For centuries, South Africa's history was plagued by racial conflicts. Dutch settlers in Cape Town established control over the southern tip of South Africa about 300 years ago by driving out or enslaving the local Khoikhoi (also known as Hottentots) and San (Bushmen) people. The Dutch settlers continued to enlarge their territory in the 18th century, leading to clashes with the Xhosa of the present-day Eastern Cape. More complications were added when the British Empire was given control of the Cape Colony by the Congress of Vienna of 1814-15. The British abolished the slave labor on which the Dutch farmers (Boers—literally "farmers") had long depended. As a result, the Boers migrated northward in what is called the Great Trek, coming into contact with the Zulu nation, which was resident on the eastern coastal belt and escarpment area. A series of wars broke out, ending in the defeat of the Zulus at Blood River. In 1878, the British also fought the Zulus and defeated them the following year.
By the late 19th century, the country we now know as South Africa consisted of four main political entities: the British colonies of the Cape and Natal, and the Boer Republics of the Free State and Transvaal. The discovery of diamonds and gold in the Boer Republics was the catalyst for the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902, which ended in the defeat of the Afrikaners. Eight years later, the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and Orange Free State were merged into the self-governing Union of South Africa.
From the outset, the Union of South Africa granted minimal rights to nonwhite citizens, who were among other things excluded from the vote and had limited rights of land ownership. In 1948, the all-white electorate voted in the Afrikaner-dominated National Party, which swiftly set about entrenching its policy of apartheid (literally apartness) through a series of repressive legislations further restricting the rights of nonwhites. This policy of institutionalized racism led to the formation of several organizations dedicated to ending apartheid, including the African National Congress (ANC). In the 1960s, most such organizations were banned by the government, and antiapartheid leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo and Robert Sobukwe were jailed or forced into exile.
Continued violence, diplomatic isolation and economic boycotts forced the National Party to make some concessions in the 1980s, but the apartheid laws were not fully repealed until 1994, when South Africans of all races voted ANC leader Nelson Mandela into power in the country's first democratic elections. First under Mandela, then under his successor, Thabo Mbeki, South Africa has made great strides forward during its early period of democratic rule, and—although a vast disparity in wealth along broad racial lines remains an issue, as does the high rate of violent crime and widespread incidence of HIV infection and AIDS—the country's economy is widely regarded to be in better shape than it ever was under apartheid.
Among the foremost attractions of South Africa are game reserves, indigenous cultures, heritage sites, uncrowded beaches, surfing, narrow-gauge trains, wilderness trails, beautiful mountain scenery, shopping, gold and diamond mines, and a sunny climate year-round.
We think South Africa is a country with something for everyone.
If you're lost in the bush and need to orient yourself, look for a termite mound: It will lean northward.
South Africa is one of the best places in the world to try a shark dive. It involves being lowered in a cage into water known to contain the great white shark. Believe it or not, many find it more exhilarating than terrifying. South Africa was the first country in the world to protect great white sharks within its territorial waters.
South African English contains several unexpected idioms. For example, when South Africans say they will do something "just now," it means they will do it later. "Now now" means right away.
The flight between New York and Johannesburg is one of the longest nonstop commercial flights in the world. The trip covers 8,000 mi/13,000 km in a mere 14.25 hours, stopping to refuel at Dakar, Senegal, the most westerly city in Africa.
South Africans tend to affectionately abbreviate the names of their cities. As such, Durban is known locally as Durbs, Port Elizabeth as P.E., Pietermaritzburg as 'maritzburg and Jeffrey's Bay as J Bay. Johannesburg, which has long been known as Jo'burg or Joeys, has acquired the more African-style moniker of Jozi.
Governmental separation of powers has more than philosophical standing in South Africa. There are actually three distinct capitals: Pretoria is the administrative and executive capital, but Cape Town is the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital. Larger and wealthier than all three official capitals, Johannesburg is rightfully regarded as the country's unofficial economic capital.
Mohandas K. Gandhi (later to become Mahatma Gandhi) once practiced law in Durban. In 1893, he was evicted from a "whites only" train carriage at Pietermaritzburg railway station, an incident that helped launch his career in politics.
There are more than 500 wineries in the Western Cape region—many of them offer tours and tastings. One of the most popular wine varietals is pinotage, a versatile hybrid of pinot noir and cinsaut that was first planted in Stellenbosch in the 1920s.
The independent and mountainous nation of Lesotho is completely within the borders of South Africa, and the Kingdom of Swaziland is surrounded by it on three sides (it shares its eastern border with Mozambique).
Confined to the Western Cape, the Cape floral kingdom is by far the smallest of the world's six floral kingdoms. It is dominated by a heath-like cover known as fynbos (literally "fine bush") and is famed for its rich variety of proteas and other flowering plants.
