Politics & Society

National and Provincial Elections - 2024 - South Africa

Introduction President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the new members of the National Executive, for the seventh administr...

South Africa needs a national holiday on 16 November to acknowledge its indentured

 SOUTH AFRICA NEEDS A NATIONAL HOLIDAY ON 16 NOVEMBER TO ACKNOWLEDGE ITS INDENTURED LABOUR HERITAGEBy Brij Mah...

Indentured Indian labourers and their struggle for citizenship in South Africa by Dr Brij Maharaj

16 November 2023, marks the 163rd anniversary of the arrival in South Africa of indentured labourers from India. From th...

Mangosuthu Buthelezi was a man of immense political talent and contradictions

Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi, who has died, was a history maker. He was born on 27 August 1928 into a tumultuous glo...

Mangosuthu Buthelezi: the Zulu nationalist who left his mark on South Africa’s history

Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi played a prominent role in South African politics for almost half a century. He wa...

Omar Badsha - Awards, Publications and Exhibitions Timeline

The Seriti Commission

Background Terry Crawford-Brown petitioned the Constitutional Court in 2011 to compel former president Jacob Zuma to ...

Socialism

Socialism is a political and economic ideology aiming to create a society where all members distribute resources and wea...

Brazil - Russia - India - China - South Africa (BRICS)

BRICS is an acronym that refers to the grouping of five major emerging economies in the world: Brazil, Russia, India, Ch...

A Short History of ESKOM, Part 2 (2001-2022)

Following on from Part 1, this article seeks to analyse some of the historical and present dynamics bedevilling ESKOM. O...

A Short History of ESKOM, Part 1 (1923-2001)

This short history of Electrical Supply Commission (ESKOM) aims to provide an overview of the history of the power utili...

A brief history of domestic service in South Africa

Colonial History of Domestic Work Since slaves were used as domestic servants in the settler colony from the middle t...

Vlakplaas and the History of Apartheid's Death Squad

Vlakplaas is the name of an undercover counterinsurgency division of the apartheid police that operated in the 1980s. Vl...

The Arniston

​The Arniston was built on the River Thames, England in 1794. It was a three-decked and three-masted British East Indiam...

The Johanna

The Johanna, or Joanna, was a British East Indiaman vessel sailing from Kent, England, to Surat, India, under the comman...

Shipwrecks in South Africa

Historic shipwrecks are time capsules of their time, they are often untouched for decades, sometimes centuries, until th...

The South African Communist Party and May Day – Some Key Moments

May Day celebrated on 1 May annually, is a celebration of workers and their work. It has a long history, being a day of ...

African National Congress Timeline 2011 - 2020

AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS TIMELINE — 2011 – 2020 2011 8 January 2011 African National Congress (ANC) Presi...

The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State (The Zondo Commission)

In 2016, former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela released a report, State of Capture, after an investigation into i...

African Newspapers

Explore this politics & society item to learn more about South African history.

South African Newspapers

Explore this politics & society item to learn more about South African history.

The Sweet Workers’ Union

The Sweet Workers’ Union (SWU) originated as an offshoot of the short-lived Women Workers’ Union, founded by Fanny Klene...

Remembering the Battle of Adwa

The year 1896 signifies an important moment in African history. In that year, on 1 March 1896, a historic battle between...

Women’s Food Committees in Cape Town during the 1940s

The political importance of women’s food committees in Cape Town during the 1940s has been emphasised by both Cheryl Wal...

Women and The Food and Canning Workers’ Union

The fruit-canning industry in South Africa can be traced to the late nineteenth century, when the first jam factories op...

Southern Methodist University Partnership Project - 2020 submissions

Claire Albin Claire Albin is a sophomore at Southern Methodist University originally from Shreveport, Louisiana....

A Luta Continua Dialogues, Episode 1: Student Activism

Including Qondiswa James, Mbali Williams, Mihla Hanise, Anya Isabel, Kas and Hunter  Hosted by Didintle Ntsie ...

Exhibition: Celebrating 40 Years of Women's Day, Durban 1980

Explore this politics & society item to learn more about South African history.

Nelson Mandela Awards 1960s - 2000s

Awards 1960s  1964 Elected Honorary President of the Students' Union, University College, London. 1965 ...

Poor Whites and their Political Weapon: Constructing the Kakamas Dam

The term “poor whites” was coined during the 19th century, as the mineral revolution and development of mines forced sma...