South Africa – from the Cradle of Humankind to democracy in 1994
South Africa is one of the places where the story of humankind began: fossils in the area known as the Cradle of Humankind bear witness to early human ancestors. For thousands of years San hunter-gatherers and Khoekhoe herders lived in the region, and from the first millennium AD Bantu-speaking farmers settled much of the east and north.
In 1652 the Dutch East India Company founded a supply station at the Cape, from which a colony grew, partly built on slave labour. Britain took control of the Cape in the early 19th century and abolished slavery in the 1830s. Many Boers moved inland in the Great Trek and founded their own republics, while African kingdoms such as that of the Zulu resisted colonial expansion. The discovery of diamonds and gold transformed the region, and the South African War of 1899–1902 ended with British victory. In 1910 the Union of South Africa was formed, with political rights reserved largely for white citizens.
From 1948 the government imposed apartheid, a system of legal racial segregation and oppression. Resistance grew, led by the ANC and many others; events such as the Sharpeville massacre in 1960 and the Soweto uprising in 1976 became symbols of the struggle. After Nelson Mandela's release in 1990 and negotiations, the first democratic elections in 1994 made him president, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission addressed the injustices of the past.
Today South Africa, the "Rainbow Nation", is shaped by its diversity, its many languages and the ongoing effort to overcome inequality.
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