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Apartheid set in laws
Policy of apartheid (separateness) adopted when National Party (NP) takes power. -
segregation
Population classified by race. Group Areas Act passed to segregate blacks and whites. Communist Party banned. ANC responds with campaign of civil disobedience, led by Nelson Mandela -
African National Congress starts the defiance campaign
volunteers begon a peaceful resistance to apartheid by braking the laws they think are wrong. Such as black people sitting on bemches marked for white people or being out in the city after curfew for blacks -
Bantu Education act is passed
This law was passed to seperate education systems for blacks and whites -
Federation of South African Women formed
Federation of South African Women formed by leading activists in the national liberation, communist and democratic movements. FEDSAW grew out of the mass upsurge of the African independence struggles -
Separate representation of voters act
Treason Trial begins Separate Representation of Voters Amendment Act No 30 of 1956 -
Nelson Madela gets arrested
He is charged with treason but after a 4 year trial is found not quilty -
NP wins seats in election
NP wins 103 out of 163 seats in parliament in general election -
PAC formed new act
Pan African Congress (PAC) formed Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act No 46 of 1959 -
Seperate homelands created for blacks
the government passed new laws to create seperate homelands called Bantusyans for major blak groups in the country -
69 people are killed
Apartheid requires blacks to carry passbooks, with personal information, When protesters show up at Sharpeville police statin without their passbooks a riot broke out and police killed 69 people, -
south africa declares republic
South Africa declared a republic, leaves the Commonwealth. Mandela heads ANC's new military wing, which launches sabotage campaign -
Mandela gets arrested again
arrested for bombing government targets and sentenced to life in prison -
Mandela sentenced to life
ANC leader Nelson Mandela sentenced to life imprisonment. -
South Africa excluded from olympics
International pressure against government begins, South Africa excluded from Olympic Games -
Rhodesia illegally gains independence from Great Britain.
Prime Minister Ian Smith announces that Rhodesia has broken away from Great Britain and that whites will control the government. Great Britain had been prepared to only grant independence if blacks were given some of the power in government -
South Africa is expelled from the United Nations.
Due to apartheid, South Africa is removed from the United Nations. -
Back to the homelands
More than 3 million people forcibly resettled in black 'homelands'. -
More than 600 students are killed in the Soweto Massacre.
High school students in Soweto start a protest for an improved education system for blacks. Police break up the protest with tear gas and bullets, killed over 600 students -
musicians united against apartheid
Musician Steven Van Zandt forms Artists United Against Apartheid after touring South Africa -
President Frederik Willem de Klerk ends the ban on the African National Congress.
President Frederick Willem de Klerk lifts the ban on the African National Congress in 1990 -
Nelson Mandela released from prison.
27 years in prison, Nelson Mandela is freed from prison. -
Namibia becomes independent.
Namibia becomes independent. -
De Klerk and Nelson Mandela win Nobel Peace Prize
In 1993, de Klerk wins the Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela for helping end apartheid. -
Nelson Mandela becomes president of South Africa
In the country's first election that allowed both whites and blacks to vote, Nelson Mandela is elected president of South Africa. He is the first black president in the history of South Africa. -
A new constitution
Parliament adopts new constitution. National Party withdraws from coalition, saying it is being ignored. -
ANC accountable for human rights abuse
Truth and Reconciliation Commission report brands apartheid a crime against humanity and finds the ANC accountable for human rights abuses. -
Mbeki becomes president
ANC wins general elections, Thabo Mbeki takes over as president -
halt to importing generic Aids drugs
39 multi-national pharmaceutical companies halt a legal battle to stop South Africa 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 the virus. -
Sisulu dies
Walter Sisulu, a key figure in the anti-apartheid struggle, dies aged 91. Thousands gather to pay their last respects
