Politics & Society
22 records
ArticleLouis van Mauritius and the Slave Revolt of 1808
The unique nature of slavery in the Cape Colony hindered many attempts at wide-scale resistance on the part of Cape slaves. Instead many…
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…
ArticleThe Empty Land Myth
The Empty or Vacant Land Theory is a theory that was propagated by European settlers in nineteenth-century South Africa to support their…
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…
ArticleSlave Resistance
Slavery was introduced to the Cape Colony by the VOC in its desire to boost the agriculture and food supply while retaining control in the…
ArticleIndenture: A new system of slavery?
Was the system of indentured Indian labour "a new system of slavery"?as Hugh Tinker entitles his book? The answer would depend on how the…
ArticleThe Wragg Commission (1885-1887)
Indian immigration into Natal brought with it strained relations and severe problems and conflicts between the White colonists and the new…
ArticleIndian South Africans
From bondage to freedom - The 160th anniversary of the arrival of Indian workers in South Africa The feature on Indian South Africans…
ArticleSecond Anglo-Boer War - 1899 - 1902
'South African War ( a.k.a. the Anglo-Boer War) remains the most terrible and destructive modern armed conflict in South Africa’s history…
ArticleThe Jameson Raid
By 1895 Britain was getting more confident about taking action in South Africa. Joseph Chamberlain was appointed Colonial Secretary. He…
ArticleThe Mfecane: Understanding a Period of Transformation in Southern Africa
The Mfecane - known as the Difaqane or Lifaqane in Sesotho - was a period of profound political, social, and demographic transformation in…
ArticleOrigins of the Battle of Blood River 1838
The Great Trek and the advent of the Mfecane The origins of the battle are a matter of considerable debate. The background to this event…
ArticleKwaMsiza - A Ndebele village
KwaMsiza is a village of 49 families located some 50km north of Pretoria. Its residents are Ndzundza Ndebele, and belong to three major…
ArticleColonial history of Bloemfontein
The area between the Orange and Vaal rivers, originally known as Transoranje, with its abundance of permanent water sources, was the…
ArticleEuropean missionaries in southern Africa: the role of the missionaries
"Without doubt it is a far more costly thing to kill the (indigenous population) than to Christianise them." (Warneck 1888) European…
ArticleAfrica: What’s in a name?
Africa is the world’s second largest continent, both by size and number, after Asia. Its landmass holds 54 countries and nine territories…
ArticleBasotho Wars 1858 - 1868
The three Basotho Wars (1858-68) and the formation of Lesotho The conflict between the Basotho people and White settlers in what is now…
ArticlePedi & Anglo-Pedi Wars 1876-1879
The largest North-Sotho language group in South Africa are the Bapedi group, who arrived in the northern province around the 1650s, and…
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…
ArticleMatabele Wars 1836-1896
The reign of Mzilikazi Under the leadership of Mzilikazi, the people who came to be called the Ndebele in Zimbabwe (originally of the…
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…
ArticleNelson Mandela Timeline 1800-1899
1800: Historical Context Nelson Mandela traces his lineage back to the Thembu Chief Nxeko, one of the early Thembu Kings who ruled over…