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Hundreds of years ago, southern africa had powerful, wealthy kingdoms. They traded gold to cities on the eastern coast. The largest kingdom and city was Great ZImbabwe, a bantu word meaning "stone houses." The city, flourished from about A.D. 1100 to 1450. It covered nearly 100 acres and, along with the surrounding valley, was home to nearly 20,000 people.
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In the 1600's, the Dutch settled in South Africa. They were known as the Boers, a Dutch word for farmers. German, Belgian, and French settlers joined them. Together these groups were known as Afrikaners.
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PictureThe British first came to South Africa in the early 1800's. Later, the discover of diamonds and gold attracted many more British settlers.
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Tensions between the British and the Afrikaners resulted in the 1902 defeat of the Afrikaners in the Boer War, the First Boer War that is.
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In 1910 Afrikaner and British territories became the Union of South Africa. It was part of the Brtish Empire and was ruled by whites. Black South Africans founded the African National Congress (ANC) in 1912 in hopes of gaining power.
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In 1948 the whites set up a system of apartheid, or "apartness."
Apartheid made it illegal for different races and groups to mix, thus limiting the rights of blacks. For example, laws forced black South Africans to live in seperate areas, called "homelands." People of Non-Eurpean background were not even allowed to vote. For more than 40 years, people inside and outside South Africa protested against the practice of apartheid. Many black Africans wre jailed for their actions as well. -
In 1964 the British Colony became independent.
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Since the 1980's, the government has tried to redistribute land to Africans. Progress has been slow, and with President Robert Mugabe's support, protesters recently took over large and smll European-owned farms to force changes. In 1980 free elections brought am independent African government to power.
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The United Nations declared that apartheid was "a crime against humanity." Many countries cut off trade with South Africa. Finally, in 1991 apartheid ended. South Africa held its first democratic election in April 1994, electing Nelson Mandela as the first black president.
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South Africa held its first democratic election in April 1994, electing Nelson Mandela as the first black president.
