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152-532: The camp used to be a detention centre during the South African rule over Namibian territory. Throughout its existence as refugee camp maltreatment of inhabitants, retaliation, harassment and riots have been reported. In 2009 a group of 41 people fled the camp with the help of a local Human Rights organisation after allegedly having received death threats. This group left Namibia via the Mamuno Border Post but

304-604: A Ghanaian Maoist group led by Leballo. APLA was destroyed by the Tanzanian military at Chunya on 11 March 1980 for refusing to accept the reformist-diplomatic leadership by Make. Leballo was influential in the South African 1985 student risings and pivotal in removing Leabua Jonathan's regime in Lesotho, the stress of which caused his death. The PAC never recovered from the 1980 massacre of Leballo's troops and his death and only won 1.2% of

456-799: A church vestibule, which led to the creation of the South African Students Organisation (SASO), under Biko, in 1969. The BCM was an umbrella organisation for groups such as SASO. It was created in 1967, and among its members were the Azanian People's Organisation , the black Community Programme (which directed welfare schemes for blacks), the Black People's Convention (BPC) and the South African Students Movement (SASM), which represented high-school learners. The BPC originally attempted to unite charitable associations like

608-423: A drastic theory, much like socialism, as the liberation movement progressed to challenging class divisions and shifting from an ethnic stress to focusing more on non-racialism . The BCM became more worried about the destiny of the black people as workers and believed that "economic and political exploitation has reduced the black people into a class". With Black Consciousness increasing throughout black communities,

760-475: A framework, the 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%) 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,

912-456: A generally temperate climate because it is surrounded by the Atlantic and Indian Oceans on three sides, because it is located in the climatically milder Southern Hemisphere , and because its average elevation rises steadily toward the north (toward the equator) and further inland. This varied topography and oceanic influence result in a great variety of climatic zones. The climatic zones range from

1064-578: A group of disenchanted ANC members broke away from the ANC and formed the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) in 1959. First on the PAC's agenda was a series of nationwide demonstrations against the pass laws . The PAC called for blacks to demonstrate against pass books on 21 March 1960. One of the mass demonstrations organised by the PAC took place at Sharpeville , a township near Vereeniging . The size of

1216-681: A half after the discovery of the cape sea route, Jan van Riebeeck established a victualling station at the Cape of Good Hope, at what would become Cape Town , on behalf of the Dutch East India Company. In time, the cape became home to a large population of vrijlieden , also known as vrijburgers ( lit.   ' free citizens ' ), former company employees who stayed in Dutch territories overseas after serving their contracts. Dutch traders also brought thousands of enslaved people to

1368-409: A high point of 62 years in 1992 to a low of 53 in 2005, and the failure of the government to take steps to address the pandemic in its early years. In May 2008, riots left over 60 people dead. The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions estimated that over 100,000 people were driven from their homes. The targets were mainly legal and illegal migrants , and refugees seeking asylum, but a third of

1520-426: A medium for its message. The BCM drew most of its backing from high schools and tertiary institutions. Black Consciousness ethics were crucial in lifting consciousness amongst black people of their value and right to a better existence, along with the need to insist on these. The BCM's non-violent approach subsided in favour of a more radical element as its resolve to attain liberty was met with state hostility. After

1672-666: A more radical generation. During this epoch, new anti-apartheid ideas and establishments were created, and they gathered support from across South Africa. The surfacing of the South African Black Consciousness Movement was influenced by its American equivalent, the American Black Power movement, and directors like Malcolm X . African heads like Kenneth Kaunda suggested ideas of autonomy and Black Pride by means of their anti-colonialist writings. Scholars grew in assurance and became far more candid about

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1824-559: A national front in politics, the United Democratic Front (UDF). Simultaneously, inter-factional rivalry between the ANC, the PAC and the Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO), a third militant force, escalated into sectarian violence as the three groups fought for influence. The government took the opportunity to declare a state of emergency in 1986 and detain thousands of its political opponents without trial. Secret bilateral negotiations to end apartheid commenced in 1987 as

1976-538: A number of other organisations were formed to combat apartheid. In 1972, the Black People's Convention was founded, and the black Allied Worker's Union, formed in 1973, focused on black labour matters. The black community programmes gave attention to the more global issues of black communities. School learners began to confront the Bantu education policy, which was designed to prepare them to be second-class citizens. They created

