Millenia B.C. The ancestors of the Khoikhoi and San are living in Southern Africa.
A.D. 300 Ancestors of Bantu-speaking South Africans begin to settle in South Africa.
1652 The Dutch start a colony in South Africa at the Cape of Good Hope.
1658 The Dutch import slaves to the Cape from various countries in Africa, and from the Dutch East Indies.
1806 The British defeat the Dutch, the Xhosa and other African peoples.
1808 Shaka Zulu is called to serve as Mtetwa warrior, later rises to leader of the army of Dingiswayo, and Zulu chieftain. He creates the most powerful kingdom in Southern Africa.
1834 Britain ends slavery in all British colonies, including the Cape.
1836 The Great Trek begins, as Afrikaners leave the coast to establish new settlements.
1838 Afrikaners defeat Zulu warriors led by Dingaan at the Battle of Blood River.
1852-54 Afrikaners form two republics, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State.
1880 The first of two Anglo-Boer wars begins.
1893 Mahatma Ghandi travels to South Africa as a lawyer, and later establishes the Natal Indian Congress, to lead protests against the denial of Indian people's right to vote.
1902 The second Anglo-Boer ends with a British victory.
1910 The Union of South Africa is formed.
1912 The South African Native National Congress is formed to fight discrimination. It is later renamed the African National Congress (ANC).
1913 Afrikaners form the National Party to preserve their identity under British rule.
The Land Act makes it illegal for Africans to purchase or lease land from Europeans.
1923 The Natives (Urban Areas) Act establishes the principle of racial segregation and enforces rigid control over African urban population.
1944 Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and other found African National Congress Youth League.
1939-45 World War II.
1948 The National Party comes to power and adopts the policy of apartheid.
1949 Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act outlaws inter-racial marriage.
1950 The Group Areas Act legalizes government control over areas of the country to be designated as reserved for particular race groups, thereby providing for even stricter racial segregation.
1953 The Bantu Education Act established "separateness" in education. African schools are limited and no longer follow the same curriculum as non-black schools. English is prohibited as medium of instruction in African primary schools and limited in secondary schools.
1960 The Sharpeville massacre; the ANC and other activist groups are banned.
1961 After 49 years of non-violent protest, the ANC turns to armed resistance.
1963 Nelson Mandela, the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the ANC, is arrested, and later, along with other Rivonia trialists, is sentenced to life imprisonment.
1976 Soweto student uprising begins. Protests and riots take place in black townships across the country.
1977 Black Consciousness leader, Steve Biko, is killed while in police custody.
1978 P.W. Botha becomes president of South Africa.
1978 South African Council of Churches supports civil disobedience.
1980 A new surge of protests, strikes and boycotts begins.
1983 United Democratic Front is formed to oppose apartheid.
A new constitution grants limited power to Coloreds and Indians but not blacks.
1984 Uprisings in black townships intensify.
The National Party government declares a state of emergency.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu receives the Nobel Peace Prize.
1986-87 Talks begin between Afrikaners and the ANC.
1986-1995 Violent conflicts occur between government-backed Zulu supporters of the Inkatha Freedom Party and the ANC.
1990 President F.W. de Klerk legalizes anti-apartheid groups. Nelson Mandela is released from prison.
1991 Formal multi-party talks begin.
1993 Agreement is reached on an interim constitution; a transitional government meets.
Nelson Mandela and F.W. DeKlerk awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for their work [in] the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa."
1994 Nelson Mandela becomes President in South Africa's first democratic elections.
1995 The Truth and Reconciliation Commission is established.
1996 South Africa adopts a new constitution to take effect in 1997. Its Bill of Rights is the most extensive in the world and is the first to guarantee equal rights on the basis of sexual orientation.
1998 One of every seven South Africans is thought to be infected with HIV, and it is estimated that the number will soon reach one in four. While not the highest rate on the continent, it represents an increase unseen elsewhere.
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) is launched on International Human Rights Day. Its main objective is greater access to treatment for all South Africans.
1999 The Truth and Reconciliation Commission issues its report.
South Africa's second democratic presidential elections take place.
Thabo Mbeki is elected President.
2000 The 13th International AIDS Conference takes place in Durban, South Africa, the epicenter of the global AIDS pandemic. This marks the first time the conference has taken place in the global South.


Adapted from Facing History and Ourselves' "A Guide to Facing the Truth with Bill Moyers"