Timeline of South Africa

Chronology

73 events spanning the history of South Africa. BCE/CE dating.

1. 500 BCE

   Earliest archaeological evidence of sheep and cattle herding.

   Earliest archaeological evidence of sheep and cattle herding.

2. 300

   Archaeological evidence of Iron-Age settlements south of the Limpopo River.

   Archaeological evidence of Iron-Age settlements south of the Limpopo River.

3. 1488

   Portuguese navigator Bartholomeu Dias rounds Cape of Good Hope.

   Portuguese navigator Bartholomeu Dias rounds Cape of Good Hope. Khoisan-speaking herdsmen and hunters establish trade with Europeans.

4. 1497

   Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama arrives at Cape of Good Hope en route to India.

   Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama arrives at Cape of Good Hope en route to India.

5. 1652

   First permanent Dutch settlement at Cape of Good Hope.

   First permanent Dutch settlement at Cape of Good Hope.

6. 1658

   Dutch import slaves from Angola and West Africa.

   Dutch import slaves from Angola and West Africa.

7. 1673 – 1677

   Warfare between Khoikhoi and Dutch.

   Warfare between Khoikhoi and Dutch.

8. 1688

   French Huguenots begin to settle at Cape.

   French Huguenots begin to settle at Cape.

9. 1713

   Smallpox epidemic devastates Khoikhoi.

   Smallpox epidemic devastates Khoikhoi.

10. 1779 – 1781

    Frontier warfare; Afrikaners defeat Xhosa.

    Frontier warfare; Afrikaners defeat Xhosa.