Podcast
The Story of South Africa: Empire, Apartheid, and Transformation — Fexingo History
Episodes — page 11
The 1913 Natives Land Act: How South Africa's Spatial Apartheid BeganIn 1913, the Union of South Africa passed the Natives Land Act, a law that confined Black South Africans to just 7% of the land. This episode explores the Act's origins, its devast…
- Mfecane: The Great Disruption That Reshaped Southern Africa
Before the Boer trekkers and British imperialists, Southern Africa was convulsed by a period of intense upheaval known as the Mfecane — or in Sesotho, Difaqane — meaning 'the crush…
- Bambatha Rebellion: The Last Zulu Uprising Against Colonial Rule
In 1906, the British colony of Natal faced a Zulu uprising that would be remembered as the Bambatha Rebellion. This episode dives into the story of Bambatha kaMancinza, a Zulu chie…
- Jan van Riebeeck and the Founding of Cape Town
In 1652, Jan van Riebeeck landed at Table Bay with orders to establish a refreshment station for the Dutch East India Company. This episode traces the early days of Cape Town—from…
- Dr. James Moroka: The ANC President Who Stood Trial
In 1952, the Defiance Campaign against unjust laws swept South Africa, and at its head was a quietly formidable figure: Dr. James Moroka. A medical doctor and president of the Afri…
- South Africa's 1976 Soweto Uprising Precursor: the 1975 Vula Uprising
In 1975, a year before the Soweto Uprising shook apartheid South Africa, students in the Cape Town township of Vula sparked a forgotten rebellion against Bantu Education. This epis…
- The Cape Town Water Crisis: Drought, Politics, and Day Zero
In 2018, Cape Town came within days of becoming the first major city in the world to run out of water. Episode 63 of The Story of South Africa unpacks the complex factors behind th…
- The 1913 Natives Land Act: How South Africa's Spatial Apartheid Began
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the origins of South Africa's spatial apartheid through the 1913 Natives Land Act. They discuss how the Act reserved 7% of the land for the…
- South Africa's 1960 Sharpeville Massacre and the Birth of the PAC
In this episode, Lucas and Luna dive into the Sharpeville massacre of March 21, 1960, when police opened fire on a peaceful anti-pass protest, killing 69 people. They explore the r…
- Mandela's 1964 Rivonia Speech: Why I Cherish My Own Ideals
In 1964, eight men accused of sabotage faced the death penalty in a Pretoria courtroom. Lucas and Luna dive into the Rivonia Trial, focusing on Nelson Mandela's four-hour address f…
- The 1922 Rand Rebellion: White Workers Rise Up
In 1922, the gold mines of the Witwatersrand became the scene of a violent uprising unlike any other in South African history. Armed white miners, flying the red flag and the old T…
- The 1956 Treason Trial: 156 Accused, Four Years, Apartheid's Legal War
In December 1956, South African police raided homes and offices across the country, arresting 156 people — activists, lawyers, teachers, and housewives — on charges of high treason…
- The 1946 Mine Strike: Black Workers vs Apartheid Before Apartheid
In August 1946, over 60,000 black gold miners on the Witwatersrand downed tools in South Africa's largest strike by black workers up to that point. Led by J.B. Marks and the Africa…
- The 1918 Influenza Pandemic in South Africa: A Forgotten Catastrophe
In this episode of The Story of South Africa, Lucas and Luna explore the devastating impact of the 1918 influenza pandemic on South Africa. With over 300,000 deaths in just six wee…
- The Boer War Concentration Camps: Emily Hobhouse's Campaign
During the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), the British army implemented a scorched-earth policy that herded Boer civilians—mostly women and children—into concentration camps. Co…
- The Xhosa Cattle-Killing: A Nation's Transformation Through Prophecy
In 1856, the Xhosa people faced a devastating choice that would reshape their future. This episode explores the Cattle-Killing movement, sparked by the teenage prophetess Nongqawus…
- The Siege of Mafeking: Heroism, Farce, and Empire
In Episode 53 of The Story of South Africa, Lucas and Luna explore the Siege of Mafeking (1899-1900), one of the most dramatic and bizarre episodes of the Second Anglo-Boer War. Th…
- The 1914 Boer Rebellion: South Africa's Civil War Within
When World War I broke out in 1914, South Africa—a British dominion—was expected to fight against Germany. But many Afrikaners, still nursing wounds from the Anglo-Boer War, saw an…
- The Sand River Convention: Boer Independence Won Without a Shot
In 1852, a small gathering on a sandy riverbank in the Transvaal changed the course of southern African history. The Sand River Convention saw the British Empire formally recognize…
- The 1820 Settlers: Britain's Forgotten Colony in South Africa
In 1820, nearly 4,000 British settlers landed in Algoa Bay, sent by the British government to secure the eastern frontier of the Cape Colony. This episode of The Story of South Afr…
