Events - Browse By Place - South Africa

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Bartolomeu Dias rounds the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa
1488
Discovery, South Africa
Jan de Riebeeck founds Cape Town
1652
Geography, South Africa
King Shaka is killed and Zulus decline
1828
Culture, South Africa
Zulus kill Boer leader Pieter Retief and his Voortrekkers (pioneers)
1838
War, South Africa
British defeated by Zulu forces at Isandhlwana
1879
War, South Africa
South Africa gains independence from the United Kingdom
1931
Geography, South Africa
Afrikaner National Party wins elections in South Africa--white supremacy rules
1948
Human Rights, South Africa
In March, South African massacre at Sharpeville is condemned by world leaders
1960
Human Rights, South Africa
South Africa leaves British Commonwealth
1961
Geography, South Africa
Mandela found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment
1964
Human Rights, South Africa
A parliamentary messenger kills South African Prime Minister Verwoerd
1966
Human Rights, South Africa
South African surgeon Christiaan Barnard performs 1st successful heart transplant
1967
Health, South Africa
Soweto uprising in South Africa--school children killed
1976
Human Rights, South Africa
Steve Biko, anti-apartheid activist, dies in police custody in South Africa
1977
Human Rights, South Africa
Nelson Mandela is freed and end of apartheid is in sight
1990
Human Rights, South Africa
Democracy triumphant in South Africa after its first multiracial elections
1994
Human Rights, South Africa