2128-522: A period of intense political and economic crisis since 2020 with growing numbers of international institutions, businesses and political figures warning that the country risks collapsing into a failed state due to high unemployment, low economic growth, low business investment, rising levels of violent crime, disorder, political corruption, and state capture . The country has been undergoing an energy crisis since 2007, resulting in routine rolling electricity blackouts due to loadshedding . According to

2280-470: A period of significant upheaval, led to the formation of various African kingdoms, including the Zulu Kingdom . The region was further colonised, and diamonds and gold were discovered , bringing a shift towards industrialisation and urbanisation. The Union of South Africa was created in 1910 out of the former Cape , Natal , Transvaal , and Orange River colonies, becoming a republic in 1961 . Though

2432-464: A plan for bringing exiles back into the country. It also revealed that MK was planning to use guerrilla warfare . The PAC's secretive martial arm was called Poqo, meaning "go it alone". It was prepared to take lives in the quest for liberation: it murdered whites, police informants and black people who supported the government. It sought to arrange a national revolution to conquer the white government, but poor organisation and in-house nuisances crippled

2584-643: A second term in office by the National Assembly against the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters , Julius Malema . South Africa is in southernmost Africa, with a coastline that stretches more than 2,500 km (1,553 mi) and along two oceans (the South Atlantic and the Indian). At 1,219,912 km (471,011 sq mi), South Africa is the 24th-largest country in the world. Excluding

2736-661: A surprise attack on the SADF base in Matola, Mozambique, killing 16 SADF soldiers and wounding more than 40. On 8 December 1982, ANC guerrillas attacked the South African embassy in Maseru, Lesotho, killing three people and injuring several others and on 14 November 1987, the ANC targeted the Vlakplaas police station in Pretoria with a car bomb, killing three police officers and injuring 18 others. Vlakplaas

2888-469: A system of non-racial franchise had existed in the Cape, it was gradually eroded, and the vast majority of Black South Africans were not enfranchised until 1994. The National Party imposed apartheid in 1948, institutionalising previous racial segregation . After a largely non-violent struggle by the African National Congress and other anti-apartheid activists both inside and outside

3040-571: 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 negotiation process followed. With approval from the white electorate in a 1992 referendum , the government continued negotiations to end apartheid. South Africa held its first universal elections in 1994 , which

3192-656: A violent overthrow of the state, and replacing it with a communist government. The charge was based on statements and speeches made during the Defiance Campaign and the Congress of the People. The Freedom Charter was used as proof of the Alliance's communist intent and their conspiracy to oust the government. The State greatly relied on the evidence of Professor Arthur Murray, an ostensible authority on Marxism and Communism. His evidence

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3344-580: Is considered one of the most unequal countries in the world, if not the most unequal. The name "South Africa" is derived from the country's geographic location at the southern tip of Africa. Upon formation, the country was named the Union of South Africa in English and Unie van Zuid-Afrika in Dutch , reflecting its origin from the unification of four British colonies. Since 1961, the long formal name in English has been

3496-651: Is known as Namaqualand , which becomes more arid near the Orange River. The little rain that falls tends to fall in winter, which results in one of the world's most spectacular displays of flowers carpeting huge stretches of veld in spring (August–September). South Africa also has one offshore possession, the small sub-Antarctic archipelago of the Prince Edward Islands, consisting of Marion Island (290 km or 110 sq mi) and Prince Edward Island (45 km or 17 sq mi) South Africa has

3648-602: Is often referred to as the " rainbow nation " to describe the country's multicultural diversity, especially in the wake of apartheid. As a middle power in international affairs, South Africa maintains a significant regional influence . In addition to that, the country is a member of BRICS+ , the African Union , SADC , SACU , the Commonwealth of Nations , and the G20 . A developing , newly industrialised country , South Africa has

3800-475: Is rare. The coldest place on mainland South Africa is Buffelsfontein in the Eastern Cape , where a temperature of −20.1 °C (−4.2 °F) was recorded in 2013. The Prince Edward Islands have colder average annual temperatures, but Buffelsfontein has colder extremes. The deep interior of mainland South Africa has the hottest temperatures: a temperature of 51.7 °C (125.06 °F) was recorded in 1948 in

