Timeline: History of South Africa

1652

Jan Van Riebeeck

The first explorers came to South Africa in 1652, they were dutch

1795

The invasion of Cape Colony

1795 the british invaded Cape Colony

1899

The second boer war

The Second Boer War (11 October 1899 – 31 May 1902) was fought between the British Empire and two Boer states, the South African Republic (Republic of Transvaal) and the Orange Free State, over the Empire's influence in South Africa.

1910

South Africa becomes a Union

On the 31 May 1910, exactly eight years after the Boers had made peace with the English through the Treaty of Vereeniging, South Africa became a Union

1912

The formation of African National Congress

Land Act were debated in 1911 and the Mines and Works Act was passed in 1911. These laws and the formation of the Union were important factors leading to the formation of the South African Native National Congress on 8 January, 1912, in Bloemfontein

1948

Apartheid

Apartheid is the name of the racial institution that was established in 1948 by the National Party that governed South Africa until 1994. The term, which literally means “apartness,” reflected a violently repressive policy designed to ensure that whites, who comprised 20% of the nation's population, would continue to dominate the country.