HISTORY
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.
