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Do not fill this in! ==History== {{Main|History of South Africa}} === Prehistoric archaeology === [[File:Maropeng_visitor_centre,_Cradle_of_Humankind,_South_Africa.jpg|thumb|Front of Maropeng at the [[Cradle of Humankind]]]] South Africa contains some of the oldest archaeological and [[List of human evolution fossils|human-fossil]] sites in the world.<ref>{{cite book|last= Wymer|first= John|author2= Singer, R|year= 1982|title= The Middle Stone Age at Klasies River Mouth in South Africa|location= Chicago|publisher= University of Chicago Press|isbn= 978-0-226-76103-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Guide to Klasies River|page= 11|year= 2001|url= http://academic.sun.ac.za/archaeology/KRguide2001.PDF|author= Deacon, HJ|publisher= Stellenbosch University|access-date= 5 September 2009|archive-date= 21 February 2011|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110221195519/http://academic.sun.ac.za/archaeology/KRguide2001.PDF|url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/915/|title=Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa|website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|access-date=26 December 2019|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204231517/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/915|url-status=live}}</ref> Archaeologists have recovered extensive fossil remains from a series of caves in [[Gauteng]] Province. The area, a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]], has been branded "the [[Cradle of Humankind]]". The sites include [[Sterkfontein]], one of the richest sites for [[hominin]] fossils in the world, as well as [[Swartkrans]], [[Gondolin Cave]], [[Kromdraai fossil site|Kromdraai]], [[Cooper's Cave]] and [[Malapa Fossil Site, Cradle of Humankind|Malapa]]. [[Raymond Dart]] identified the first hominin fossil discovered in Africa, the [[Taung Child]] (found near [[Taung]]) in 1924. Other hominin remains have come from the sites of [[Makapansgat]] in [[Limpopo]] Province; [[Cornelia, Free State|Cornelia]] and [[Florisbad]] in [[Free State (province)|Free State Province]]; [[Border Cave]] in [[KwaZulu-Natal]] Province; [[Klasies River Caves]] in [[Eastern Cape]] Province; and [[Pinnacle Point]], [[Saldanha man|Elandsfontein]] and Die Kelders Cave in [[Western Cape]] Province.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Marean |first1=Curtis W. |title=Pinnacle Point Cave 13B (Western Cape Province, South Africa) in context: The Cape Floral kingdom, shellfish, and modern human origins |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |date=September 2010 |volume=59 |issue=3–4 |pages=425–443 |doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.07.011 |pmid=20934095 }}</ref> These finds suggest that various hominid species existed in South Africa from about three million years ago, starting with ''[[Australopithecus africanus]],''<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1979/6/79.06.02.x.html|title= Hominid Evolution|publisher= Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute|first= Stephen P.|last= Broker|access-date= 19 June 2008|archive-date= 7 April 2008|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080407181350/http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1979/6/79.06.02.x.html|url-status= live}}</ref> followed by ''[[Australopithecus sediba]]'', ''[[Homo ergaster]]'', ''[[Homo erectus]]'', ''[[Homo rhodesiensis]]'', ''[[Homo helmei]]'', ''[[Homo naledi]]'' and modern [[human]]s (''Homo sapiens''). Modern humans have inhabited Southern Africa for at least 170,000 years. Various researchers have located [[Oldowan|pebble tools]] within the [[Vaal River]] valley.<ref name=Langer>{{cite book| title = An Encyclopedia of World History| editor-last = Langer| editor-first = William L.| edition = 5th| publisher = Houghton Mifflin Company| location = Boston| year = 1972| isbn = 978-0-395-13592-1| page = [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaworl00will/page/9 9]| url = https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaworl00will/page/9 }}</ref><ref> {{cite book | last1 = Leakey | first1 = Louis Seymour Bazett | author-link1 = Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey | chapter = Stone Age cultures of South Africa | title = Stone age Africa: an outline of prehistory in Africa | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=FsEiAAAAMAAJ | edition = reprint | publisher = Negro Universities Press | publication-date = 1936 | page = 79 | access-date = 21 February 2018 | quote = In 1929, during a brief visit to the Transvaal, I myself found a number of pebble tools in some of the terrace gravels of the Vaal River, and similar finds have been recorded by Wayland, who visited South Africa, and by van Riet Lowe and other South African prehistorians. | year = 1936 | isbn = 9780837120225 }} </ref> === Bantu expansion === {{Main|Bantu expansion}} [[File:MapungubweHill.jpg|thumb|[[Mapungubwe Hill]], the site of the former capital of the [[Kingdom of Mapungubwe]]]] Settlements of [[Bantu peoples of South Africa|Bantu-speaking peoples]], who were iron-using agriculturists and [[herder|herdsmen]], were present south of the [[Limpopo River]] (now the northern border with [[Botswana]] and [[Zimbabwe]]) by the 4th or 5th century CE. They displaced, conquered, and absorbed the original [[Khoisan]], [[Khoekhoe|Khoikhoi]] and [[San people|San]] peoples. The Bantu slowly moved south. The earliest [[ironworks]] in modern-day [[KwaZulu-Natal|KwaZulu-Natal Province]] are believed to date from around 1050. The southernmost group was the [[Xhosa people]], whose language incorporates certain linguistic traits from the earlier Khoisan people. The Xhosa reached the [[Great Fish River]], in today's Eastern Cape Province. As they migrated, these larger [[Iron Age]] populations displaced or assimilated earlier peoples. In [[Mpumalanga]] Province, several stone circles have been found along with a stone arrangement that has been named [[Blaauboschkraal stone ruins|Adam's Calendar]], and the ruins are thought to be created by the [[Bokoni|Bakone]], a [[Northern Sotho language|Northern Sotho]] people.