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User:Maqdisi/sandbox/Timeline of South African history

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This is a timeline of the history of the area in ​​present-day South Africa.

Pre-colonial era The Dutch Cape Colony The British Cape Colony The Great Trek The Boer Republics Unification Apartheid The Rainbow Nation


Pre-colonial era

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~4 000 000 BP

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Skull of Mrs. Ples
Skull of the Taung Child

~2 500 000 BP

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~1 500 000 BP

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~200 000 BP

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  • The Border Cave is occupied, with the oldest sedimentary ash and grass bedding found here.

~170 000 BP

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73 000 BP

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61 000 BP =

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  • The earliest bone and stone arrows are left here at the Sibudu Cave, along with the earliest needle, and earliest use of heat-treated mixed compound gluing

~15 000 BP

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~2 200 BP

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~200 CE

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~800

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~1000

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The São Cristóvão and the São Pantaleão of Bartolomeu Dias

1488

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1497

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1501

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1503

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1510

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  • At Table Bay, the Khoikhoi come to blows with the Portuguese. Portuguese explorer Francisco de Almeida and 64 Portuguese sailors are killed.

1575

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1580

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1647

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  • The Dutch ship Nieuwe Haerlem runs aground at the Cape of Good Hope. Under the leadership of Leendert Janszen, the stranded Dutch seamen stay at the Cape for a year. After their return to the Netherlands, Leendert Janszen and Matthijs Proot were commissioned by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) to write a report on their findings on the feasibility of the Cape as a refreshment station.

1649

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  • Leendert Janszen and Matthijs Proot submit their Remonstrantie, which describes their positive findings of the Cape of Good Hope. Jan van Riebeeck, who was on the ship that rescued the two, was asked to comment on the Remonstrantie and responded positively. The Gentlemen Seventeen, the board of the VOC, then decide that a refreshment station should be established at the Cape.

The Dutch Cape Colony

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Jan van Riebeeck's arrival at the Cape of Good Hope

1652

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1655

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1657

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1658

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1659

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1663

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1664

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1665

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1666

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1673

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1679

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Governor Simon van der Stel

1682

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  • The Tuynhuys is built which would later become the Cape Town office of the President of South Africa.

1688

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Expansion of the Cape Colony

1706

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1713

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1751

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1755

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  • A second smallpox epidemic strikes the Cape Colony.

1761

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  • Governor Rijk Tulbagh establishes South Africa's first library.

1767

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  • A third smallpox epidemic strikes the Cape Colony.

1773

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18th century drawing depicting Wolraad Woltemade's rescue of 14 sailors

1779

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1780

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1781

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  • A French fleet prevents the British conquest of the Cape Colony.
Depiction of a Griqua outspan expedition.

1784

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  • The Griequa cross the Gariep (Orange River) to the north under the leadership of Captain Cornelius Kok I.

1786

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1789

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  • The Second of the Xhosa Wars breaks out.
  • The Merino sheep is imported to the Cape Colony.

1792

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Auwal Mosque in Bo-Kaap (Malay Quarter) in Cape Town.

1794

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The British Cape Colony

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The Cape Colony in 1795

1795

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  • The United Kingdom captures the Cape Colony from the Netherlands in the Battle of Muizenberg. The Republic of Graaff-Reinet and Republic of Swellendam rebel but are annexed by the British Cape Colony.

1799

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  • The London Missionary Society sends missionaries to South Africa.
  • The Third of the [[Xhosa_Wars#Xhosa_Wars#Third_war_(1799–1803)|Xhosa Wars]) breaks out.

1803

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  • Peace of Amiens. The United Kingdom transfers the Cape Colony back to the Netherlands.

1804

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The Battle of Blaauwberg

1806

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  • The United Kingdom conquers the Cape Colony from the Netherlands in the Battle of Blaauwberg, this time definitively.

1807

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  • The slave trade to South Africa is abolished, but slavery remains legal.

1809

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1810

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  • The Khoikhoi woman Saartjie Baartman is exhibited in London out of interest of her physique.

1811

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  • The Fourth of the [[Xhosa_Wars#Fourth_War_(1811–1812)|Xhosa Wars]) breaks out.

1812

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1813

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1815

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  • Rebellious Boers revolt against the British government at Slagtersnek, but are defeated.
The Zulu King Shaka

1816

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  • Five of the Slagtersnek insurgents are hanged in dramatic circumstances.
  • Shaka founds the Zulu Kingdom.

1818

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1819

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This map illustrates the rise of the Zulu Empire under Shaka (1816–1828) in present-day South Africa. The rise of the Zulu Empire   under Shaka forced other chiefdoms and clans to flee across a wide area of southern Africa. Clans fleeing the Zulu war zone   included the Soshangane, Zwangendaba, Ndebele, Hlubi, Ngwane, and the Mfengu.  .

1820

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1822

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1823

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1824

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1825

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1828

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  • The Zulu king Shaka is killed by his half-brother Dingane, who succeeds him as king.

