South African History Multiple Choice Quiz | African

Answer: The Nelson Mandela Trial for treason

The Rivonia Trial, so named because the most of the accused were arrested in the suburb of Rivonia in Johannesburg, took place in the Palace of Justice, situated on Church Square in Pretoria Gauteng. Nelson Mandela and eight other accused were found guilty of sabotage, terrorism and treason and were sentenced to life imprisonment. Advocate Percy Yutar led the prosecution. Justice Quartus de Wet, the then Judge President of Transvaal, presided over the Trial.
Nelson Mandela was also an accused, along with 155 other persons, in the "Treason Trial" in which all accused was found not guilty in 1961.
Transvaal is now called Gauteng, and the High Court is now referred to as the North Gauteng High Court. The High Court in Johannesburg, which was previously called the Witwatersrand Local Division is now called the South Gauteng High Court.

Answer: Martinus Steyn & Paul Kruger

The two independent Boer Republics were the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State. Paul Kruger was President of the Transvaal Republic and Martinus Steyn was President of the Orange Free State. The Second Anglo-Boer war ended on the 31 May 1902 with the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging. The war was mainly fought between the Boers and the British.

Answer: 16 December 1838

The Battle of Blood River was fought between approximately 500 Trekkers and 10,000 Zulu Impis on16 December 1838. Approximately 3,000 Zulu Impis were killed and 3 Trekkers wounded during the battle. 16 December is a public holiday in South Africa, previously called Geloftedag (the Day of the Vow), now called Versoeningsdag (The Day of Reconciliation). On this day the Vow made to God on 9 December 1838 by Sarel Cilliers (and the rest of the Trekkers) is honoured.

The Trekkers promised to honour the day as a Sabbath every year and erect a church in God's honour if He protected them in battle.

They further promised to ensure that their descendants will also honour this day every year. At noon on 16 December of every year the sun shines directly on the Cenotaph, bearing the words 'Ons vir jou Suid Afrika' ('We for Thee, South Africa').

The Cenotaph is located in the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria, Gauteng. In 1841 and also in honour of the Vow the Trekkers erected a church in Pietermaritzburg, Kwazulu Natal known as De Geloftekerk (The Church of the Vow).

Answer: 1994

The process of dismantling apartheid began in 1990, but took about four years. For example, in the 1992 referendum on the abolition of apartheid only Whites were allowed to vote. On 27 April 1994 the first democratic elections was held in South Africa.

The African National Congress won the election with a vast majority of the votes and Nelson Mandela became the first African president of South Africa. He was followed by Thabo Mbeki (son of Govan Mbeki, who was also an accused in the Rivonia Trial) and President Jacob Zuma. 27 April is a public holiday in South Africa, known as Freedom Day to commemorate this historic event.

Answer: Soweto Uprising

16 June is a public holiday in South Africa, known as Youth Day. So named in honour of the students who protested in the Soweto Uprising against the introduction of Afrikaans as teaching medium in all schools. This day was especially shocking to the world as it involved the shooting of the high school students by the police, one of these students, who has since become the best known fatality of the Soweto Uprising, was Hector Pieterson.

Answer: Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd

Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd, commonly referred to as HF Verwoerd or Doctor Verwoerd, was the Prime Minister of South Africa from 2 September 1958 until 6 September 1966 when he was assassinated by Dimitri Tsafendas in the House of Assembly in Cape Town. He was laid to rest on 10 September 1966 in the Helde Akker (Hero's Acre) in Pretoria, Gauteng.

Answer: 31 May 1961

The Union of South Africa came into being on 31 May 1910, exactly 8 years after the end of the Second Anglo-Boer war, and united the four British Colonies namely: the Cape Colony, Orange River Colony, Transvaal Colony and the Natal Colony. The Union of South Africa formed part of the British Empire. Exactly 51 years later, on 31 May 1961, South Africa was declared independent and the Republic of South Africa was born. 31 May was a public holiday in South Africa, known as Republiek Dag (Republic Day) until 1994.

Answer: The Transvaal Vierkleur

The Transvaal Vierkleur was designed by Dirk van der Hoff and contained a green vertical stripe and 3 horizontal stripes of red, white and blue. The flag was hoisted for the first time on 6 January 1857 in Potchefstroom. The flag was later incorporated into the official flag of the Union and the Republic of South Africa until 1994 when the official flag was changed. Vierkleur literally means "Four Colors".

The flag was the subject of a poem called "Die Vierkleur van Transvaal" by S.J. du Toit.

Answer: Victor Verster

Nelson Mandela spent the majority of his sentence at the prison on Robben Island. He was an inmate there from 1964 until 1982. In 1982 he was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison in Tokai, Cape Town and in 1988 he was transferred to Victor Verster Prison in Paarl, Cape Town where was an inmate until his release on 11 February 1990.

Answer: African National Congress

Albert Luthuli was the President of the African National Congress from 1952 until 1967 and an anti-Apartheid activist. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1960 for his role in the struggle against Apartheid. Luthuli house, the Head Quarters of the African National Congress, situated in Johannesburg was named in his honour.