3952-694: Is surrounded by the Great Escarpment whose eastern, and highest, stretch is known as the Drakensberg . Mafadi in the Drakensberg at 3,450 m (11,320 ft) is the highest peak. The KwaZulu-Natal–Lesotho international border is formed by the highest portion of the Great Escarpment which reaches an altitude of over 3,000 m (9,800 ft). The south and south-western parts of the plateau (at approximately 1,100–1,800   m above sea level) and

4104-549: Is the southernmost country in Africa . Its nine provinces are bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 miles) of coastline that stretches along the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean ; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia , Botswana , and Zimbabwe ; to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini ; and it encloses Lesotho . Covering an area of 1,221,037 square kilometres (471,445 square miles),

4256-480: The 1948 general election . From the early 1950s, the African National Congress (ANC) initiated its Defiance Campaign of passive resistance. Subsequent civil disobedience protests targeted curfews, pass laws , and "petty apartheid" segregation in public facilities. Some anti-apartheid demonstrations resulted in widespread rioting in Port Elizabeth and East London in 1952, but organised destruction of property

4408-469: 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. They also sowed vegetables in the fertile soil. 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. In 1652, a century and

4560-596: The Highveld . This relatively well-watered area is home to a great proportion of the country's commercial farmlands and contains its largest conurbation (Gauteng). To the north of Highveld, from about the 25°   30'   S line of latitude, the plateau slopes downwards into the Bushveld , which ultimately gives way to the Limpopo River lowlands or Lowveld . The coastal belt, below the Great Escarpment, moving clockwise from

4712-682: The Indian Ocean trade . The events around Mapungubwe's collapse circa 1300 are unknown, however trade routes shifted north from the Limpopo to the Zambezi , precipitating the rise of Great Zimbabwe . The hill was abandoned and Mapungubwe's population scattered. In 1487, the Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias led the first European voyage to land in southern Africa. On 4 December, he landed at Walfisch Bay (now known as Walvis Bay in present-day Namibia). This

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4864-828: The International Court of Justice regarding Israel 's conduct in the Gaza Strip as part of the Israel–Hamas war , alleging that Israel had committed and was committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. South Africa has repeatedly hosted senior leaders of Hamas , the group responsible for the October 7th massacre in Israel. Following the 2024 general elections , the African National Congress saw its share of

5016-484: The International Monetary Fund , South Africa is suffering from "massive corruption" and state capture. The Zondo Commission , established in 2018 in order to investigate allegations of corruption and state capture released its findings in 2022. It found rampant corruption at every level of government, including Transnet , Eskom , and Denel , as well as law enforcement , intelligence agencies , and

5168-713: The Native Location Act of 1879 and the system of pass laws . 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. The Natives' Land Act of 1913 severely restricted

5320-729: The Outeniqua and Langeberg ranges to the south and the Swartberg range to the north is known as the Little Karoo , which consists of semi-desert shrubland similar to that of the Great Karoo, except that its northern strip along the foothills of the Swartberg Mountains has a somewhat higher rainfall and is, therefore, more cultivated than the Great Karoo. The Little Karoo is famous for its ostrich farming around Oudtshoorn . The lowland area to

5472-923: 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 . 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 defeated Sekhukhune in November 1879 with an army of 2,000 British soldiers, Boers and 10,000 Swazis. The Anglo-Zulu War

5624-489: The Prince Edward Islands , the country lies between latitudes 22° and 35°S , and longitudes 16° and 33°E . The interior of South Africa consists of a large, in most places almost flat plateau with an altitude of between 1,000 m (3,300 ft) and 2,100 m (6,900 ft), highest in the east and sloping gently downwards towards the west and north, and slightly so to the south and south-west. This plateau

5776-462: The Second Boer War (1899–1902) and, although suffering heavy casualties due to Boer attrition warfare , they were ultimately successful due in part to scorched earth tactics such as concentration camps , in which 27,000 Boer civilians died due to a combination of disease and neglect. South Africa's urban population grew rapidly from the end of the 19th century onward. After the devastation of

5928-544: The Sharpeville massacre , some anti-apartheid movements, including the ANC and PAC, began a shift in tactics from peaceful non-cooperation to the formation of armed resistance wings. Mass strikes and student demonstrations continued into the 1970s, powered by growing black unemployment, the unpopularity of the South African Border War , and a newly assertive Black Consciousness Movement . The brutal suppression of

