South Africa has the largest population of people of European descent in Africa, one of the largest Indian population outside of Asia, as well as the largest Coloured (of mixed European, Asian and African descent) community in Africa, making it one of the most ethnically diverse countries on the continent. Racial and ethnic strife between the black majority and the white minority have played a large part in the country's history and politics. The National Party began introducing the policy of apartheid after winning the general election of 1948; however, it was the same party under the leadership of F.W. de Klerk who started to dismantle it in 1990 after a long struggle by the black majority, as well as many white, coloured and Indian South Africans.
The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a coup d'état, and regular free and fair elections have been held since 1994, making it a regional power and among the most stable and liberal democracies in Africa.
South Africa is ranked as an upper-middle income economy by the World Bank. It has the second largest economy in Africa after Nigeria, and the 34th-largest in the world. By purchasing power parity, South Africa has the 7th highest per capita income in Africa. Although being the second largest economy, South Africa has the most sophisticated economy in the continent, with modern infrastructure common throughout the country. The country is considered to be a newly industrialized country according to the World Bank classifications.
The Lint voor Wonden (Wound Riband, also Lint voor Verwonding) is a South African military campaign award. It was instituted on 21 December 1920 as a retrospective award for Boer veteran officers and men of the 1899–1902 Second Boer War who had been wounded in action. (Full article...)
A family, or mob, of meerkats (Suricata suricatta) in the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa. Meerkats, members of the mongoose family, are primarily insectivores, though they may eat other small animals or plants. They are social animals that live in groups of twenty or more. Meerkat family dynamics were featured in the series Meerkat Manor, first aired in 2005.
...that in 1488 Bartolomeu_Dias was the First European to sail around the southernmost tip of Africa and originally named the Cape of Good Hope the "Cape of Storms"
...that in 1647, a Dutch vessel, the Haarlem, was wrecked in the present-day Table Bay. After being rescued, the marooned crew recommended that a permanent station be established in the bay.
...that Jan van Riebeek arrived at Table Bay with three ships (Dromedaris; Reijger and Goede Hoop) on April 6, 1652 and fortified the site as a way-station for the VOC trade route between the Netherlands and the East Indies.
This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.
A painting of Elphinstone during the battle
The invasion of the Cape Colony, also known as the Battle of Muizenberg (Dutch: Slag om Muizenberg), was a British military expedition launched in 1795 against the Dutch Cape Colony at the Cape of Good Hope. The Dutch colony at the Cape, established and controlled by the United East India Company in the seventeenth century, was at the time the only viable South African port for ships making the journey from Europe to the European colonies in the East Indies. It therefore held vital strategic importance, although it was otherwise economically insignificant. In the winter of 1794, during the French Revolutionary Wars, French troops entered the Dutch Republic, which was reformed into the Batavian Republic.
In response, Great Britain launched operations against the Dutch Empire to use its facilities against the French Navy. The British expedition was led by Vice-Admiral Sir George Elphinstone and sailed in April 1795, arriving off Simon's Town at the Cape in June. Attempts were made to negotiate a settlement with the colony, but talks achieved nothing and an amphibious landing was made on 7 August. A short battle was fought at Muizenberg, and skirmishing between British and Dutch forces continued until September when a larger military force landed. With Cape Town under threat, Dutch governor, Abraham Josias Sluysken, surrendered the colony. (Full article...)
Zille is a former journalist and anti-apartheidactivist, and was one of the journalists who exposed the truth behind the death of Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko while working for the Rand Daily Mail in the late 1970s. She also worked with the Black Sash and other pro-democracy groups during the 1980s. In the political arena, Zille has worked in all three tiers of government – as the Western Cape province's education MEC (1999–2004), as a Member of Parliament (2004–2006), as Mayor of Cape Town (2006–2009), and as Premier of the Western Cape (2009–present).
Zille's work as mayor, and in particular her successes in tackling crime, drug abuse and unemployment in Cape Town, led to her selection as World Mayor of the Year in 2008 - from a field of 820 candidates. She was also chosen as Newsmaker of the year 2006 by the National Press Club in July 2007, and is a former finalist in the South African Woman of the Year Award. Zille speaks English, Afrikaans, and Xhosa as well as German, the language of her parents.
It is important that in the process of change, existing institutions of value and means of production are not destroyed. The fabric of society, however critical one may be of its present structures, should be adopted and modified where required, but not destroyed.
Taken on the 6th December 2013, the day after Nelson Mandela's death. Preparations begin and crowds begin to gather for a speech to be given in remembrance of Mandela at the old Cape Town City Hall.
Image 5The British Empire is red on the map, at its territorial zenith in the late 1910s and early 1920s. (India highlighted in purple.) South Africa, bottom centre, lies between both halves of the Empire. (from History of South Africa)
Image 42Statue of Bartolomeu Dias at the High Commission of South Africa in London. He was the first European navigator to sail around the southernmost tip of Africa. (from History of South Africa)
This list was generated from these rules. Questions and feedback are always welcome! The search is being run daily with the most recent ~14 days of results. Note: Some articles may not be relevant to this project.
_Tswalu.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
_-_The_Voortrekkers.jpg)
.JPG)
