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| c. South Africa |
| 1960, March 21 |
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| Demonstrations against passes, organized by the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), led to the Sharpeville massacre in which police fired on unarmed demonstrators, killing 67. Disturbances following this event led to a state of emergency and the banning of the African National Congress (ANC) and the PAC, terminating all possibility of legal opposition in the country. | 1 |
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| 1961 |
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| The ANC formed an underground armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe, under the leadership of Nelson Mandela, to carry out a campaign of sabotage against government installations. The PAC formed an underground armed wing, Poqo. | 2 |
| South Africa became a republic, terminating ties to Britain and dropping out of the Commonwealth. | 3 |
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| 1963 |
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| Arrest of the Umkhonto we Sizwe high command. The “Rivonia Trial,” charging the group with sabotage, led to life terms (imposed in 1964) for Nelson Mandela and much of the ANC top leadership. Oliver Tambo escaped into exile. | 4 |
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| 1968 |
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| The South African Students Organization (SASO) was founded by Steve Biko, separating from the white-led National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) under the emergent doctrine of black consciousness. | 5 |
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| 1973 |
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| A wave of strikes in Durban marked the new militancy of African labor unions. | 6 |
| Legislation was passed to regularize industrial action, giving new legitimacy to unions. | 7 |
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| 1975, March 22 |
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| Inkatha was revived under the leadership of KwaZulu chief minister Mangasuthu Gatsha Buthelezi. | 8 |
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| Oct. 23 |
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| South Africa invaded Angola in support of UNITA and the FNLA. | 9 |
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