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Alfred|first=Luke|title=The Bakoni: From prosperity to extinction in a generation|url=https://www.news24.com/citypress/news/the-bakoni-from-prosperity-to-extinction-in-a-generation-20180703|access-date=13 September 2020|website=Citypress|archive-date=20 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020040304/https://www.news24.com/citypress/news/the-bakoni-from-prosperity-to-extinction-in-a-generation-20180703|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Adam's Calendar in Waterval Boven, Mpumalanga|url=https://www.sa-venues.com/things-to-do/mpumalanga/adams-calendar/|access-date=13 September 2020|website=www.sa-venues.com|archive-date=17 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217065507/https://www.sa-venues.com/things-to-do/mpumalanga/adams-calendar/|url-status=live}}</ref> === Portuguese exploration === {{see also|Portuguese discoveries}} [[File:F. Benda-The planting of cross by Bartholomew Dias in 1488-0681 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Portuguese explorer [[Bartolomeu Dias]] planting the cross at [[Cape Point]] after being the first to successfully round the [[Cape of Good Hope]].]] In 1487, the Portuguese explorer [[Bartolomeu Dias]] led the first European voyage to land in southern Africa.<ref name="domville-25">{{cite book|last=Domville-Fife|first=C.W.|title=The encyclopedia of the British Empire the first encyclopedic record of the greatest empire in the history of the world ed|year=1900|publisher=Rankin|location=London|page=25|url=https://archive.org/stream/encyclopediaofbr01domvuoft#page/24/mode/2up}}</ref> On 4 December, he landed at Walfisch Bay (now known as [[Walvis Bay]] in present-day Namibia). This was south of the furthest point reached in 1485 by his predecessor, the Portuguese navigator [[Diogo Cão]] ([[Cape Cross]], north of the bay). Dias continued down the western coast of southern Africa. After 8 January 1488, prevented by storms from proceeding along the coast, he sailed out of sight of land and passed the southernmost point of Africa without seeing it. He reached as far up the eastern coast of Africa as, what he called, {{lang|pt|Rio do Infante}}, probably the present-day [[Groot River (Eastern Cape)|Groot River]], in May 1488. On his return he saw the cape, which he named {{lang|pt|Cabo das Tormentas}} ('Cape of Storms'). King [[John II of Portugal|John II]] renamed the point {{lang|pt|Cabo da Boa Esperança}}, or [[Cape of Good Hope]], as it led to the riches of the [[East Indies]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mackenzie|first1=W. Douglas|last2=Stead|first2=Alfred|title=South Africa: Its History, Heroes, and Wars|publisher=The Co-Operative Publishing Company|location=Chicago|year=1899}}</ref> Dias' feat of navigation was immortalised in [[Luís de Camões]]' 1572 epic poem ''[[Os Lusíadas]]''. === Dutch colonisation === {{Main|Dutch Cape Colony|Boer Republics}} [[File:Charles Bell - Jan van Riebeeck se aankoms aan die Kaap.jpg|thumb|[[Charles Davidson Bell]]'s 19th-century painting of [[Jan van Riebeeck]], who founded the first European settlement in South Africa, arrives in [[Table Bay]] in 1652]] By the early 17th century, Portugal's maritime power was starting to decline, and English and Dutch merchants competed to oust Portugal from its lucrative monopoly on the [[spice trade]].<ref name="Pakeman">{{cite book| last = Pakeman, SA| title = Nations of the Modern World: Ceylon|edition= 1964|pages= 18–19| publisher = Frederick A Praeger, Publishers}}</ref> Representatives of the British [[East India Company]] sporadically called at the cape in search of provisions as early as 1601 but later came to favour [[Ascension Island]] and [[Saint Helena]] as alternative ports of refuge.<ref name="Kaap">{{cite book|first1=Alexander|last1=Wilmot|author2=John Centlivres Chase|name-list-style=amp| title = History of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope: From Its Discovery to the Year 1819|edition= 2010|pages= 1–548| publisher = Claremont: David Philip (Pty) Ltd| isbn= 978-1-144-83015-9}}</ref> Dutch interest was aroused after 1647, when two employees of the [[Dutch East India Company]] were shipwrecked at the cape for several months. The sailors were able to survive by obtaining fresh water and meat from the natives.<ref name="Kaap" /> They also sowed vegetables in the fertile soil.<ref name="zastudy">{{cite book|last=Kaplan|first=Irving|title=Area Handbook for the Republic of South Africa|pages=46–771|url=http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED056947.pdf|access-date=30 May 2015|archive-date=28 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150428004403/http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED056947.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Upon their return to Holland, they reported favourably on the cape's potential as a "warehouse and garden" for provisions to stock passing ships for long voyages.<ref name="Kaap" /> In 1652, a century and a half after the discovery of the cape sea route, [[Jan van Riebeeck]] established a {{Wikt-lang|en|victual|victualling}} station at the Cape of Good Hope, at what would become [[Cape Town]], on behalf of the Dutch East India Company.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://courses.wcupa.edu/jones/his311/timeline/t-19saf.htm|title=African History Timeline|publisher=West Chester University of Pennsylvania|access-date=16 June 2008|archive-date=7 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107070748/http://courses.wcupa.edu/jones/his311/timeline/t-19saf.