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First Europeans Settle in South Africa
The Dutch East India Company was the first European company to settle in South Africa in 1652.Under the command of Jan Van Riebeeck, the company established a supply station and built a fort on a place which later became Cape Town. -
Beginning of Apartheid
A general election is held and the National Party wins the majority of the votes. The National Party promises to create laws that will strictly restrict black peoples rights. This is where and how the apartheid begins. -
Defiance Campaign is Started by The National Party
People who are against the apartheid begin to peacefully protest by breaking laws they don't agree with and think are wrong such as sitting on benches that are for white people only as well as being out in the city after the black people curfew. -
Bantu Education Act is Passed
A new law is passed that separates the education system for blacks from the whites. Blacks education system is set up so that they are taught how to be a cooperative part of the working class, knowing that it is not likely they will be in a class any higher than that. -
Nelson Mandela Arrested
Anti-apartheid actvist, Nelson Mandela, is arrested alongside a few other people for fighting against the apartheid. Mandela is arrested for treason and is put on trial which lasted 4 years before Madela is found not guilty. -
Homelands Created for Blacks
The South African government passes a new law to make separate homelands (which are called Bantustans) for all of the major black groups in South Africa. This is done by the government to make black less of citizens of the country. -
Sharpeville Massacre
All blacks were required to carry a passbook with them at all times so that they could be checked and identified at any time; the passbook would contain pictures, name, and their birth date. As a protest against the apartheid, blacks show up to police station without their passbooks. As a result of this, the police kill 69 blacks for the protest. -
Nelson Mandela Arrested
Nelson Mandela was leader of part of the African National Congress called Umkhonto we Sizwe. Madnela is once again arrested for treason after being a part of the bombing of government targets, carried out by the African National Congress. He is now scentenced to life in prison. -
Rhodesia Gains Independence
Prime Minister Ian Smith announces that Rhodesia has broken away from Great Britain and that whites will control the government. Great Britain had were only going to grant independence if blacks were given some of the power in government. -
South Africa Removed From United Nations
Due to apartheid, South Africa is not allowed to be a part of the United Nations. South Africa is expelled from the United Nations until apartheid ends in 1994. -
Steve Biko is Killed
Steve Bilko, an organizer of the Soweto protest, was arrested on August 18, 1977. He died in police custody on September 12; the cause of his death is severe brain damage,probably from being beaten by police. -
Ban on African National Congress Ends
President Frederick Willem de Klerk lifted the ban on the African National Congress in 1990. In 1993, he wins the nobel peace prize with Nelson Mandela for helping the apartheid. -
Nelson Madela is Released From Prison
After being in prison for 27, Nelson Mandela is finally freed. He thanks President de Klerk for helping set him free, but says there is still more work that has to happen to end apartheid. -
Nelson Mandela Becomes President
In the country's first election that allowed both whites and blacks to vote, Nelson Mandela was elected president of South Africa. He was the first black president in the history of South Africa.
