People have inhabited southern Africa for thousands of years.
Members of the Khoisan language groups are the oldest surviving
inhabitants of the land, but only a few are left in South Africa
today--and they are located in the western sections. Most of today's
black South Africans belong to the Bantu language group, which
migrated south from central Africa, settling in the Transvaal region
sometime before AD 100. The Nguni, ancestors of the Zulu and Xhosa,
occupied most of the eastern coast by 1500.
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach the Cape of Good
Hope, arriving in 1488. However, permanent white settlement did not
begin until 1652 when the Dutch East India Company established a
provisioning station on the Cape. In subsequent decades, French
Huguenot refugees, the Dutch, and Germans began to settle in the
Cape. Collectively, they form the Afrikaner segment of today's
population. The establishment of these settlements had far-reaching
social and political effects on the groups already settled in the
area, leading to upheaval in these societies and the subjugation of
their people.
By 1779, European settlements extended throughout the southern part
of the Cape and east toward the Great Fish River. It was here that
Dutch authorities and the Xhosa fought the first frontier war. The
British gained control of the Cape of Good Hope at the end of the
18th century. Subsequent British settlement and rule marked the
beginning of a long conflict between the Afrikaners and the English.
Beginning in 1836, partly to escape British rule and cultural
hegemony and partly out of resentment at the recent abolition of
slavery, many Afrikaner farmers (Boers) undertook a northern
migration that became known as the "Great Trek." This movement
brought them into contact and conflict with African groups in the
area, the most formidable of which were the Zulus. Under their
powerful leader, Shaka (1787-1828), the Zulus conquered most of the
territory between the Drakensberg Mountains and the sea (now
KwaZulu-Natal).
In 1828, Shaka was assassinated and replaced by his half-brother
Dingane. In 1838, Dingane was defeated and deported by the
Voortrekkers (people of the Great Trek) at the battle of Blood
River. The Zulus, nonetheless, remained a potent force, defeating
the British in the historic battle of Isandhlwana before themselves
being finally conquered in 1879.
In 1852 and 1854, the independent Boer Republics of the Transvaal
and Orange Free State were created. Relations between the republics
and the British Government were strained. The discovery of diamonds
at Kimberley in 1870 and the discovery of large gold deposits in the
Witwatersrand region of the Transvaal in 1886 caused an influx of
European (mainly British) immigration and investment. In addition to
resident black Africans, many blacks from neighboring countries also
moved into the area to work in the mines. The construction by mine
owners of hostels to house and control their workers set patterns
that later extended throughout the region.
Boer reactions to this influx and British political intrigues led to
the Anglo-Boer Wars of 1880-81 and 1899-1902. British forces
prevailed in the conflict, and the republics were incorporated into
the British Empire. In May 1910, the two republics and the British
colonies of the Cape and Natal formed the Union of South Africa, a
self-governing dominion of the British Empire. The Union's
constitution kept all political power in the hands of whites.
In 1912, the South Africa Native National Congress was founded in
Bloemfontein and eventually became known as the African National
Congress (ANC). Its goals were the elimination of restrictions based
on color and the enfranchisement of and parliamentary representation
for blacks. Despite these efforts the government continued to pass
laws limiting the rights and freedoms of blacks.
In 1948, the National Party (NP) won the all-white elections and
began passing legislation codifying and enforcing an even stricter
policy of white domination and racial separation known as
"apartheid" (separateness). In the early 1960s, following a protest
in Sharpeville in which 69 protesters were killed by police and 180
injured, the ANC and Pan-African Congress (PAC) were banned. Nelson
Mandela and many other anti-apartheid leaders were convicted and
imprisoned on charges of treason.
The ANC and PAC were forced underground and fought apartheid through
guerrilla warfare and sabotage. In May 1961, South Africa
relinquished its dominion status and declared itself a republic. It
withdrew from the Commonwealth in part because of international
protests against apartheid. In 1984, a new constitution came into
effect in which whites allowed coloreds and Asians a limited role in
the national government and control over their own affairs in
certain areas. Ultimately, however, all power remained in white
hands. Blacks remained effectively disenfranchised.
Popular uprisings in black and colored townships in 1976 and 1985
helped to convince some NP members of the need for change. Secret
discussions between those members and Nelson Mandela began in 1986.
In February 1990, State President F.W. de Klerk, who had come to
power in September 1989, announced the unbanning of the ANC, the
PAC, and all other anti-apartheid groups. Two weeks later, Nelson
Mandela was released from prison.
In 1991, the Group Areas Act, Land Acts, and the Population
Registration Act--the last of the so-called "pillars of
apartheid"--were abolished. A long series of negotiations ensued,
resulting in a new constitution promulgated into law in December
1993. The country's first nonracial elections were held on April
26-28, 1994, resulting in the installation of Nelson Mandela as
President on May 10, 1994.
Following the 1994 elections, South Africa was governed under an
interim constitution establishing a Government of National Unity
(GNU). This constitution required the Constitutional Assembly (CA)
to draft and approve a permanent constitution by May 9, 1996. After
review by the Constitutional Court and intensive negotiations within
the CA, the Constitutional Court certified a revised draft on
December 2, 1996. President Mandela signed the new constitution into
law on December 10, and it entered into force on February 3, 1997.
The GNU ostensibly remained in effect until the 1999 national
elections. The parties originally comprising the GNU--the ANC, the
NP, and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP)--shared executive power. On
June 30, 1996, the NP withdrew from the GNU to become part of the
opposition.
During Nelson Mandela's 5-year term as President of South Africa,
the government committed itself to reforming the country. The
ANC-led government focused on social issues that were neglected
during the apartheid era such as unemployment, housing shortages,
and crime. Mandela's administration began to reintroduce South
Africa into the global economy by implementing a market-driven
economic plan known as Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR).
In order to heal the wounds created by apartheid, the government
created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) under the
leadership of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. During the first term of the
ANC's post-apartheid rule, President Mandela concentrated on
national reconciliation, seeking to forge a single South African
identity and sense of purpose among a diverse and splintered
populace, riven by years of conflict. The diminution of political
violence after 1994 and its virtual disappearance by 1996 were
testament to the abilities of Mandela to achieve this difficult
goal.
Nelson Mandela stepped down as President of the ANC at the party's
national congress in December 1997, when Thabo Mbeki assumed the
mantle of leadership. Mbeki won the presidency of South Africa after
national elections in 1999, when the ANC won just shy of a
two-thirds majority in Parliament. President Mbeki shifted the focus
of government from reconciliation to transformation, particularly on
the economic front. With political transformation and the foundation
of a strong democratic system in place after two free and fair
national elections, the ANC recognized the need to focus on bringing
economic power to the black majority in South Africa. In April 2004,
the ANC won nearly 70% of the national vote, and Mbeki was reelected
for his second 5-year term. In his 2004 State of the Nation address,
Mbeki promised his government would reduce poverty, stimulate
economic growth, and fight crime. Mbeki said that the government
would play a more prominent role in economic development. Despite
the fact that he was prevented by term limits from running for a
third term as State President, Mbeki ran for a third term as ANC
chair in party elections in December 2007. He was defeated by Jacob
Zuma, an ANC stalwart with a populist following, a result that
signaled widespread dissatisfaction with Mbeki's remote governing
style, and his government's failure to adequately address poverty
and other development issues. On September 20, 2008, Mbeki was
"recalled" by the ANC and replaced by Kgalema Motlanthe as President
on September 25. Motlanthe will serve the remainder of Mbeki's terms
until national elections are held in April 2009. |
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