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South Africa Act
The South Africa Act takes away all political rights of Africans in three of the country's four states. -
Apartheid begins after the 1948 general election
The National Party promises to make laws severely restricting black rights if they win the general election. They hope to get votes from white africans -
Population Registration Act
This act classified people into 3 racial groups: White, Colored (mixed race or Asian) and native ( African/black). Marriage between the groups was outlawed to maintain racial purity. -
Nelson Mandela and Tambo opens the first Black legal firm in South Africa
they opened the first black legal firm to help Africans get legal assistanance in government buildings -
The African National Congress starts the Defiance Campaign
Volunteers begin a peaceful resistance to apartheid by breaking the laws. -
The Preservation of Separate Amenities Act
This act established a "separate but not necessarily equal" parks, beaches, post offices, and other public places for whites and nonwhites. -
The Bantu Education Act is passed
It creates a separate education system for blacks and whites. Blacks are trained to prepare them for a life as part of the working class since its not expected they will be allowed to do anything more than that. -
Nelson Mandela is arrested for treason
He is arrested with several other people for fighting against apartheid . He is charged with treason but after a four year trial he was found not guilty. -
Separate homelands are created for the major black groups
The government passes new laws to create separate homelands, called Bantustans, for the major black groups in the country. The government does this to stop blacks from being citizens of South Africa. This was being passed for the whole year of 1959 -
Sharpeville massacre
The apartheid required blacks to carry passbooks, which contained personal information such as name, date of birth, and photos. When protesters showed up at the Sharpeville poice station without their passbooks, a riot broke out and the police killed 69 people. -
Nelson Mandela is arrested for treason again
Mandela was the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, part of the African National Congress. He is arrested for his role in bombing government targets and sentenced to life in prison. -
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 UN
Due to Apartheid, South Africa is removed from the UN. South Africa is not allowed back into UN until Apartheid ends in 1994. -
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, killing more than 600 students. -
Anti-apartheid activist Steve Bilko is killed
Steve Bilko is of the organizers of the Soweto protest and is arrested on August 18, 1977. He dies in police custody on September 12 from brain damage due to being beaten by police. -
International Campaign to boycott
People and governments launch an international campaign to boycott South Africa. Some countries ban the import of South African products, and citizens of many countries pressure major companies to pull out of South Africa. -
Countries around the world try to end the Apartheid in South Africa
Countries around the world increasingly pressure South Africa to end its system of apartheid. As a result, some of the segregationist laws are repealed. For example, the laws separating whites and non-whites in public places are relaxed or repealed. -
The Dumbutshena Report
is commissioned by the government to investigate events surrounding the Entumbane uprising -
farmers allowed to have guns
The government allows farmers to re-arm, to protect themselves from dissidents -
dissidents comminting more crimes since 1983
It is declared that since 1983, dissidents have murdered 120, mutilated 25, raped 47, and committed 284 robberies -
Musicians form Artists United Against Apartheid
Musician Steven Van Zandt forms Artists United Against Apartheid after touring South Africa. -
Paul Simon releases the album "Graceland."
Paul Simon went to South Africa to make the album "Graceland" with other South African musicians. When the album is released, Simon is criticized by many people and the African National Congress for breaking the cultural boycott. -
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 is released from prison
Nelson Mandela is freed from prison after 27 years with the help of President de Klerk for helping set him free but says that there is more work to be done to end apartheid. -
de Klerk wins the Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela for helping end apartheid.
mandela and de Klerk win the noble peace prize for helping stop the apartheid. -
Nelson Mandela becomes president of South Africa
Mandela becomes South Africa's first black president. ANC party won 252 of the 400 seats in the first democratic elections of South Africa's history. "Never, never again will this beautiful land experience the oppression of one by another"-Nelson Mandela -
Magnus Malan is put on trial
Almost 10 years after the KwaMakhutha massacre occured, the guilty parties are finally being charged for their crimes. Malan was the Minister of Defense, Chief of the South African Defence Force (SADF) and Chief of the South African Army. He was charged with murdering 13 people which included 7 children. He was eventually found not guilty. -
De Klerk Leaves Office
NP deputy president de Klerk left office in June 1996, after legislators voted to forward the new constitution to the Constitutional Court, and the NP vacated its offices in the national and provincial executive branches, which had been based on the interim constitution's powersharing provisions. -
National Party attempts to establish new political identity
The NP in 1997 is attempting to establish a new political identity as an active participant in the national political debate; it will challenge ANC initiatives it opposes and compete with the ANC for political support among all racial groups. -
Extremist Organization Dismantled
In early 2002 a planned military coup by a white supremacist movement known as the Boeremag was foiled by the South African police. Two dozen conspirators including senior South African Army officers were arrested and the extremist organization dismantled. The effectiveness of the police in foiling the planned coup strengthened public perceptions that the democratic order was irreversible.
