A brief history of South Africa

San (or Bushmen) hunter-gatherers originally populated the area now known as South Africa. Some 2000 years ago Bantu tribes, who had been living in the area south of the Limpopo River for the previous 1500 years, migrated southward and eastward towards the Cape.

The first permanent large-scale European settlement began in 1652 when the Dutch came to establish a halfway station for their ships travelling between Europe and the Orient. The Afrikaans language developed from this group of people, who became known as the Afrikaners. They built towns, planted crops and kept cattle with the help of their Malaysian slaves who introduced Islam and some fabulous cuisine to South Africa. Later a large group of French Huguenots escaping religious persecution joined the Dutch farmers. They were responsible for developing the vineyards in the Cape.

The English language came to South Africa when groups of English people arrived in 1820. At the height of the Industrial Revolution in England, the English government encouraged people to emigrate because it was experiencing a huge growth in population and thus our country became a venue for this resettlement program. These settlers, who were largely middle class, introduced the factory system to South Africa.

In reaction to the numbers of English settlers in the Cape, many of the Afrikaners took to their wagons in what has become known as “Die Groot Trek” (the great move). They settled in the North and Eastern parts of the country. Later, the discovery of diamonds and gold in these areas attracted people from all over the world and led to a large-scale development of trade, and further clashes with the English.

In the 1860′s Indian laborers arrived to work on the sugar plantations on the East Coast. Since the pioneering work of Ghandi early in the 20th Century, this group has integrated itself into all sections of the South African society.

In the 20th Century, the Afrikaner nation was rebuilt following the Anglo-Boer War (between the British and the Afrikaners) early in the century. The National Party mainly supported by Afrikaners became the ruling party in Government in 1948, passing extremely racist laws which brought about “apartheid” (apartness) – the grand vision of all people groups living apart in their own separate homelands and areas. The minority white Government ruled over the black majority, oppressing them and denying them the right to vote, human rights, education; etc.

Apartheid was finally conquered through negotiation and the implementation of adult voting rights when South Africa went to the polls as a united nation for the first time on 27 April 1994. The ANC (African National Congress) won the elections by a wide margin and Nelson Rohihlahla Mandela became the nation’s first black president on 10 May 1994. After the country’s second free election in 1999 the ANC remained in power with a slightly bigger majority.