Politics & Society
126 records
ArticleA 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 to late 18th century…
ArticleVlakplaas 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. Vlakplaas is also…
ArticleSouthern Methodist University Partnership Project - 2020 submissions
Claire Albin Claire Albin is a sophomore at Southern Methodist University originally from Shreveport, Louisiana. She is currently…
ArticleChanging Perceptions of Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela is a figure who has undergone many transformations in the eye of the South African public as well as in the global…
ArticleMandela and the South African Communist Party
Mandela and MK The late 1950s saw the first hints of an armed struggle occurring in certain parts of South Africa. Various types of…
ArticleWomen’s Role in the Negotiations by Nicole Dellaportas
This article was written by Nicole Dellaportas and forms part of the SAHO and Southern Methodist University partnership project Women’s…
ArticleWomen in the Cities and the Resistance Movement
ArticleAllison Drew Collection
Prof. Allison Drew is a noted historian and writer on socialism and nationalism in the South African context. This is a collection of books…
ArticleThe World and South Africa when Nelson Mandela was born
Nelson Mandela was born into a world of war, revolutionary upheaval and a worldwide influenza pandemic. In July 1918, when Mandela was born…
ArticleThe Conflict between the AZAPO and the UDF - popular violence in the 1980s and 1990s
Popular violence in the decade between 1984 and 1993 is well documented. Existing literature on this brutally violent chapter in the…
ArticleThe turbulent 1950s - Women as defiant activists
In the 1950s the government's increasingly repressive policies began to pose a direct threat to all people of colour, and there was a surge…
ArticleUnited Democratic Front (UDF)
The United Democratic Front (UDF) was an anti-apartheid body that incorporated many anti-apartheid organisations. It was launched in 1983,…
ArticleMiriam Makeba: Activist on Two Fronts by Connor Kirkpatrick
Miriam Makeba: Activist on Two FrontsAbstract:Miriam Makeba is a Gramy award-winning singer. She is from Johannesburg and dedicated her…
ArticleForced Removals in South Africa
Forced removals refer to the moving of people from their homes against their will. This may not always involve physical threat or force,…
ArticleThe Women’s Charter
Adopted at the Founding Conference of the Federation of South African WomenJohannesburg, 17 April 1954. The Charter expressed the…
ArticleThe 1956 Women’s March in Pretoria
The 1956 Women’s March in Pretoria, South Africa constitutes an especially noteworthy moment in women’s history. On 9 August 1956,…
ArticleHistory of Women’s Struggle in South Africa
Women at the start of the 20th centuryIt is only over the last three or four decades that women's role in the history of South Africa has,…
ArticleSocialism
Socialism is a political and economic ideology aiming to create a society where all members distribute resources and wealth equally. It is…
ArticleThe Daily Dispatch
Together with the Rand Daily Mail, the Daily Dispatch was one of the loudest mouthpieces for mainstream liberal critique of the Apartheid…
ArticleBureau of State Security (BOSS)
The telling of the history of South African Intelligence Agencies is somewhat hamstrung by the fact that people from these agencies do not…
ArticleThe Black Sash: A History of Transformation
This article was written by Ashley Schumacher and forms part of the SAHO and Southern Methodist University partnership project During…
ArticleThe Group Areas Act of 1950
The National Party was elected in 1948 on the policy of Apartheid ('separateness'). This 'separateness' put South Africans of different…
ArticleThe Anti-Pass Campaigns 1960
1959-1960: Formation, Sharpeville and Banning For many years there was tension inside the African National Congress (ANC) between those…
Article16 June 1976 - Soweto Uprising
IntroductionThe 16 June 1976 Uprising that began in Soweto and spread countrywide profoundly changed the socio-political landscape in South…
ArticleA History of Abantu-Batho Newspaper 1912-1931
Newspapers or publications by African people played a critical role in giving them an alternative space to articulate their views. The…
ArticleLand: dispossession, resistance and restitution
Introduction The history of white colonial land dispossession began at the Cape with the expansion of the Dutch colonial settlement…
ArticleCuba and the struggle for democracy in South Africa
The revolution in Cuba, culminating in Fidel Castro’s seizure of power on 1 January 1959, was from the beginning based on a non-racial…
ArticleThe Durban strikes and the resurgence of the trade union movement in 1973
When Black workers in Durban embarked on a wave of strikes in January 1973, the government and employers were shocked, and they responded…
The Development of Indian Political Movements in South Africa, 1924 - 1946 by Essop Pahad
THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDIAN POLITICAL MOVEMENTS IN SOUTH AFRICA, 1924-1946 by ESSOP PAHAD D. Phil Thesis, University of Sussex, July…
ArticleIndian South Africans timeline 1900-1909
Indian South Africans timeline 1900-1909 1900 The East London Mayor's Minute for 1899-1900 states that 1,000 refugees from war in the…