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Hunt1>{{cite book|last=Hunt|first=John|editor-last=Campbell|editor-first=Heather-Ann|title=Dutch South Africa: Early Settlers at the Cape, 1652–1708|date=2005|pages=13–35|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|location=Philadelphia|isbn=978-1-904744-95-5}}</ref> In time, the cape became home to a large population of {{lang|nl|vrijlieden}}, also known as {{lang|nl|vrijburgers}} ({{lit.|free citizens}}), former company employees who stayed in Dutch territories overseas after serving their contracts.<ref name=Hunt1 /> Dutch traders also brought thousands of [[slavery|enslaved people]] to the fledgling colony from [[Indonesia]], [[Madagascar]], and parts of eastern Africa.<ref name="Worden">{{cite book| last = Worden| first = Nigel| title = Slavery in Dutch South Africa|edition= 2010|pages= 40–43| publisher = Cambridge University Press| isbn = 978-0-521-15266-2| date = 5 August 2010}}</ref> Some of the earliest mixed race communities in the country were formed between {{lang|nl|vrijburgers}}, enslaved people, and indigenous peoples.<ref name="zimstudy">{{cite book|last=Nelson|first=Harold|title=Zimbabwe: A Country Study|pages=237–317}}</ref> This led to the development of a new ethnic group, the [[Cape Coloureds]], most of whom adopted the Dutch language and Christian faith.<ref name="zimstudy" /> The eastward expansion of Dutch colonists ushered in a series of wars with the southwesterly migrating Xhosa tribe, known as the [[Xhosa Wars]], as both sides competed for the pastureland near the Great Fish River, which the colonists desired for grazing cattle.<ref name=Stapleton2>{{cite book|last=Stapleton|first=Timothy|title=A Military History of South Africa: From the Dutch-Khoi Wars to the End of Apartheid|date=2010|pages=4–6|publisher=Praeger Security International|location=Santa Barbara|isbn=978-0-313-36589-8}}</ref> ''Vrijburgers'' who became independent farmers on the frontier were known as ''[[Boers]]'', with some adopting semi-nomadic lifestyles being denoted as {{lang|nl|[[trekboers]]}}.<ref name=Stapleton2 /> The Boers formed loose [[militia]]s, which they termed ''commandos'', and forged alliances with Khoisan peoples to repel Xhosa raids.<ref name=Stapleton2 /> Both sides launched bloody but inconclusive offensives, and sporadic violence, often accompanied by livestock theft, remained common for several decades.<ref name=Stapleton2 /> ===British colonisation and the Great Trek=== {{Main|Invasion of the Cape Colony|Cape Colony|Great Trek|British Bechuanaland|Colony of Natal}} Great Britain occupied Cape Town between 1795 and 1803 to prevent it from falling under the control of the [[French First Republic]], which had invaded the [[Low Countries]].<ref name=Stapleton2 /> After briefly returning to Dutch rule under the [[Batavian Republic]] in 1803, the cape was occupied again by the British in 1806.<ref name="Keegan">{{cite book| last = Keegan| first = Timothy| title = Colonial South Africa and the Origins of the Racial Order| year = 1996| url = https://archive.org/details/colonialsouthafr0000keeg| url-access = registration|edition= 1996|pages= [https://archive.org/details/colonialsouthafr0000keeg/page/85 85–86]| publisher = David Philip Publishers (Pty) Ltd| isbn = 978-0-8139-1735-1}}</ref> Following the end of the [[Napoleonic Wars]], it was formally ceded to Great Britain and became an integral part of the [[British Empire]].<ref name=Lloyd1>{{cite book|last=Lloyd|first=Trevor Owen|title=The British Empire, 1558–1995|date=1997|pages=201–203|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-873133-7}}</ref> British emigration to South Africa began around 1818, subsequently culminating in the arrival of the [[1820 Settlers]].<ref name=Lloyd1 /> The new colonists were induced to settle for a variety of reasons, namely to increase the size of the European workforce and to bolster frontier regions against Xhosa incursions.<ref name=Lloyd1 /> [[File:Charles Bell - Zoeloe-aanval op 'n Boerelaer - 1838.jpg|thumb|Depiction of a [[Weenen massacre|Zulu attack]] on a Boer camp in February 1838]] In the first two decades of the 19th century, the Zulu people grew in power and expanded their territory under their leader, [[Shaka]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historynet.com/wars_conflicts/19_century/3032216.html?page=4&c=y|title=Shaka: Zulu Chieftain|publisher=Historynet.com|access-date=30 October 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209113856/http://www.historynet.com/wars_conflicts/19_century/3032216.html?page=4&c=y|archive-date= 9 February 2008 }}</ref> Shaka's warfare indirectly led to the {{lang|zu|[[Mfecane]]}} ('crushing'), in which one to two million people were killed and the inland plateau was devastated and depopulated in the early 1820s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/537814/Shaka/537814rellinks/Related-Links|title=Shaka (Zulu chief)|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=30 October 2011|archive-date=11 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111043550/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/537814/Shaka/537814rellinks/Related-Links|url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=W. D. Rubinstein|title=Genocide: A History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nMMAk4VwLLwC&pg=PA22|access-date=26 June 2013|year=2004|publisher=Pearson Longman|isbn=978-0-582-50601-5|page=22|archive-date=8 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808075142/http://books.google.com/books?id=nMMAk4VwLLwC&pg=PA22|url-status=live}}</ref> An offshoot of the Zulu, the [[Northern Ndebele people|Matabele]] people created a larger empire that included large parts of the [[highveld]] under their king [[Mzilikazi]]. During the early 19th century, many Dutch settlers departed from the [[Cape Colony]], where they had been subjected to British control, in a series of migrant groups who came to be known as {{lang|nl|[[Voortrekkers]]}}, meaning "pathfinders" or "pioneers". They migrated to the future [[Natal (province)|Natal]], Free State, and [[Transvaal (province)|Transvaal]] regions. The Boers founded the [[Boer republics]]: the [[South African Republic]], the [[Natalia Republic]], and the [[Orange Free State]].