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Period: to
Apartheid
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Adoption of the Freedom Charter by the Congress of the People
During this campaign the ANC and its allies invited the whole of South Africa to record their demands so that they could be incorporated in a common document. Thousands of people participated in the campaign and sent in their demands for the kind of South Africa they wished to live in. These demands found final expression in the Freedom Charter. -
Women's March against the Pass Law
In one of the largest demonstrations staged in this country's history, 20 000 women of all races marched to Pretoria's Union Buildings on 9 August 1956, to present a petition against the carrying of passes by women to the prime minister, J G Strijdom. -
The Sharpeville Massacre
The Sharpeville massacre occurred at the police station in the South African township of Sharpeville in the Transvaal (today part of Gauteng). After a day of demonstrations, at which a crowd of black protesters far outnumbered the police, the South African police opened fire on the crowd, killing 69 people. -
Olympics committee and South Africa
The International Olympics Committee (IOC) decides to readmit South Africa to the Olympic Games after the country agrees to bring an integrated team to the Mexico Games. However, after threats of boycott from various countries including the Soviet Union, the IOC executive decided at a meeting on April 20-21 to withdraw the invitation. -
The Durban strike
On 9 January 1973, 2000 workers from the Coronation Brick and Tile Works went on strike. These workers marched to a nearby football stadium, shouting “Filumunti ufilusadikiza,” which means “Man is dead but his spirit still lives”. They demanded for a raise in the minimum wage. These strikers won the wage increase they demanded. -
The Student uprising in Soweto
Series of protests led by high school students in South Africa. Students from numerous Sowetan schools began to protest in the streets of Soweto in response to the introduction of Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in local schools. An estimated 20,000 students took part in the protests. The number of people who died is usually given as 176, with estimates of up to 700. -
The Killing of Steven Biko by the South African police
Stephen Biko, one of South Africa’s most influential anti-apartheid activists, died after being beaten by South African police during an interrogation. South African authorities claimed that Mr. Biko’s hunger strike caused his death. -
The release of Nelson Mandela from prison
Nelson Mandela, leader of the movement to end South African apartheid, is released from prison after 27 years.
In 1961, he was arrested for treason, and although acquitted he was arrested again in 1962 for illegally leaving the country. Convicted and sentenced to five years at Robben Island Prison, he was put on trial again in 1964 on charges of sabotage. In June 1964, he was convicted along with several other ANC leaders and sentenced to life in prison. -
The first democratic election
Election held in South Africa to mark the end of apartheid, therefore also the first held with universal adult suffrage. The election was conducted under the direction of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). -
Presentation of the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to President Mandela
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was created to investigate gross human rights violations that were perpetrated during the period of the Apartheid regime from 1960 to 1994, including abductions, killings, torture. Its mandate covered both violation by both the state and the liberation movements and allowed the commission to hold special hearings focused on specific sectors, institutions, and individuals. Controversially the TRC was empowered to grant amnesty to perpetrators who confessed
