The Liberation Struggle in South Africa: Chronology¶

Anon. (n.d.). The Liberation Struggle in South Africa: Chronology.


Type	other
Scope	Wider apartheid literature
Method	primary document
Period studied	1960–1994
Regions	South Africa, Southern Africa, Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, Britain and the Commonwealth, United States
Themes	politics ideology elections, resistance social movements, sanctions divestment, unions strikes, transition post apartheid, macro fiscal finance debt, business and state, bantustans removals influx
Citation key	`anonnd`

Argument¶

This is an undated, unsigned reference chronology of the anti-apartheid struggle and the international response, 1960-1994. It makes no sustained argument. Its selection implies a narrative: repression after Sharpeville, then township revolt, business and international pressure in the mid-1980s, and finally negotiated transition. It has a strong focus on sanctions diplomacy (CHOGMs, the Eminent Persons Group, the US CAAA, EC and Japanese measures) and on the regional and Cold War setting. It records a few economic data points, mainly on disinvestment and the 1985 financial crisis, and the Wiehahn and Riekert reforms.

Evidence and method¶

No sources are cited. It is a compiled list of dated events, with a handful of figures (US investment, capital outflow, rand depreciation, number of US companies leaving).

Place in the debates¶

Sanctions effectiveness (see Sanctions, disinvestment and the anti-apartheid movement). No explicit position. It lists the sequence of sanctions, bank withdrawals and divestment (including Thatcher's opposition and Japanese and Taiwanese trade growth), which gives context for the debate but does not weigh their effect.
Business and reform / liberal vs revisionist on apartheid (see Why apartheid ended: reform, transition and elite bargaining). No explicit position. It records the Carlton Conference of government and business leaders, the Wiehahn and Riekert reforms, and the 1985 Lusaka meetings between businessmen and the ANC, which is chronological evidence of a business reform turn.

Findings¶

The Wiehahn and Riekert recommendations on union recognition and urban influx control came out of the 1979 government-business Carlton Conference. (p. 2)

Riekert Commission recommends easing job colour bar, permitting blacks with Section 10 rights to own homes, and greater freedom of movement; Wiehahn Commission recommends recognition of African trade unions
The UDF, formed in 1983, brought a large organised internal opposition into being. (p. 3)

Formation of United Democratic Front (UDF) intended to unite all black resistance groups (2m members by 1985)
Foreign credit was withdrawn in 1985 as sanctions intensified. (p. 3)

International bank loans called in, new loans refused, and sanctions intensified.
US investment fell and South Africa suffered large capital outflow in the mid-1980s. (p. 3)

US disinvestment campaign continues (From $2.5bn in 1982, to approx $1.7bn in 1985. SA experiences capital outflow of $2.2bn in 1984 alone)
The 1985 financial crisis hit the currency and the stock exchange. (p. 4)

Financial crisis in South Africa (Chase Manhattan cut its links; value of the rand dropped by 35%; and Johannesburg Stock Exchange closed for 4 days).
The mineworkers' union's first major strike came in 1985, led by Ramaphosa, and the larger 1987 strike followed. (p. 4)

Major strike organised by National Union of Mineworkers (led by Cyril Ramaphosa)
The state formally repealed the pass laws in March 1986, at the same time as the lifting of the partial state of emergency. (p. 4)

Lifting of partial state of emergency; repeal of Pass Laws and Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act.
The US Congress imposed wide trade and investment sanctions in October 1986 over Reagan's veto. (p. 5)

Prohibition on import of SA coal, iron, steel, uranium, arms and ammunition, textiles and agricultural products; also new investment and export of oil, and South African Airways landing rights revoked.
By the end of 1987 about half of US firms had left South Africa, most of them since early 1986. (p. 6)

By year end 143 American companies (approximately 50% of the total) had left SA, 94 since beginning of 1986.
The November 1993 settlement set the terms of the transition: universal suffrage, proportional representation and a five-year government of national unity. (p. 7)

Universal suffrage election April 1994. 400 MPs to be elected by proportional representation. A government of National Unity for 5 years

Evidence ledger¶

Sources used¶

Source	Kind	Period	How used
Eminent Persons Group (EPG) Report, June 1986	commission or official report	1986	Summarised to date the 'possible negotiating concept' put to the NP government; the report itself is not cited or quoted.
Nassau CHOGM final communiqué, October 1985	commission or official report	October 1985	Source for the listed package of common sanctions actions, including the krugerrand ban and trade-mission funding.
Riekert Commission and Wiehahn Commission recommendations (1979)	commission or official report	1979	Used to record the reform recommendations on the job colour bar, Section 10 rights and African trade union recognition.
De Lange commission on education (1981)	commission or official report	1981	Noted as a commission whose recommendations were rejected, with education spending nonetheless increased.
Goldstone Commission findings (1992)	commission or official report	1992	Supports the entry that the government used covert force against its enemies.
General Laws Amendment Act, 1963	legislation gazette	1963	Dates the legal introduction of detention without trial.
US Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act (CAAA), 1986	legislation gazette	1986	Dates and describes the mandatory US trade sanctions and the veto override.
Unattributed US investment and capital-flow figures, 1982-1985	international trade or finance data	1982-1985	Quantifies US disinvestment and 1984 capital outflow in the 1985 entry.
Unattributed count of American companies leaving South Africa, 1986-87	company records or reports	1986-1987	Gives the scale of US corporate withdrawal by end 1987.

Inference¶

Quantification: Illustrative figures.

Chronological narrative listing of events. There is no analysis; entries are stated without citation, with a few embedded figures (sanctions, disinvestment, rand and capital flows).

Key claims¶

Claim	Basis	Strength
US disinvestment and capital flight reached significant scale in the mid-1980s. (p. 3)	Unattributed US investment and capital outflow figures; no source named.	Asserted
A 1985 financial crisis hit South Africa, with a sharp rand fall and a stock exchange closure. (p. 4)	No source named; the figures are asserted in the entry.	Asserted
About half of US companies had left South Africa by the end of 1987, while Japan and Taiwan increased trade. (p. 6)	Unattributed company-count figures.	Asserted
The 1979 Riekert and Wiehahn Commissions recommended limited reforms to labour and urban-residence controls. (p. 2)	Commission recommendations summarised without citation.	Asserted
US Congress imposed wide-ranging trade and investment sanctions in 1986 over a presidential veto. (p. 5)	Legislation described from the CAAA; the Act is not cited directly.	Asserted
The state used covert force against its opponents, as found by the Goldstone Commission. (p. 7)	Goldstone Commission conclusion, stated without citation.	Asserted

The author's caveats¶

None. The document is an uncited, unsigned chronology and does not discuss data limitations.

Gaps in the evidence¶

The chronology gives no references, so no entry can be traced to a source. The economic figures (disinvestment, capital outflow, rand fall, company exits) need attribution to Reserve Bank, IMF, US Commerce Department or company-register data, which exist and could be added. Dates and the content of commissions and Acts could be checked against Hansard, the Government Gazette and the reports themselves.

Replicability: Data poorly documented.