<ref>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle= Orange Free State |volume=20 |last1= Hillier |first1= Alfred Peter |author-link1= Alfred Hillier |last2= Cana |first2= Frank Richardson |author-link2= |pages=151-160 |short=1}}</ref> The discovery of diamonds in 1867 and gold in 1884 in the interior started the [[Mineral Revolution]] and increased economic growth and immigration. This intensified British subjugation of the indigenous people. The struggle to control these important economic resources was a factor in relations between Europeans and the indigenous population and also between the Boers and the British.<ref>{{cite book|author=Williams, Garner F|title=The Diamond Mines of South Africa, Vol II|year=1905|publisher=B. F Buck & Co.|location=New York|pages=Chapter XX|url=http://www.farlang.com/diamonds/williams_diamond_mines_2/page_285|access-date=27 November 2008|archive-date=31 July 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120731083954/http://www.farlang.com/diamonds/williams_diamond_mines_2/page_285|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[File:Cape Colony map 1876 - Eve of Confederation Wars.jpg|thumb|right|1876 map of South Africa]] On 16 May 1876, President [[Thomas François Burgers]] of the South African Republic declared war against the [[Pedi people]]. King [[Sekhukhune]] managed to defeat the army on 1 August 1876. Another attack by the Lydenburg Volunteer Corps was also repulsed. On 16 February 1877, the two parties signed a peace treaty at [[Botshabelo, Mpumalanga|Botshabelo]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=South African Military History Society – Journal- THE SEKUKUNI WARS|url=http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol025hk.html|access-date=15 August 2020|website=samilitaryhistory.org|archive-date=23 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200723053419/http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol025hk.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Boers' inability to subdue the Pedi led to the departure of Burgers in favour of [[Paul Kruger]] and the British annexation of the South African Republic. In 1878 and 1879 three British attacks were successfully repelled until [[Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley|Garnet Wolseley]] defeated Sekhukhune in November 1879 with an army of 2,000 British soldiers, Boers and 10,000 Swazis. The [[Anglo-Zulu War]] was fought in 1879 between the British and the [[Zulu Kingdom]]. Following [[Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon|Lord Carnarvon]]'s successful introduction of [[Canadian Confederation|federation in Canada]], it was thought that similar political effort, coupled with military campaigns, might succeed with the African kingdoms, tribal areas and Boer republics in South Africa. In 1874, [[Henry Bartle Frere]] was sent to South Africa as the British [[High Commissioner for Southern Africa|High Commissioner]] to bring such plans into being. Among the obstacles were the presence of the independent states of the Boers, and the Zululand army. The Zulu nation defeated the British at the [[Battle of Isandlwana]]. Eventually Zululand lost the war, resulting in the termination of the Zulu nation's independence.<ref>{{cite book | last = Knight | first = Ian | title = Zulu Rising: The Epic Story of Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s2mbl5xPOcUC&q=Zulu+Victory:+The+Epic+of+Isandlwana+and+the+cover-up | isbn = 9781447202233 | publisher = Pan Macmillan | date = 6 May 2011}}</ref> ===Boer Wars=== {{main|Boer Wars|First Boer War|Second Boer War}} [[File:Battle of Majuba Hill.jpg|thumb|The [[Battle of Majuba Hill]] was the last decisive battle during the [[First Boer War]], and saw the British defeated by the Boers after 2 hours of fighting.]] [[File:Boercamp1.jpg|thumb|Boer women and children in a [[Second Boer War concentration camps|British concentration camp]] during the [[Second Boer War]].]] The Boer republics successfully resisted British encroachments during the [[First Boer War]] (1880–1881) using [[guerrilla warfare]] tactics, which were well-suited to local conditions. The British returned with greater numbers, more experience, and new strategy in the [[Second Boer War]] (1899–1902) and, although they suffered heavy casualties through [[Attrition warfare|attrition]], they were ultimately successful. Over 27,000 Boer women and children died in the [[Second Boer War concentration camps|British concentration camps]].<ref>{{cite news|title=5 of the worst atrocities carried out by the British Empire|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/worst-atrocities-british-empire-amritsar-boer-war-concentration-camp-mau-mau-a6821756.html|work=The Independent|date=19 January 2016|access-date=22 September 2019|archive-date=27 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190927142647/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/worst-atrocities-british-empire-amritsar-boer-war-concentration-camp-mau-mau-a6821756.html|url-status=live }}</ref> South Africa's urban population grew rapidly from the end of the 19th century onward. After the devastation of the wars, Dutch-descendant Boer farmers fled into cities from the devastated [[Transvaal Colony|Transvaal]] and Orange Free State territories to become the class of the white urban poor.