Timeline: A History of South Africa

A History of South Africa

1480s: Bartholomeu Dias, a Portuguese navigator, is the first European to travel around the southern tip of Africa.
1497: Vasco de Gama, a Portuguese explorer, lands on the Natal coast.

1652: Jan van Riebeeck, from the Dutch East India Company, founds the Cape Colony at Table Bay.

1795: British forces seize Cape Colony from the Netherlands.

1803: Cape Colony is returned to the Dutch in 1803.

1806: The Dutch surrender Cape Colony to the British.

1816-1826: Shaka Zulu finds and expands the Zulu empire to create a formidable fighting force.

1835-1840: The Boers leave Cape Colony in the Great Trek. They find the Orange Free State and the Transvaal.

1852: The British grant a limited self-government to the Transvaal.

1856: Natal separates from the Cape Colony (Also, in the late 1850s, the Boers proclaim the Transvaal a republic).

1867: Diamonds are discovered at Kimberley.

1877: Britain occupies the Transvaal.

1879: The British defeat the Zulus in Natal.

1880-81: The Boers rebel against the British and spark the first Anglo-Boer War. The conflict ends with a negotiated peace and the Transvaal is restored as a republic (Also, in the mid 1880s, gold is discovered in the Transvaal and a gold rush begins).

1899: British troops gather at the Transvaal border and ignore an ultimatum to disband. This begins the second Anglo-Boer War.

1902: The Treaty of Vereeniging ends the second Anglo-Boer War. The Transvaal and Orange Free State are made self-governing colonies of the British Empire.

1910: The Union of South Africa is created by the former British colonies of the Cape and Natal, the Boer republics of Transvaal, and Orange Free State.

1912: The Native National Congress is founded, which is later renamed the African National Congress (ANC).
1913: A Land Act is introduced to prevent blacks, except those living in Cape Province, from buying land outside reserves.

1914: The National Party is founded.

1918: Secret Broederbond (brotherhood) is established to advance the Afrikaner cause.

1919: South West Africa (Namibia) comes under South African administration.

1948: The National Party takes power and the policy of apartheid is adopted.
1950: The population of South Africa is classified by race. The Group Areas Act is passed to segregate blacks and whites. The Communist Party is banned and the ANC responds with a campaign of civil disobedience led by Nelson Mandela.

1960: Seventy black demonstrators are killed at Sharpeville. The ANC is formally banned.

1961: South Africa is declared a republic and leaves the Commonwealth. Nelson Mandela leads the ANC's new military wing, which launches a sabotage campaign (Also during the 1960s, there was a rise in international pressure against the South African apartheid and South Africa was excluded from the Olympic games).

1964: Nelson Mandela, one of the most prominent ANC leaders, is sentenced to life imprisonment.

1966: Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd is assassinated.

1970s: More than 3 million people are forced to resettle in black “homelands.”

1976: Clashes between black protestors and security forces begin in Soweto. More than 600 people are killed.

1977: After being arrested, anti-apartheid leader Steve Biko dies on his way to Pretoria as a result of extremely poor treatment from inhumane police officials.

1984-89: South Africa is in a state of emergency as several black South Africans revolt in the townships.

1984: Desmond Tutu wins the Nobel Peace Prize.

1989: Frederik Willem de Klerk replaces Pieter Willem Botha as president and meets with Nelson Mandela; public facilities begin to desegregate and many ANC activists are freed. Also, Gordon Oliver, Desmond Tutu, and other anti-apartheid leaders lead the Cape Town Peace March.

1990: The ANC is no longer banned and Nelson Mandela is released after spending 27 years in prison.

1991: President De Klerk repeals the remaining apartheid laws and the international sanctions are lifted.

1993: An agreement on the interim constitution is reached and Nelson Mandela wins the Nobel Peace Prize.

1994: Nelson Mandela becomes president of South Africa when the ANC wins the first non-racial elections. Also, after a 20-year absence, South Africa regains a seat in the UN General Assembly.

1996: Desmond Tutu leads the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and begins hearings on human rights crimes committed by former government and liberation movements during the apartheid era.

1996: Parliament adopts a new constitution and the National Party withdraws from the coalition.

1998: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission report brands apartheid a crime against humanity.

1999: The ANC wins another general election and Thabo Mbeki becomes president.

2000: The ANC prevails in local elections, while the recently-formed Democratic Alliance captures nearly a quarter of the votes.

2001: Several multi-national pharmaceutical companies halt a legal battle to stop South Africa from importing generic AIDS drugs. The decision is hailed as a victory for the world's poorest countries in their efforts to import cheaper drugs to combat AIDS.

2002: The Constitutional court orders the South African government to provide key anti-AIDS drug at all public hospitals because the government was arguing that the drug was simply too costly.

2003: Walter Sisulu, a key figure in the anti-apartheid struggle, dies at the age of 91. Thousands of people gather to pay their final respects to the leader. Also in 2003, the South African government approves a major program to combat HIV/AIDS that will create a network of drug-distribution centers and preventative programs (the cabinet had previously refused to provide HIV/AIDS medicine through a public health system).

2004: The ANC wins a landslide election victory, allowing Thabo Mbeki to begin his second term as president.

2005: Investigators exhume the first bodies in a Truth and Reconciliation Commission investigation to determine the fates of hundreds of people who disappeared in the apartheid era.

2005: President Mbeki dismisses his deputy, Jacob Zuma, in the aftermath of a corruption case. Also, around 100,000 gold miners begin a strike over pay and bring the industry to a standstill.

2006: Jacob Zuma is acquitted of rape charges by the High Court in Johannesburg and is reinstated as deputy leader of the governing ANC. Zuma’s bid for presidency is eventually boosted. Also, South Africa becomes the first African country and the fifth country in the world to allow same-sex unions.

2007: President Mbeki, who is often accused of ignoring South African crimes, urges all South Africans to join forces in order to bring rapists, drug dealers, and corrupt government officials to justice. Also, Zuma is elected the chairman of the ANC and is placed in an even stronger position to become the next president of South Africa.

2008: A wave of violence is directed at African foreigners in townships across South Africa. Several of the foreigners die and thousands of Zimbabweans, Malawians, and Mozambicans return home. Also, a judge throws out another corruption case against Jacob Zuma. This leads the way for Zuma to become the country's next president in 2009.

2009: Public prosecutors drop the corruption case against Jacob Zuma and the ANC wins another general election. Parliament elects Jacob Zuma as the new president of South Africa. Also, township residents begin a violent protest against their poor living conditions and President Zuma condemns their violent actions but promises better services for the townships.