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1480
Discovery
Bartholomeu Dias is the first European to travel around the southern tip of Africa. He found South Africa while sailing southwards in the Atlantic Ocean. We do not know much about this event, but we do know that the Dutch later settled in South Africa. Jan Van Riebeeck with the Dutch East India Company founded the first settlement. This settlement was called Cape Colony. -
Period: 1480 to
South Africa Timeline
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South Africa Colinization
The Colonization of 1652. In 1652 Jan van Riebeeck founded a small colony as good hope for a small dutch company refreshment station. Colonization, or colonization is the process of establishing foreign control over target territories or people. With colonialism began slavery in South Africa in 1652, and came Slavery and Forced Labour Model. This was the original model of colonialism brought by the Dutch in 1652. -
Atlantic Slave Trade
The Atlantic Slave trade was a major part of the development of the modern world economy. It is sometimes also called Maafa which means “great disaster” in Kiswahili. The slave trade was located in Charleston, South Carolina. The slaves were originally from Africa but were transported on a ship. At first, the Portuguese started the trade but then the English took control. Around 12 million Africans arrived in the new world. The slave trade ended in 1808. -
British take over Cape Colony
In 1879, the Zulu’s were invaded by three British colonies that lasted for six months. But sadly it was the Zulus defeat, resulting in losing their farmlands and having to get paid by working countless hours on the European settler's land. That wasn’t the only casualty they had, due to the battle with the British the Zulus lost a lot of their men, losing about 2,000 troops in the process. -
Founds Zulu Empire
Sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire or the Kingdom of Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean. Shaka and his military campaign resulted in widespread violence, and displacement after defeating competing armies. That’s how Shaka founded the Zulu Empire. -
Discovery of Diamonds in South Africa
A young boy named Erasmus came across some “shiny pebbles”. Surprisingly, diamonds continued to be found over the next several months. Many people rushed over to begin digging for diamonds, and it became known as “dry diggings”. Since diamonds were found, it caused many people to become “diggers” for major mining companies. It had a great impact on the culture and economy of South Africa. South Africa forever changed the diamond industry; this era of time was known as the mineral revolution. -
Gold Discovery
Discovered in Witwatersrand, this caused the South Africa gold rush. Many people flooded into the land, and had high hopes of striking it rich! Major mining companies began to be established, which led to job opportunities, and this led to great economic growth. Overall South America's mining era was very successful and brought a lot of growth to the country. They even continued to find gold through the late 1900s. South Africa grew economically and this brought many new people to South Africa. -
First Boer War
The main cause of this war was that the Boers opposed the idea of the British controlling the Transvaal. This war took place in Lesotho and Eswatini, South Africa. The Boers refused to grant political rights to non-Boers, who were mostly British, or to grant civil rights to Africans. The Boers's tactics were speed in concentration and attack. The Boers won this war and took back the Transvaal and Orange State. Later, the second Boer war would occur, which the British won. -
Second Boer War
The 1889 Second Boer war was the British Empire against the South African Republic and the Orange Free State. They fought because of politics, the discovery of gold, and tension between leaders. During the war, the Boers refused to surrender. They were well-armed, but the British had over 400,00 men. The Boers had to think of a plan to help themselves, so they got new generals. They were also thinking of surprise attacks. After a while, Great Britain eventually won on May 31, 1902. -
Union Of South Africa
South Africa is now made up of four colonies: Cape Colony, Natal Colony, Transvaal Colony, and the Orange Colony. All of which are under the British Empire. However, it won’t be long for the Zulu to start revolting against the British. The South Africa act of 1909 is what unified these colonies. The act was passed by British Parliament. This act had a positive effect on South Africa and brought more unity and fewer wars. -
First Prime Minister Elected
Jan Smuts was the first prime minister in South Africa. He was a statesman, military leader, and philosopher. He helped shape its constitution to make it better. He has held multiple cabinet portfolios. He helped with the Boer war struggles. Even though they lost, he still had hope for the future. A lot of people did not like him so he tried to gain independence for them. He tried his best for South Africa's achievements and later died on September 11, 1950. -
Africas Independence
The Status of The Union Act declares South Africas Independence from the United Kingdom. This basically meant that South Africa was declared as a "sovereign independent state". This meant that no act from the British Parliament could apply to South Africa. This was important because it gave South Africa more freedom. This was the beginning stages of South Africa becoming a Republic. -
Decolonization of South Africa
The process of decolonizing the southern part of Africa happened essentially in three phases. The first being a more peaceful, walking down the street kind of protest stating that they want to be free and independent from British rule. The second phase was a more bloody stage where people got hurt and sometimes killed just so that the British got the message. The third stage is when the majority of the population ruled over the British rule. Forcing the British to suseid. -
Presidency of Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela was the first non-white head of state in South Africa. Nelson was also the oldest head of state, taking office at the age of 75. He led a transition from apartheid to a multiracial democracy. Nelson did a great job at uniting South Africa and later won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. He has forever impacted South Africa!