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Ogura|first=Mitsuo|date=1996|title=Urbanization and Apartheid in South Africa: Influx Controls and Their Abolition|journal=The Developing Economies|language=en|volume=34|issue=4|pages=402–423|doi=10.1111/j.1746-1049.1996.tb01178.x|pmid=12292280|issn=1746-1049|doi-access=free}}</ref> === Independence === {{See also|Union of South Africa|Military history of South Africa during World War I|Military history of South Africa during World War II}} Anti-British policies among white South Africans focused on independence. During the Dutch and British colonial years, [[racial segregation]] was mostly informal, though some legislation was enacted to control the settlement and movement of indigenous people, including the [[Native Location Act of 1879]] and the system of [[pass laws]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Bond|first=Patrick|title=Cities of gold, townships of coal: essays on South Africa's new urban crisis|publisher=Africa World Press|year=1999|page=140|isbn=978-0-86543-611-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite report|year=1906|title=Report of the Select Committee on Location Act|publisher=Cape Times Limited|url=https://archive.org/details/reportoftheselec00capeiala|access-date=30 July 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite report|last1=Godley |first1=Godfrey |first2=Welsh|last2=Archibald|last3=Thomson |first3=William |last4=Hemsworth |first4=H. D.|year=1920|title=Report of the Inter-departmental committee on the native pass laws|url=https://archive.org/stream/reportofinterdep00sout#page/2/mode/1up|publisher=Cape Times Limited|page=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite report|institution=Great Britain Colonial Office; Transvaal (Colony). Governor (1901–1905: Milner)|date=January 1902|title=Papers relating to legislation affecting natives in the Transvaal|url=https://archive.org/details/transvaalpapersr00grea}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=De Villiers|first=John Abraham Jacob|title=The Transvaal |publisher=Chatto & Windus|location=London|year=1896|pages=[https://archive.org/details/transvaal00devi/page/30 30] (n46)|url=https://archive.org/details/transvaal00devi|access-date=30 July 2009}}</ref> Eight years after the end of the Second Boer War and after four years of negotiation, the [[South Africa Act 1909]] granted nominal independence while creating the [[Union of South Africa]] on 31 May 1910. The union was a [[dominion]] that included the former territories of the Cape, Transvaal and Natal colonies, as well as the Orange Free State republic.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|first=Frank Richardson|last=Cana|wstitle=South Africa|volume=25|page=467}}</ref> The [[Natives Land Act, 1913|Natives' Land Act]] of 1913 severely restricted the ownership of land by blacks; at that stage they controlled only 7% of the country. The amount of land reserved for indigenous peoples was later marginally increased.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/chronology/thisday/1913-06-19.htm|title=Native Land Act|publisher=South African Institute of Race Relations|date=19 June 1913|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101014095049/http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/chronology/thisday/1913-06-19.htm|archive-date=14 October 2010 }}</ref> In 1931, the union became fully sovereign from the United Kingdom with the passage of the [[Statute of Westminster 1931|Statute of Westminster]], which abolished the last powers of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] to legislate in the country. Only three other African countries—Liberia, Ethiopia, and Egypt—had been independent prior to that point. In 1934, the [[South African Party]] and [[National Party (South Africa)|National Party]] merged to form the [[United Party (South Africa)|United Party]], seeking reconciliation between Afrikaners and English-speaking whites. In 1939, the party split over the entry of the union into World War II, as an ally of the United Kingdom, a move which National Party followers opposed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/national-party-np|title=National Party (NP) | South African History Online|website=www.sahistory.org.za}}</ref> === Apartheid era === {{Main|Apartheid}} {{Further|Disinvestment from South Africa}} [[File:ApartheidSignEnglishAfrikaans.jpg|thumb|"For use by white persons" – apartheid sign in English and Afrikaans]] In 1948, the National Party was elected to power. It strengthened the racial segregation begun under Dutch and British colonial rule. Taking Canada's [[Indian Act]] as a framework,<ref>Gloria Galloway, [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/chiefs-reflect-on-apartheid-and-first-nations-as-atleo-visits-mandela-memorial/article15902124/ "Chiefs Reflect on Apartheid"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502050752/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/chiefs-reflect-on-apartheid-and-first-nations-as-atleo-visits-mandela-memorial/article15902124/|date=2 May 2019 }}, ''The Globe and Mail'', 11 December 2013</ref> the [[Nationalism|nationalist]] government classified all peoples into three races (''Whites, Blacks, Indians and Coloured people (people of mixed race)'') and developed rights and limitations for each. The white minority (less than 20%)<ref>Beinart, William (2001). ''Twentieth-century South Africa.'' Oxford University Press. p. 202. {{ISBN|978-0-19-289318-5}}.</ref> controlled the vastly larger black majority. The legally institutionalised segregation became known as ''[[apartheid]]''. While whites enjoyed the highest [[standard of living]] in all of Africa, comparable to [[First World]] Western nations, the black majority remained disadvantaged by almost every standard, including income, education, housing, and life expectancy.<ref>{{Cite web|title=apartheid {{!}} South Africa, Definition, Facts, Beginning, & End |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/apartheid|access-date=2022-05-15|website=Britannica|language=en}}</ref> The [[Freedom Charter]], adopted in 1955 by the [[Congress Alliance]], demanded a non-racial society and an end to discrimination. On 31 May 1961, the country became a republic following [[1960 South African republic referendum|a referendum]] (only open to white voters) which narrowly passed;<ref>{{cite web|title=Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd|url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/hendrik-frensch-verwoerd|publisher=South African History Online|quote=On 5 October 1960 a referendum was held in which White voters were asked: "Do you support a republic for the Union?" – 52 percent voted 'Yes'.