6080-635: The South African Defence Force . Further apartheid laws were abolished on 17 June 1991, and multiparty negotiations proceeded until the first multi-racial general election held in April 1994. Although its creation predated apartheid, the African National Congress (ANC) became the primary force in opposition to the government after its moderate leadership was superseded by the organisation's more radical Youth League (ANCYL) in 1949. Led by Walter Sisulu , Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo , elected to

6232-909: The South African Indian Congress and the Coloured People's Congress, agreed on a plan for the defiance of unfair laws. They wrote to Prime Minister D. F. Malan and demanded that he repeal the Pass Laws, the Group Areas Act , the Bantu Administration Act and other legislation, warning that refusal to do so would be met with a campaign of defiance. Malan referred the Council to the Native Affairs Department and threatened to treat insolence callously. The Programme of Action

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6384-646: The South African Party and National Party merged to form the 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. 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

6536-405: The South African Republic , the Natalia Republic , and the Orange Free State . In the interior, the Cape Colony expanded at the expense of the Batswana and Griqua , and Boer expansion caused great instability in the Middle Orange River region. The Matabele kingdom came to dominate the eastern interior, and raided the Venda kingdom. The discovery of diamonds in 1867 and gold in 1884 in

6688-489: The Soweto uprising . The government's effort at defeating all opposition had been effective. The State of Emergency was de-proclaimed, the economy boomed and the government began implementing apartheid by building the infrastructures of the ten separate Homelands and relocating blacks into these homelands. In 1966, Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd was stabbed to death in parliament, but his policies continued under B.J. Vorster and later P.W. Botha . Despite these developments,

6840-405: The Vaal River valley. Settlements of Bantu-speaking peoples , who were iron-using agriculturists and herdsmen , were present south of the Limpopo River (now the northern border with Botswana and Zimbabwe ) by the 4th or 5th century CE. The Bantu slowly moved south. The earliest ironworks in modern-day KwaZulu-Natal Province are believed to date from around 1050. The southernmost group

6992-677: The Xhosa Wars , as both sides competed for the pastureland near the Great Fish River, which the colonists desired for grazing cattle. Vrijburgers who became independent farmers on the frontier were known as Boers , with some adopting semi-nomadic lifestyles being denoted as trekboers . The Boers formed loose militias , which they termed commandos , and forged alliances with Khoisan peoples to repel Xhosa raids. Both sides launched bloody but inconclusive offensives, and sporadic violence, often accompanied by livestock theft, remained common for several decades. Great Britain occupied Cape Town between 1795 and 1803 to prevent it from falling under

7144-472: The civil service . It documented evidence of systemic corruption , fraud , racketeering , bribery , money laundering , and state capture. It investigated the African National Congress party and Jacob Zuma, whom it concluded were complicit in state capture through their direct assistance to the Gupta family . "The Commission estimated the total amount of money spent by the state which was 'tainted' by state capture to be around R57 billion. More than 97% of

7296-441: The largest economy in Africa by nominal GDP. It is tied with Ethiopia for the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa, and is a biodiversity hotspot with unique biomes , plant, and animal life. Since the end of apartheid, government accountability and quality of life have substantially improved. However, crime , poverty , and inequality remain widespread. Having the highest Gini coefficient of 0.63, South Africa

7448-424: The "Republic of South Africa" and Republiek van Suid-Afrika in Afrikaans . The country has an official name in 12 official languages . Mzansi , derived from the Xhosa noun uMzantsi meaning "south", is a colloquial name for South Africa, while some Pan-Africanist political parties prefer the term " Azania ". South Africa contains some of the oldest archaeological and human-fossil sites in

7600-412: The "Sobukwe clause", which permitted the state to detain people even after they had served their sentences. The PAC's management difficulties also existed in exile. When they were outlawed, PAC leaders set up headquarters in places like Dar es Salaam , London and the United States. In 1962, Potlako Leballo left the country for Maseru , Basutoland , and became the PAC's acting president. Soon after he

7752-456: The 14th largest emitter of carbon dioxide, primarily from its heavy reliance on coal and oil for energy production . As part of its international commitments, South Africa has pledged to peak emissions between 2020 and 2025. South Africa signed the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity on 4 June 1994 and became a party to the convention on 2 November 1995. It has subsequently produced a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan , which