1829

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1832

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  • The Matabele king Mzilikazi is driven west by Dingane.

1834

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  • Abolition of slavery in the Cape Colony.
  • The Sixth Xhosa Wars breaks out.

The Great Trek

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Map of the The Great Trek

1835

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1836

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  • More Voortrekkers leave the Cape Colony. Mzilikazi sends his army against them, but is defeated at the Battle of Vegkop.
  • The Voortrekkers led by Hans van Rensburg are murdered in what is now Mozambique.

1837

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  • Mzilikazi is driven out of the Transvaal by the Voortrekkers led by Hendrik Potgieter. He founds the Kingdom of Mthwakazi in modern-day Zimbabwe.
Weenen massacre
The Battle of Blood River

1838

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1839

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1840

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  • The Voortrekkers support a successful coup by Mpande, the half-brother of the Zulu king Dingane. Dingane flees and is killed. Andries Pretorius crowns Mpande as Zulu king.

1841

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1842

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  • The United Kingdom conquers the Natalia Republic. Many Voortrekkers leave Natal.

1844

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1845

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1846

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1848

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1849

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1850

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The Boer Republics

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1852

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1853

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1854

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1855

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  • Founding of Pretoria, named after Andries Pretorius.

1856

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  • An apocalyptic prophecy by the Xhosa girl Nongqawuse leads to the starvation of some 40 000 Xhosa.
  • The first constitution of the ZAR is approved by the Volksraad, but not accepted by all inhabitants.
  • The Republic of Lydenburg splits from the ZAR.

1857

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1858

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  • The final constitution of the ZAR is approved by the Volksraad.
  • The Republic of Zoutpansberg rejoins with the ZAR.
  • The First Basotho War breaks out between the Orange Free State and the Basotho.

1859

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  • Establishment of the Reformed Church in South Africa.

1860

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1861

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  • The Griqua leave the Orange Free State under the leadership of Captain Adam Kok III.

1862

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1864

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1865

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1866

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1867

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1868

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The Big Hole of Kimberley

1870

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  • Griqualand West is annexed by the United Kingdom. The founding of New Rush, later Kimberley. The diamond fields are claimed by the Griqua, the Orange Free State, the ZAR and the Cape Colony.

1871

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  • The diamond fields are assigned to the Griqua by Governor Robert William Keate of the Colony of Natal. As a result, Marthinus Wessel Pretorius resigns as State President of the ZAR. Cecil Rhodes leaves for Kimberley.

1872

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1873

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1874

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1875

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1876

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  • Sekhukhune defeats the Transvaal army. The ZAR is in disarray.

1877

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1878

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  • Walvis Bay is annexed by the Cape Colony.
  • Paul Kruger's second peaceful attempt to restore ZAR independence fails.
File:Défense The Rorke's Drift.jpg
The Defence of Rorke's Drift in the Zulu Wars.

1879

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  • The Anglo-Zulu War breaks out between the United Kingdom and the Zulus. The war is won by the United Kingdom, although they suffer a crushing defeat at the Battle of Isandlwana. The United Kingdom conquers Zululand, and the area is absorbed into the Colony of Natal.
  • Griqualand East is annexed by the Cape Colony.
  • Founding of the Afrikanerbond.

1880

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The Battle of Majuba Hill.

1881

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  • The ZAR defeats the United Kingdom at the Battle of Majuba Hill. The Pretoria Convention ends the First Boer War in favour of the ZAR.
  • South Africa's first stock exchange, the Kimberley Royal Stock Exchange opens on 2nd February.

1882

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  • Founding of the Republic of Stellaland and State of Goshen.
  • Kimberly becomes the first city in the Southern Hemisphere and the second in the world to integrate electric street lights into its infrastructure.
State President Paul Kruger.

1883

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  • Paul Kruger is elected State President of the ZAR.
  • Unification of the Republic of Stellaland and the neighbouring State of Goshen to form the United States of Stellaland.

1884

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1885

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  • Bechuanaland is annexed by the United Kingdom. Stellaland and Goshen are annexed and added to Bechuanaland.

1886

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1887

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1888

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  • Paul Kruger is elected state president of the ZAR for the second time.
  • Francis William Reitz is elected State President of the Orange Free State.
  • Nieuwe Republiek is annexed by the ZAR.
  • Nedbank is founded as the Nederlandsche Bank en Credietvereeniging voor Zuid-Afrika ("Dutch Bank and Credit Union for South Africa")

1890

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  • Cecil Rhodes is appointed Prime Minister of the Cape Colony.

1891

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  • Klein Vrystaat is annexed by the ZAR.

1893

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  • Paul Kruger is elected for the third time as state president of the ZAR.
  • Gandhi arrives in Durban.

1894

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1895

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Arrest of Leander Starr Jameson

1896

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1898

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1899

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Second Boer War concentration camp

1900

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  • The Orange Free State and the ZAR are conquered by the United Kingdom, but the Bittereinders refuse to give up the fight. The United Kingdom uses the scorched earth tactic of burning down farms and imprisoning Boer women and children in concentration camps. State President Paul Kruger leaves for Europe.