|access-date=9 March 2013|archive-date=29 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171129002322/http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/hendrik-frensch-verwoerd|url-status=live}}</ref> the British-dominated Natal province largely voted against the proposal. [[Elizabeth II]] lost the title [[Monarchy of South Africa|Queen of South Africa]], and the last [[Governor-General of South Africa|Governor-General]], [[C. R. Swart|Charles Robberts Swart]], became [[State President of South Africa|state president]]. As a concession to the [[Westminster system]], the appointment of the president remained an appointment by parliament and was virtually powerless until [[P. W. Botha]]'s [[South African Constitution of 1983|Constitution Act of 1983]], which eliminated the office of [[Prime Minister of South Africa|prime minister]] and instated a unique "strong presidency" [[Parliamentary system|responsible to parliament]]. Pressured by other [[Commonwealth of Nations]] countries, South Africa withdrew from the organisation in 1961 and rejoined it in 1994. Despite [[Internal resistance to apartheid|opposition to apartheid]] both within and outside the country, the government legislated for a continuation of apartheid. The security forces cracked down on internal dissent, and violence became widespread, with anti-apartheid organisations such as the [[African National Congress]] (ANC), the [[Azanian People's Organisation]], and the [[Pan Africanist Congress of Azania|Pan-Africanist Congress]] carrying out guerrilla warfare<ref name="Biko1">{{cite book|last1=Gibson|first1=Nigel|last2=Alexander|first2=Amanda|last3=Mngxitama|first3=Andile|title=Biko Lives! Contesting the Legacies of Steve Biko|date=2008|page=138|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|location=Hampshire|isbn=978-0-230-60649-4}}</ref> and urban sabotage.<ref name="Switzer">{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bUvA7PHnCrUC&q=breytenbach+dakar&pg=PA415| title=South Africa's Resistance Press: Alternative Voices in the Last Generation Under Apartheid. Issue 74 of Research in international studies: Africa series| publisher=Ohio University Press| author=Switzer, Les| year=2000| page=2| isbn=978-0-89680-213-1| access-date=19 October 2020| archive-date=11 December 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211144708/https://books.google.com/books?id=bUvA7PHnCrUC&q=breytenbach+dakar&pg=PA415| url-status=live }}</ref> The three rival resistance movements also engaged in occasional inter-factional clashes as they jockeyed for domestic influence.<ref name="Mitchell">{{cite book|last1=Mitchell|first1=Thomas|title=Native vs Settler: Ethnic Conflict in Israel/Palestine, Northern Ireland and South Africa|date=2008|pages=194–196|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|location=Westport|isbn=978-0-313-31357-8}}</ref> Apartheid became increasingly controversial, and several countries began to boycott business with the South African government because of its racial policies. These measures were later extended to international sanctions and the [[Disinvestment from South Africa|divestment of holdings]] by foreign investors.<ref name="Bridgland">{{cite book|first=Fred|last=Bridgland|title=The War for Africa: Twelve months that transformed a continent|year=1990|publisher=Ashanti Publishing|location=Gibraltar|page=32|isbn=978-1-874800-12-5}}</ref><ref name="Landgren">{{cite book| first = Signe| last = Landgren| title = Embargo Disimplemented: South Africa's Military Industry| edition = 1989| pages = [https://archive.org/details/embargodisimplem0000land/page/6 6–10]| publisher = Oxford University Press| isbn = 978-0-19-829127-5| year = 1989| url = https://archive.org/details/embargodisimplem0000land/page/6}}</ref> === Post-apartheid === {{Further|History of South Africa (1994–present)}} [[File:Frederik de Klerk with Nelson Mandela - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos 1992.jpg|thumb|[[F. W. de Klerk|F.W. de Klerk]] and [[Nelson Mandela]] shake hands in January 1992]] The [[Mahlabatini Declaration of Faith]], signed by [[Mangosuthu Buthelezi]] and [[Harry Schwarz]] in 1974, enshrined the principles of [[peaceful transition of power]] and equality for all, the first of such agreements by black and white political leaders in South Africa. Ultimately, [[F. W. de Klerk|F.W. de Klerk]] opened bilateral discussions with [[Nelson Mandela]] in 1993 for a transition of policies and government. In 1990, the National Party government took the first step towards dismantling discrimination when it lifted the ban on the ANC and other political organisations. It released Nelson Mandela from prison after 27 years of serving a sentence for sabotage. A [[Negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa|negotiation process]] followed. With approval from the white electorate in a [[1992 South African apartheid referendum|1992 referendum]], the government continued negotiations to end apartheid. South Africa held its first universal [[1994 South African general election|elections in 1994]], which the ANC won by an overwhelming majority. It has been in power ever since. The country rejoined the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] and became a member of the [[Southern African Development Community]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sadc.int/member-states/south-africa#:~:text=The+Republic+of+South+Africa,first+time+in+August+1994|title=South Africa | SADC|website=www.sadc.int}}</ref> In post-apartheid South Africa, unemployment remained high. While many blacks have risen to middle or upper classes, the overall unemployment rate of black people worsened between 1994 and 2003 by official metrics but declined significantly using expanded definitions.