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The Dutch Arrive
Jan van Riebeeck, a Dutch man employed by the Dutch East India Company arrives at the Cape of Good Hope with 90 men. He creates a colony on the Cape, with no regard for the South African tribes already settled there. The Dutch trade with the native South Africans, but they also take over their land, and fighting breaks out between the two groups. -
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The Great Trek
Boers, farmers living in the Cape Colony, move east and north from the Cape, settling on the land of those already there, and forcing them to do work. The Boers form the Orange Free State and Transvaal colonies. -
The British Claim the Cape Colony
The British arrive and take over the Cape Colony. -
Diamonds are Discovered
Diamonds are discovered between the 1850s and 60s in South Africa. Cecil Rhodes, later to become Prime Minister of the Cape, makes his fortune on these jewels. -
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The Anglo-Boer War
British soldiers and the Boers fight over territory and diamonds. This war ends with the victory of the British and their subsequent takeover of South African colonies. -
The Union of South Africa is Created
The Union of South Africa is created. Racial prejudice exists throughout the area, and no black South Africans were allowed to be a part of Congress. -
The Natives Land Act is Instituted
The Land Act reserves 90% of the country's land for white people, who make up a small minority in South Africa. -
Sanctions on South African Goods
Sanctions were placed on South Africa by countries around the world starting in 1948, and continuing to 1989. -
Apartheid is Instituted
The Afrikaner National Party passes the following apartheid laws: black people have to carry pass books, which contain photos, fingerprints and information on where they wer allowed to travel outside of black areas; interracial marriage is illegal; and skilled jobs are declared "whites only". -
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The Afrikaner National Party Gains Power
The Afrikaner National Party is elected as the government, and holds power until 1994. -
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Apartheid
Apartheid was instituted and remained in place for almost 50 years. The aim of apartheid was to protect and uphold the domination of white people in South Africa, and suppress interaction between the different races. -
The Population Registration Act
The Population Registration Act is passed, requiring Sout Africans to be classified as white, black or coloured (mixed ethnicity). -
Homelands are Established
Homelands are established by the Bantu Authorities Act. They are areas on African reserves that are treated as separate states. Many black South Africans are assigned, often inaccurately, to a homeland based on a record of their origin. All political rights held by black South Africans are restricted to the homeland they now belong to. They are made citizens of the homeland, and their South African citizenship is revoked., and those living in the homelands require passports to enter South Africa -
The Public Safety Act and Criminal Law Amendment Act are Passed
These laws allowed the government to increase the severity of penalties for protesting against laws or supporting the revoking of a law, and to declare states of emergency throughout the country based on flimsy claims. These penalties included fines, imprisonment, whippings, banishment and unjust detainment. -
Sharpeville Massacre
The Sharpeville Massacre is one example of the lengths the South African government went to. A large group of black South Africans in Sharpeville refuse to carry their passes. The goverment responds to the protest with violence, killing 69 unarmed protesters, and declaring a state of emergency in the country, which lasts for 156 days. -
Nelson Mandela is Imprisoned
Nelson Mandela, one of the major figures in the South African fight for freedom, is sentenced to life imprisonment on Robben Island. -
Black Conciousness Movement
The Black Conciousness Movement was started by Steve Biko, among others. It involved the idea that black people must overcome any mental barriers on their inferiority and become reliant on themselves. -
Biko is Banned
Steve Biko is restricted to travel in King William's Town, where he lives, though he continues to work for the Black Conciousness Movement. -
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Four Homelands are Created
Four homelands are created in these four years, and nine million South Africans are made foreigners in their own country. -
Soweto Uprising
The Soweto Uprising involves the protest of more than 10,000 Sowetan students at being taught Afrikaans in school. Police attempted to stop the crowd before firing on the students, killing two students and wounding hundreds. -
Steve Biko Dies
Steve Biko dies in prison in Pretoria, after experiencing torture and other inhumane treatment. His death is caused by a brain hemorrhage, and it causes international protest. -
Donald Woods Publishes the novel Biko
Donald Woods, a white South African newspaper editor who was close friends with Steve Biko, escaped from South Africa in 1977 after being banned. In 1978, he publishes the book Biko, detailing Steve Biko's life and death. -
Nelson Mandela is Inaugurated
Nelson Mandela is inaugurated in the first South African democratic election. He is the first black South African president. His inauguration marks the end of apartheid in South African.
