 'n…
EventAfrikaans author Mikro is born
Christoffel Hermanus Kahn (Mikro), Afrikaans author, was born at Van Reenensplaas in Williston district, Cape Colony. KÁƒÂƒÂ¼hn attended school at Robertson…
EventSouth African writer J.M. Coetzee is born in Cape Town.
Born John Maxwell Coetzee in Cape Town to Afrikaner parents, Coetzee uses his initials as his pen name. He studied at the University of Cape Town and graduated…
EventThe SA government gives limited powers of internal self-government to Damaraland
Prior to 1870, the Damara people occupied most of central Namibia, but large numbers were displaced or killed in clashes. When the first Europeans visited…
EventTodd Tozama Matshikiza, musician, composer and writer, is born in Queenstown, Eastern Cape
Todd Tozama Matshikiza was born to a musical family in Queenstown in the Eastern Cape on 7 March 1921. He obtained music and teaching diplomas and took up a…
EventThe Congo Free State is established by King Leopold of Belgium
On 2 May 1885, the Congo Free State was established by King Leopold II of Belgium. Congo was a large region in central Africa that had been able to resist…
ArticleSouth African Congress of Trade Unions Timeline 1919-1997
1919 Formation of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union of Africa (ICU). 1924 Introduction of Industrial Conciliation Act. 1941 Formation of…
PlaceUmlazi
History of Umlazi The history of Umlazi (or Mlazi) dates back to 1845 when British settlers forcibly occupied what was then Natal (now KwaZulu Natal ) and…
PlaceKwaMashu
The development of KwaMashu Township, in the KwaZulu-Natal province and located some 19km north of Durban, resulted from the mass resettlement of the slum…
ArticleFietas: Pageview timeline 1880-1988
This timeline is NOT complete. Any omissions are unintentional as this timeline is a work in progress that will be added to over time. Please click on the…
Dr Mamphela Ramphele interviewed by Rupert Taylor, 16 April 1998, Cape Town
Dr Mamphela Ramphele 16/4/98, Cape Town interviewed by Rupert Taylor Taylor: What is the nature of the conflict? Ramphele: I’ll take issue with the…
ArticleThe Roots of Segregation: 1860-1910
By the 1860s, subjugation of African people in the immediate vicinity of the Cape had been achieved. Other than a small, enfranchised minority who owned land,…
PlaceWallacedene, Cape Town
Wallacedene is an Informal Housing Settlement in the Eastern Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. The Settlement was established during the 1980s when the…
ArticleCato Manor timeline 1650-2007
1650 Earliest known history - the Nqondo clan occupy the land now known as Cato Manor 1730 They are replaced by the Ntuli clan - it is unclear what…
PlaceAlgiers, Capital of Algeria
Presumed to be named after the Harbour City, on the West side of the Bay of Algiers, Capital City of Algeria. Algiers is the urban area of Ganyesa, which is a…
PlaceOriental Plaza, Fordsburg, Johannesburg
Indoor bazaar with shops selling bargains from clothing to home-ware to spices, plus food stalls. Established in the Johannesburg suburb of Fordsburg in the…
EventThe Defiance Campaign against apartheid laws begins
Following the adoption of a Programme of Action in the 1949 annual congress, the ANC began the 1950s with mass action campaigns marked by boycotts, strikes and…
EventTrade unionist Clements Kadalie dies in East London
Trade unionist, Lameck Koniwaka Kadali Muwamba, known by his adopted name, Clements Kadalie, was born in April 1896, near the Bandawe mission station in…
EventCastro decides to send troops to Angola to fight South Africa
The president of Cuba Fidel Castro decides to send Cuban troops to Angola in response to South Africa's invasion of the country. After attaining its…
ArchiveAfrican Communist, 1959 - 1994
The SACP did not publicly announce its existence until the state of emergency was declared by the government after the police massacres of Sharpeville and…
EventPAC leader Robert Sobukwe is released
Pan-Africanist Congress leader, Robert Sobukwe, was arrested after the Sharpeville anti-pass campaign of 1960 and harshly sentenced to three years in prison…
EventAdelaide Tambo returns to South Africa after 30 years
Adelaide Tambo became politically active after her grandfather's arrest at the age of ten. While she attended high school, she started to work as a courier for…
EventGandhi leads Satyagraha Passive Resistance Campaign
Born in 1869 at Porbandar, Gujarat, India, the internationally prominent Indian campaigner, Mohandas Gandhi, led the 1906 Satyagraha Passive Resistance…
EventThe United Nations adopts a resolution establishing an eleven member United Nations Council for South West Africa
The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution establishing an eleven member United Nations Council for South West Africa. Their task was to…
ArchiveThe Anti-Apartheid Movement Abroad by Max Rossiter
The Role of London in the Anti-Apartheid movement, specifically in relation to the SACP and the ANCThe international aspect of the anti-apartheid struggle in…
African History Books
table { border: none; border-collapse: collapse; } td { border: none; border-color: red; } During the month of May we celebrate Africa…
ArchiveBiography of Dorothy Nyembe by Thomas Boatman
… freed before the new year. The decade of the 1960s tested the resiliency of Dorothy due to both the …
PlaceMeadowlands or Ndofaya, in Soweto
Meadowlands, located in Gauteng Province, South Africa, is a Suburb of Soweto. It was founded in the early 1950's during the Apartheid era to accommodate Black…
EventBarend Strydom kills 8 People in Pretoria
On 15 November 1988, 21 year-old Barend Strydom went on a killing spree with his pistol and attempted to shoot every Black person he encountered. He killed 8…
ArchiveInterview with Lybon Tiyani Mabasa
Interview with Lybon Tiyani Mabasa, a leader in the Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO) at the time of this interview, was born in 1952 and graduated from…