<ref name="sach3">{{cite web|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/nft/2006/soafrica/eng/pasoafr/sach3.pdf|title=Post-Apartheid South Africa: the First Ten Years – Unemployment and the Labor Market|publisher=IMF|access-date=16 February 2013|archive-date=29 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729103119/http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/nft/2006/soafrica/eng/pasoafr/sach3.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Poverty among whites, which was previously rare, increased.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-04-18-zuma-surprised-at-level-of-white-poverty|title=Zuma surprised at level of white poverty|website=Mail & Guardian|date=18 April 2008|access-date=30 May 2010|archive-date=29 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729140129/http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-04-18-zuma-surprised-at-level-of-white-poverty|url-status=live }}</ref> The government struggled to achieve the monetary and fiscal discipline to ensure both redistribution of wealth and economic growth. The United Nations [[Human Development Index]] rose steadily until the mid-1990s<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hdrstats.undp.org/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_ZAF.html|title=South Africa|year=2006|publisher=United Nations Development Programme|website=Human Development Report|access-date=28 November 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071129203325/http://hdrstats.undp.org/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_ZAF.html|archive-date=29 November 2007 }}</ref> then fell from 1995 to 2005 before recovering its 1995 peak in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/2015_human_development_report.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222080742/http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/2015_human_development_report.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 December 2015|title=2015 United Nations Human Development Report|access-date=5 August 2018}}</ref> The fall is in large part attributable to the [[HIV/AIDS in South Africa|South African HIV/AIDS pandemic]] which saw South African life expectancy fall from a high point of 62 years in 1992 to a low of 53 in 2005,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN?locations=ZA|title=South African Life Expectancy at Birth, World Bank|access-date=5 August 2018|archive-date=6 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806024743/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN?locations=ZA|url-status=live}}</ref> and the failure of the government to take steps to address the pandemic in its early years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sairr.org.za/wsc/pstory.htx?storyID=428|title=Ridicule succeeds where leadership failed on AIDS|publisher=South African Institute of Race Relations|date=10 November 2006}}{{dead link|date=May 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> [[File:Watching South Africa & France match at World Cup 2010-06-22 in Soweto 13.jpg|thumb|Supporters watching the [[2010 FIFA World Cup]] with [[vuvuzela]]s in the [[Township (South Africa)|township]] of [[Soweto]], a [[Suburbs of Johannesburg|suburb of Johannesburg]]]] [[File:People's March Anti Xenophobia.jpg|thumb|March in [[Johannesburg]] against [[xenophobia in South Africa]], 23 April 2015]] In May 2008, riots left over 60 people dead.<ref name="Broke-on-Broke Violence">{{cite journal|url=http://www.slate.com/id/2193949/|title=Broke-on-Broke Violence|journal=Slate |date=20 June 2008 |access-date=6 July 2011|archive-date=8 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110908002524/http://www.slate.com/id/2193949/|url-status=live|last1=Chance |first1=Kerry }}</ref> The [[Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions]] estimated that over 100,000 people were driven from their homes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abahlali.org/node/3612|title=COHRE statement on Xenophobic Attacks|date=2 June 2008 |access-date=6 July 2011|archive-date=18 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118140918/http://www.abahlali.org/node/3612|url-status=live}}</ref> The targets were mainly [[Immigration to South Africa|legal]] and [[Illegal immigration to South Africa|illegal migrants]], and refugees seeking asylum, but a third of the victims were South African citizens.<ref name="Broke-on-Broke Violence" /> In a 2006 survey, the South African Migration Project concluded that South Africans are more opposed to immigration than any other national group.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Southern African Migration Project|author2=Institute for Democracy in South Africa|author3=Queen's University|editor=Jonathan Crush|title=The perfect storm: the realities of xenophobia in contemporary South Africa|url=http://www.queensu.ca/samp/sampresources/samppublications/policyseries/Acrobat50.pdf|access-date=26 June 2013|year=2008|publisher=Idasa|isbn=978-1-920118-71-6|page=1|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730044247/http://www.queensu.ca/samp/sampresources/samppublications/policyseries/Acrobat50.pdf|archive-date=30 July 2013 }}</ref> The [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|UN High Commissioner for Refugees]] in 2008 reported over 200,000 refugees applied for asylum in South Africa, almost four times as many as the year before.<ref name="unhcr.org">{{cite web|author=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|url=http://www.unhcr.org/4cd96a569.html|title=UNHCR Global Appeal 2011 – South Africa|publisher=UNHCR|access-date=30 October 2011|archive-date=11 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511000002/http://www.unhcr.org/4cd96a569.html|url-status=live }}</ref> These people were mainly from [[Zimbabwe]], though many also come from [[Burundi]], [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], [[Rwanda]], [[Eritrea]], [[Ethiopia]] and [[Somalia]].<ref name="unhcr.org" /> Competition over jobs, business opportunities, public services and housing has led to tension between refugees and host communities.