South Africa
History Timeline
Travel through our timeline of major events in South Africa's history.
1400s:
Zulu and Xhosa tribes establish large kingdoms in the South Africa region.
1652:
The Dutch establish the port of Cape Town. The are the first Europeans to settle in South Africa.
1852:
The British take control of Cape Town.
1886:
Gold is 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 becomes an independent nation.
1918:
Rolihlahla Dalibhunga Mandela is born on July 18 in a small village in South Africa. A teacher later gives him the English name Nelson.
1948:
Apartheid is introduced. Laws legally and physically separate different racial groups.
1952:
The African National Congress, a black civil rights group, begins a Campaign for Defiance of Unjust Laws as a protest against apartheid. Nelson Mandela is one of its leaders.
1960:
In the town of Sharpeville, 67 Africans are killed while protesting Apartheid.
1962:
Mandela is arrested for plotting against the government. Though he stays active politically, he will spend 27 years in prison.
1976:
Hundreds of black protesters are killed in an uprising in Soweto.
1990:
President F.W. de Klerk announces the end of apartheid. Mandela is freed from prison after serving 27 years.
1993:
De Klerk and Mandela are jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
1994:
South Africa holds its first elections in which all races can vote. Nelson Mandela is elected President.
1995:
South Africa hosts and wins the World Cup soccer tournament.
1999:
Mandela steps down as President.
2004:
The African National Congress wins a landslide election, gaining almost 70% of the votes. Thabo Mbeki begins his second term as president.
