The mid-1970s witnessed a major retreat of white rule. Following a coup in April 1974, power in the Portuguese colonies in southern Africa was quickly transferred to black liberation movements. On 24 November 1974 South African ambassador to the United Nations, R.F. (Pik) Botha, told the UN Security Council that South Africa was moving away from discrimination by all the means at its disposal. These developments briefly stirred the hopes of the subordinate population in South Africa for substantial changes to apartheid. But a huge chasm existed between what blacks saw as reasonable demands and what whites were prepared to yield. The cornerstones of apartheid were still intact.
Timeline
-1838 From The First People To the First
SettlementsChapter 1: The First People
Chapter 2: A New Society Drawn From Three Continents
Chapter 3: A Proper British Colony
1800-1899 From Great Irruptions To
African NationalismChapter 4: A Time Of Trouble And Rapid Transformation
Chapter 5: Consolidation And Expansion Of The Colonial Presence
Chapter 6: From The Fall Of Kingdoms To The Rise Of Nationalism
1850-1945 From Agrarian To Industrial Society
Chapter 7: From Territorial Expression To Sovereign State
Chapter 8: Gold And War
Chapter 9: A New South Africa In The Making
Chapter 10: A Turbulent Decade
Chapter 11: Diverse Communities
Chapter 12: The Great Depression And War
1945-2005 From An Afrikaner State To
An African StateChapter 13: The Afrikaner Nationalists In Power
Chapter 14: In Search Of A New Order