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7904-470: The 1976 Soweto uprising radicalised a generation of black activists and greatly bolstered the strength of the ANC's guerrilla force, uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK). From 1976 to 1987 MK carried out a series of successful bomb attacks targeting government facilities, transportation lines, power stations, and other civil infrastructure. South Africa's military often retaliated by raiding ANC safe houses in neighbouring states. The NP made several attempts to reform

8056-410: The ANC and NIC increased and strengthened through the Defiance Campaign. Support for the ANC and its endeavours increased. On 15 August 1953, at the Cape ANC conference in Cradock, Professor Z. K. Matthews proposed a national convention of the people to study the national problems on an all-inclusive basis and outline a manifesto of amity. In March 1954, the ANC, the South African Indian Congress (SAIC),

8208-480: The ANC to coordinate underground militant activity throughout South Africa. By the end of 1962 the ANC established an MK high command consisting of Mandela, Sisulu, Govan Mbeki , Raymond Mhlaba , and prominent South African Communist Party (SACP) activist Joe Slovo . Slovo and the SACP were instrumental in bolstering MK and developing its tactics for guerrilla warfare, inciting insurrection and urban sabotage. White SACP members such as Jack Hodgson, who had served in

8360-430: The ANC was able to launch several successful guerrilla attacks against the South African Defense Force from their locations in-hiding. For example, On 20 May 1983, the ANC detonated a car bomb outside the South African Air Force headquarters in Pretoria, killing 19 people and injuring more than 200. The attack was one of the deadliest in the ANC's armed struggle against Apartheid. On 30 January 1981, ANC guerrillas launched

8512-514: 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 . In post-apartheid South Africa, unemployment remained high. While many black people 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. Poverty among white South Africans, which

8664-400: The ANC's National Executive on the eve of the Congress. Among the organisations present were the Indian Congress and the ANC. The Freedom Charter articulated a vision for South Africa that radically differed from the partition policy of apartheid. It: The congress delegates had consented to almost all the sections of the charter when the police announced that they suspected treason and recorded

8816-421: The ANC's National Executive that year, the ANCYL advocated a radical black nationalist programme that combined the Africanist ideas of Anton Lembede with Marxism . They proposed that white authority could only be overthrown through mass campaigns. The ideals of the ANC and ANCYL are stated in the ANC official web site and state, concerning the Tripartite Alliance: "The Alliance is founded on a common commitment to

8968-407: The ANC's executive to adopt armed struggle. Mandela first advocated this option during the Defiance Campaign of 1952, but his proposal was rejected by his fellow activists for being too radical. However, with the subsequent success of revolutionary struggles in Cuba , French Indochina , and French Algeria , the ANC executive became increasingly more open to suggestions by Mandela and Sisulu that it

9120-699: The Bushveld exists in the north-east including Kruger National Park and the Sabi Sand Game Reserve , as well as in the far north in the Waterberg Biosphere . South Africa houses many endemic species , among them the critically endangered riverine rabbit ( Bunolagus monticullaris ) in the Karoo. Internal resistance to apartheid Military stalemate between MK and South African security forces Bilateral negotiations to end apartheid Internal resistance to apartheid in South Africa originated from several independent sectors of South African society and took forms ranging from social movements and passive resistance to guerrilla warfare . Mass action against

9272-419: The Coloured People's Congress, the South African Congress of Democrats (SACOD) and the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) met and founded the National Action Council for the Congress of the People. Delegates were drawn from each of these establishments and a nationwide organiser was assigned. A campaign was publicised for the drafting of a freedom charter, and asked for 10,000 volunteers to help with

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9424-463: The Congo , Rwanda , Eritrea , Ethiopia and Somalia . Competition over jobs, business opportunities, public services and housing has led to tension between refugees and host communities. 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. Nevertheless, as South Africa continues to grapple with racial issues, one of

9576-425: The Education and Cultural Advancement of African People of South Africa before expanding into a political administration with Biko as its honorary president. When the BCM's principles were revealed, a number of fresh organisations staunch in their endorsement of black liberation were founded. The Azanian People's Organisation was only launched in 1978, a long time after the birth of the Black Consciousness Movement, as

9728-425: The Extension of University Education Act of 1959, which guaranteed that black and white students would be taught individually and inequitably. After the Rivonia Trial and the banning of the ANC and PAC, the struggle within South Africa was significantly suppressed. The age bracket that had seen the Sharpeville massacre became apathetic. A revival in anti-apartheid sentiment came in the late 1960s and mid-1970s from

