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South
Africa
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The
Republic of South Africa, also known by other official
names, is a country located at the southern tip of
the continent of Africa. The South African coast stretches
2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) and borders both the Atlantic
and Indian oceans. To the north of South Africa lie
Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique
and Swaziland, while the Kingdom of Lesotho is an
independent enclave surrounded by South African territory.
Modern human beings have inhabited South Africa for
more than 100,000 years. At the time of European contact,
its indigenous peoples reflected migrations from other
parts of Africa, where new tribes had become dominant.
Two major groups were Xhosa and Zulu peoples.
In 1652, a century and a half after the discovery
of the Cape Sea Route, the Dutch East India Company
founded a refreshment station at what would become
Cape Town.[10] Cape Town became a British colony in
1806. European settlement expanded during the 1820s
as the Boers (original Dutch, Flemish, German and
French settlers) and the British 1820 Settlers claimed
land in the north and east of the country. Conflicts
arose among the Xhosa, Zulu and Afrikaner groups who
competed for territory.
The discovery of diamonds and later gold triggered
the conflict known as the Anglo-Boer War, as the Boers
and the British fought for the control of the South
African mineral wealth. Although the Boers were defeated,
the British gave limited independence to South Africa
in 1910 as a British dominion. Within the country,
anti-British policies among white South Africans focused
on independence. During the Dutch and British colonial
years, racial segregation was informal. Power was
held by the colonists. In the Boer republics and subsequent
South African governments, the system became legally
institutionalised segregation known as apartheid.
They established three classes of racial stratification:
whites, coloured (including mixed-race people of European
and African origins, as well as Asians, and mixed-race
Asians), and blacks, or indigenous natives. Apartheid
was established by law in 1948, and additional legislation,
such as the Immorality Act outlawing relations among
people of different racial groups, hardened the legal
boundaries. At the same time, political movements
grew internally among indigenous, mixed-race and whites
who opposed apartheid. At one time the Communist Party
actively supported racial justice.
South Africa achieved its political independence in
1961 when it was declared a republic. The leading
National Party legislated for a continuation of apartheid,
despite opposition both in and outside of the country.
In 1990 then-president F.W. de Klerk began to dismantle
the apartheid legislation In 1994 South Africa held
its first democratic election. Nelson Mandela and
the African National Congress (ANC) came to power,
and the country rejoined the Commonwealth of Nations.
South Africa is known for its diversity in cultures,
languages, and religious beliefs. Eleven official
languages are recognised in the constitution. English
is the most commonly spoken language in official and
commercial public life; however, it is only the fifth
most-spoken home language. South Africa is ethnically
diverse, with the largest Caucasian, Indian, and racially
mixed communities in Africa. Although 79.6% of the
South African population is Black, this category is
neither culturally nor linguistically homogeneous.
People within this classification represent a variety
of ethnic groups and speak a number of different Bantu
languages, nine of which have official status. Midyear
2007, the South African population was estimated at
47.9 million. (Credit:
Wikipedia).
Africa
is the world's second-largest and second most-populous
continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km²
(11.7 million sq mi) including adjacent islands, it
covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4%
of the total land area.
With
about 922 million people (as of 2005) in 61 territories,
it accounts for about 14.2% of the World's human population.
The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea
to the north, the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the
northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and
the Atlantic Ocean to the west. There are 53 countries,
including Madagascar and various island groups, associated
with the continent.
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