1886 Gold was discovered in Johannesburg, making the city rich.
1899 - 1902 Dutch settlers fight the British in the Boer War. Britain eventually gains control of South Africa
1910 South Africa became an independent nation.
1948 Apartheid was introduced. Laws legally and physically separated different racial groups
1952 The African National Congress, a black civil rights group, began a Campaign for Defiance of Unjust Laws as a protest against apartheid. Nelson Mandela was one of its leaders.
1962 Mandela was arrested for plotting against the government. Though he said active politically, he would spend 27 years in prison.
1990 President F.W. de Klerk announced the end of apartheid. Mandela was freed from prison after serving 27 years.
1994 South Africa holds its first elections in which all races could vote. Nelson Mandela was elected as President.