1901

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  • Emily Hobhouse sounds the alarm about the concentration camps of the Boer War. Conditions in the camps are improving.

1902

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Unification

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1904

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  • 62 000 Chinese miners arrive in the Transvaal Colony.

1907

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  • The Transvaal Colony and the Orange River Colony are given self-governance. Abraham Fischer became the first (and only) Prime Minister of the Orange River Colony.
First Prime Minister of South Africa, Louis Botha.

1910

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1912

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1913

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  • Founding of the National Party.
  • The Natives Land Act is enacted, regulating the acquisition of land by black South Africans. It defined less than one-tenth of South Africa as Black "reserves" from which they were allowed purchase or lease of land. Land outside of this was prohibited.

1914

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1915

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1918

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Second Prime Minister Jan Smuts.

1919

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  • South West Africa becomes a South African administered mandate.
  • Prime Minister Louis Botha dies and is succeeded by Jan Smuts as the second Prime Minister of South Africa.

1921

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1922

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  • The Rand Rebellion by white miners in Witwatersrand is crushed by the South African Army, killing 153.
  • The University of the Witwatersrand is granted full university status.

1923

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1924

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1925

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1926

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The flag of South Africa from 1928 to 1994.

1928

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1930

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  • White women get the right to vote.
  • The Transvaal University College changes name to the University of Pretoria and is established separately.

1934

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  • The South African Party and National Party merge to form the United Party.

1939

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Apartheid

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Apartheid notice board.

1948

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  • South Africa annexes the Prince Edward Islands.
  • D. F. Malan is elected Prime Minister of South Africa.
  • Start of Apartheid.

1949

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1952

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  • Van Riebeeck's Day celebrates the 300th anniversary of the Dutch presence in South Africa.

1957

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1958

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Painting of the Sharpeville massacre by Godfrey Rubens.
Albert Luthuli

1960

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1961

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1962

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Human rights activist Nelson Mandela

1964

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1966

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1967

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  • The first ever successful heart transplant is performed by cardiac surgeon Christiaan Barnard.

1971

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1973

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  • The Carlton Centre opens as the tallest skyscraper in the Southern Hemisphere.

1975

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1976

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1977

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1979

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1982

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  • Founding of the Conservative Party.
  • South Africa builds its first operational nuclear weapon, code-named Hobo and later called Cabot, with a yield of 6 kilotons of TNT.

1983

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  • First diagnosis of AIDS in South Africa.

1984

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1985

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  • State President P. W. Botha gives his Rubicon speech in which he refuses to change his position regarding the Apartheid system, including the release of Mandela.

1986

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1989

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  • State President P. W. Botha suffers a stroke and resigns. F. W. de Klerk is elected State President of South Africa.
  • Founding of the Democratic Party.
  • South Africa ends its nuclear weapons programme and dismantles six fully completed nuclear weapons.

1990

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  • State President F. W. de Klerk announces reforms in Apartheid policy. The ban on the African National Congress is lifted and Nelson Mandela is released.
  • The mandate of South West Africa becomes independent as the Republic of Namibia.

1992

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  • The white people of South Africa approve of De Klerk's reforms in a referendum.
  • 45 people are killed in the Boipatong Massacre, an attack committed by supporters of the Inkatha Freedom Party.

1993

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  • Nelson Mandela and F. W. de Klerk receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
  • Communist politician Chris Hani is murdered by a far-right extremist.
  • The Interim Constitution is put into law.
F.W. The Klerk and Nelson Mandela shake hands at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum held in Davos in January 1992.
Flag of South Africa

The Rainbow Nation

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1994

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1995

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1997

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1998

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Second President Thabo Mbeki.

1999

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2000

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2002

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  • Mark Shuttleworth becomes the first South African to travel to space as a space tourist; and the first African from an independent country to travel to space.

2003

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2005

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  • The Vredefort impact structure, created by one the largest ever asteroids (20 to 25 kilometres in diameter) to strike the Earth 2.023 billion years ago is added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites for its geologic interest.

2007

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Third President Jacob Zuma.

2008

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2009

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  • Jacob Zuma is elected President of South Africa.
  • Mandela Day is launched worldwide to celebrate the idea that each individual has the power to transform the world.

2010

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2012

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2013

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2014

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2015

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  • Demonstrations take place against the preservation of the statue of Cecil Rhodes at the University of Cape Town.

2016

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2017

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President Cyril Ramaphosa

2018

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2019

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2020

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  • The COVID-19 pandemic spreads to South Africa, with the first confirmed case announced on 5 March.

2021

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  • The Zuma riots, a wave of civil unrest occurs in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, killing 354 people.

2022

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  • The final of the three-part report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture is published.
  • Severe floods across KwaZulu-Natal leave at least 435 people dead.

Category:History of South Africa Category:Wikipedia timelines