<ref name="unhcr.org" /> While [[xenophobia in South Africa]] is still a problem, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 2011 reported that recent violence had not been as widespread as initially feared.<ref name="unhcr.org" /> Nevertheless, as South Africa continues to grapple with racial issues, one of the proposed solutions has been to pass legislation, such as the pending [[Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill|Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill]], to uphold South Africa's ban on racism and commitment to equality.<ref>Harris, Bronwyn (2004). ''Arranging prejudice: Exploring hate crime in post-apartheid South Africa''. Cape Town.</ref><ref>Traum, Alexander (2014). "Contextualising the hate speech debate: the United States and South Africa". ''The Comparative and International Law Journal of Southern Africa''. '''47''' (1): 64–88.</ref> By 2020, numerous warnings have been issued that South Africa is heading towards [[failed state]] status <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/9/10/south-africa-heading-towards-becoming-a-failed-state-report|title=South Africa heading towards becoming a failed state: Report|website=Aljazeera |last=Sguazzin |first=Anthony|date=10 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-10/south-africa-heading-toward-becoming-a-failed-state-group-says|title=South Africa Heading Toward Becoming a Failed State, Group Says|newspaper=Bloomberg |last=Sguazzin |first=Anthony |date=10 September 2020 |url-access=registration}}</ref> with unsustainable government spending, high unemployment, high crime rates, corruption, failing government owned enterprises and collapsing infrastructure.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/642791/south-africa-is-slowly-collapsing/ |title=South Africa is slowly collapsing |work=BusinessTech |date=14 November 2022 |access-date=30 December 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/23/crime-worrying-in-south-africa-7000-murdered-in-three-months|title=Crime 'worrying' in South Africa: 7,000 murdered in three months|website=Aljazeera |date=23 November 2022}}</ref> In 2022, the World Economic Forum said that South Africa risks state collapse and identified five major risks facing the country.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/breaking-is-south-africa-military-coup-state-collapse-threats/|title=South Africa 'at risk of STATE COLLAPSE' – according to top experts|first=Tom|last=Head|date=12 January 2022|website=The South African}}</ref> The Director-General of the South African Treasury, Dondo Mogajane, has said that, "SA is showing the signs of a failing state more common in countries like Sierra Leone and Liberia".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/breaking-south-africa-failed-state-treasury-warning/|title=SA heading towards 'failed state' territory – according to our own Treasury|first=Tom|last=Head|date=6 March 2022|website=The South African}}</ref> Former minister Jay Naidoo has said that South Africa is in serious trouble and is showing signs of a failed state, with record unemployment levels and the fact that many young people will not find a job in their lifetime.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mybroadband.co.za/news/investing/464455-south-africa-showing-signs-of-a-failed-state.html |title=South Africa showing signs of a failed state |work=My Broadband |date=13 October 2022 |access-date=30 December 2022}}</ref> Efficient Group chief economist Dawie Roodt said the country is in deep trouble, "South Africans have been getting poorer for a decade". He said he is very concerned because "32 million people get an income from the state. The state cannot afford this anymore".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mybroadband.co.za/news/investing/461398-south-africa-is-in-deep-trouble-warns-economist.html |title=South Africa is in deep trouble, warns economist |work=My Broadband |date=21 September 2022 |access-date=30 December 2022}}</ref> Neal Froneman, CEO of Sibanye-Stillwater, said that crime is out of control, with 'mafia-style shakedowns' for procurement contracts becoming the norm. "Government leadership has created this problem and they are doing nothing. The government can't deal with it because it goes against their ideology."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://businesstech.co.za/news/business-opinion/565926/south-africa-is-practically-a-failed-state-ceo/ |title=South Africa is practically a failed state: CEO |work=BusinessTech |date=8 March 2022 |access-date=30 December 2022}}</ref> Professor Eddy Maloka, from the Institute of Risk Management, "The ANC has left us in a mess. They've turned their crisis into ours... Government has collapsed in areas across the country. We are seeing inner-cities collapse and degenerate".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/breaking-south-africa-failing-state-why-expert-explains/|title='Our cities are collapsing!' – SA identified as 'failing state' by top expert|first=Tom|last=Head|date=11 April 2022|website=The South African}}</ref> Professor David Himbara said that "South Africa is a classic case of a de facto one-party state with mismanaged institutions and endemic crime and corruption".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theafricareport.com/35378/south-africa-a-sophisticated-failing-state/|title=South Africa: A sophisticated failing state|date=29 July 2020|website=The Africa Report.com}}</ref> In May 2023, the Executive Chairman of Sygnia, Magda Wierzycka, said that "warnings of South Africa becoming a failed state are lagging reality – we are already there".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://businesstech.co.za/news/business-opinion/684085/south-africa-is-already-a-failed-state/|title=South Africa is already a failed state – BusinessTech}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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