Source: MAPS IN MINUTES™ © RH Publications (1997)

A country occupying most of the southern part of the African continent.

Physical

The northern part of the country is bounded by Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, and Mozambique. Southward, the Orange Free State region partly surrounds Lesotho, which forms an enclave. In the east are boundaries with Mozambique, Swaziland, and Lesotho. From Cape Agulhas in the extreme south to the Limpopo River in the extreme north-east is a distance of about 1600 km (1000 miles). Two great rivers, the Orange and its tributary the Vaal, traverse the country from the Drakensberg Mountains in the east to the Atlantic in the west, while many shorter rivers run south and east into the Indian Ocean. There are rolling grasslands, or veld, and deserts.

Economy

The country has a wealth of minerals, including diamonds, gold, platinum, chromium, iron ore, lime, uranium, and coal. There are also reserves of natural gas. Gold, other metal products, and diamonds are the chief exports. Industry is highly developed, and includes mining, metals and metalworking, vehicles, machinery, textiles, chemicals, and foodstuffs. Agriculture is vulnerable to droughts; the main crops are cereals, sugar cane, and fruit, and livestock raising is also important. About one-third of the population, mostly Black South Africans, live in poverty and one-quarter are unemployed.

History

South Africa was occupied by the San (Bushmen) and Khoikhoin (Hottentots) about 10,000 years ago. Bantu-speaking peoples had moved into the area and developed mining industries, trading along the east coast of Africa, by the time European exploration began in the 15th century. A Dutch colony was established in 1652; the settlers were at first known as Boers and later as Afrikaners. At first the San and Khoikhoin associated and intermarried with the Boers, but later the Khoikhoin were displaced by the Boers and forced to become labourers on their farms. The San withdrew into mountainous areas. Some Boers known as trekboers, moved inland and encountered the Xhosa people, who had a settled, agricultural society. By the end of the 18th century frontier wars had broken out between the Xhosa and the Boers (the Xhosa Wars).

Britain established a colony in 1806 and fought with the Bantu-speaking peoples. In the 1830s large numbers of Boers moved northwards in the Great Trek. The Boers refused to form a federation with the British, leading to the Boer Wars. The republics of Transvaal and Orange Free State were defeated by the British and were united with the British colonies of Cape and Natal in 1910 to form the Union of South Africa, a self-governing dominion of the British crown. Politically dominated by its small White minority, South Africa supported Britain in the two World Wars, its troops fighting on a number of fronts. After 1948 the right-wing Afrikaner-dominated National Party formed a government. It instituted a strict system of apartheid, intensifying discrimination against the disenfranchised non-White majority. This policy entailed brutal repression of dissent (see sharpeville massacre).

South Africa became a republic (1960) and left the Commonwealth (1961); the African National Congress was banned and its leaders, including Nelson Mandela, imprisoned. Although its economic strength allowed it to dominate the southern half of the continent, the rise of Black nationalism both at home and in the surrounding countries (including the former mandated territory of Namibia) produced increasing violence and emphasized South Africa’s isolation in the diplomatic world. In 1985 the regime of P. W. Botha began to make some attempts to ease tension by interpreting apartheid in a more liberal fashion. This failed, however, to satisfy either the increasingly militant non-White population or the extremist right-wing groups within the small White élite. In 1986 a state of emergency was proclaimed and several thousands imprisoned without trial. The domestic and international sides of the problem remained inseparable, with South African troops fighting against SWAPO guerrillas in Namibia and Angola, and support by surrounding states for the forces of the outlawed African National Congress producing a series of cross-border incidents. In 1988 the US Congress voted to support the ‘Front Line’ African states in their demand for international sanctions. President Botha retired in 1989 and his successor President de Klerk began the quest for racial reconciliation. Following the repeal of apartheid legislation in July 1990 sanctions were eased and South Africa re-admitted to international sport. In December 1991 delegations from the government, the National Party, the Democratic Party, the South African Communist Party, ANC, Inkatha, and from the Indian and Coloured communities, joined to form the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA). Its deliberations through 1992 were interrupted by a number of violent racial incidents, and it was fiercely attacked by the neo-fascist Afrikaner Resistance Movement. The government was replaced in 1993 by a multiparty Transitional Executive Council. The country’s first multiracial elections were held in 1994, with the ANC emerging as clear victors. Nelson Mandela became President and de Klerk Deputy President, leading a coalition government of national unity. The same year, South Africa was admitted to the Organization of African Unity (now the African Union) and rejoined the Commonwealth. In 1996 a permanent multiracial democratic constitution was adopted. De Klerk and the National Party withdrew from the coalition government in order to form the official opposition. Mandela retired in 1999; in the same year the ANC won the elections and Thabo Mbeki became President. The ANC increased its majority in the 2004 elections. Mbeki resigned as President in 2008 at the request of the ANC, having lost the party leadership to Jacob Zuma in 2007. The ANC maintained its dominance in the 2009 elections, after which Zuma became President. He continued as President after the ANC won the 2014 elections, but the government was increasingly criticized for failing to improve the county’s slow economic growth. Zuma’s standing was also damaged when an anti-corruption watchdog ruled against him and in 2017-18 he faced growing demands that he resign.