On this Day in History 17 September
Learn what happened on this day in history
Monday, 17 September 1832
About two thousand slave owners met in Cape Town to complain against new slave regulations to be implemented at the Cape, claiming that according to existing regulations the working conditions at the Cape was already better in many respects than conditions of factory workers in Britain.
Wednesday, 17 September 1919
After the completion of World War One’s Treaty of Versailles, German South West Africa was declared a mandate of the new international peace-keeping body, the League of Nations, and put under South African administration.
As result of this development, German was displaced as the official language, which prompted 4000 Germans to leave the country. South Africa on the other hand encouraged Afrikaans speaking families to settle in the country, especially in the south.
Since the late 1940s the South West Africa (SWA) issue was debated year after year with increasing animosity at the United Nations (UN), successor to the League of Nations. On 18 July 1966, the judges in the International Court of Justice gave verdict in favour of South Africa in a case brought before them by Ethiopia and Liberia.
International pressure increased, and in October 1966 the General Assembly of the UN terminated the mandate and decided that South West Africa be placed under administration of the UN. South Africa rejected the resolution of the UN as unconstitutional and contrary to international law.
In 1971 a reconstituted International Court of Justice gave an advisory opinion, supporting the view of the UN, and years of guerrilla fighting followed when South Africa refused to abide by the decision. The country gained independence in 1990 as Namibia
Friday, 17 September 1999
Breyten Breytenbach, South African poet, painter and activist, received the Hertzog Prize for his two Afrikaans poetry volumes, an elegy ‘Oorblyfsels: ‘n roudig’ and ‘Papierblom’ (Paper flower). The ceremony was held at the University of Pretoria. The Hertzog prize is named in honour of General J.B.M. Hertzog, former premier of the Union of South Africa and a champion of the Afrikaans language. The prize was sponsored by Rapport, an Afrikaans Sunday newspaper.
Breytenbach was a committed opponent of apartheid and left South Africa in 1960, settling in Paris in 1962 with his Viëtnamese wife Yolande Ngo Thi Hoang Lien. He returned to South Africa with a false passport in 1975, was arrested, charged under the Terrorism Act and jailed for seven years. After his release he returned to Paris where he obtained French citizenship. He writes his poetry mainly in Afrikaans and his prose works in English. He divides his time currently between Europe, South Africa and the USA.
Friday, 17 September 1999
Three months after being inaugurated as South Africa’s second president since democratic elections in 1994, Thabo Mbeki received an Honorary Doctorate from the Rand Afrikaans University. After he was capped an Honorary Doctor by RAU’s Chancellor, Mr Paul du P Kruger, President Mbeki replied: ” I am confident that this University, which I join today as an honorary member, will play its role to help to transform our country into a winning nation”.
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