9880-451: The Lowveld covering 19,633 square kilometres (7,580 sq mi) The coastal belt below the south and south-western stretches of the Great Escarpment contains several ranges of Cape Fold Mountains which run parallel to the coast, separating the Great Escarpment from the ocean. (These parallel ranges of fold mountains are shown on the map, above left. Note the course of the Great Escarpment to the north of these mountain ranges.) The land between

10032-494: The NP's bigoted policies and the repression of the black people. During the 1970s, resistance grew stronger through trade unions and strikes, and was then spearheaded by the South African Students' Organisation under Steve Biko 's leadership. A medical student, Biko was the main force behind the growth of South Africa's Black Consciousness Movement (BCM), which stressed the need for psychological liberation, black pride , and non-violent opposition to apartheid. The BCM faction

10184-414: The National Party reacted to increased external pressure and the atmosphere of political unrest. Leading ANC officials such as Govan Mbeki and Walter Sisulu were released from prison between 1987 and 1989, and in 1990 the ANC and PAC were formally delisted as banned organisations by President F. W. de Klerk , and Nelson Mandela was released from prison. The same year, MK reached a formal ceasefire with

10336-409: The Ndwandwe, however were repelled by Gaza. 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 Voortrekkers , meaning "pathfinders" or "pioneers". They migrated to the future Natal , Free State, and Transvaal regions. The Boers founded the Boer republics :

10488-454: The Northern Cape Kalahari near Upington , but this temperature is unofficial and was not recorded with standard equipment; the official highest temperature is 48.8 °C (119.84 °F) at Vioolsdrif in January 1993. Climate change in South Africa is leading to increased temperatures and rainfall variability. Extreme weather events are becoming more prominent. This is a critical concern for South Africans as climate change will affect

10640-410: The PAC and Poqo. The PAC did not have adequate direction. Many PAC principals were taken into custody on 21 March 1960, and those released were hampered by bans. When Robert Sobukwe (who was jailed following the Sharpeville massacre) was discharged from Robben Island in 1969, he was placed under house arrest in Kimberley until he died in 1978. Police repeatedly lengthened his incarceration through

10792-523: The PAC. The Sharpeville Massacre persuaded several anti-apartheid movements that nonviolent civil disobedience alone was ineffective at encouraging the National Party government to seek reform. The resurgent tide of armed revolutions in many developing nations and European colonial territories during the early 1960s gave ANC and PAC leaders the idea that nonviolent civil disobedience should be complemented by acts of insurrection and sabotage. Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu were instrumental in persuading

10944-632: The Pretoria Central Prison, and the other seven were imprisoned on Robben Island. Bram Fischer , the defence trial attorney, was also arrested and tried shortly thereafter. The instructions that Mandela gave to make MK an African force were ignored: it continued to be organised and led by the SACP. The trial was condemned by the United Nations Security Council and was a major force in the introduction of international sanctions against

11096-554: The R57 billion came from Transnet and Eskom. Out of these funds, the Gupta enterprise received at least R15 billion. The total loss to the state is difficult to quantify, but would far exceed that R15 billion." South Africa has maintained a position of neutrality in regards to the Russia invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the ongoing war . On 29 December 2023, South Africa formally submitted its case to

11248-617: The South African Army during World War II, were instrumental in training MK recruits. The SACP was also able to secure promises of military aid from the Soviet Union for the fledgling guerrilla army, and purchased Liliesleaf Farm in Rivonia , just outside Johannesburg, to serve as MK's headquarters. Throughout the 1960s, MK was still a relatively small unit of poorly equipped guerrilla fighters incapable of taking significant action against

11400-805: The South African National Biodiversity Institute, parts of southern Africa will see an increase in temperature by about 1 °C (1.8 °F) along the coast to more than 4 °C (7.2 °F) in the already hot hinterland such as the Northern Cape in late spring and summertime by 2050. The Cape Floral Region is predicted to be hit very hard by climate change. Drought, increased intensity and frequency of fire, and climbing temperatures are expected to push many rare species towards extinction. South Africa has published two national climate change reports in 2011 and 2016. South Africa contributes considerable carbon dioxide emissions , being

11552-514: The South African Student's Movement (SASM). It was particularly popular in Soweto, where the 1976 insurrection against Bantu Education would prove to be a crossroads in the fight against apartheid. Biko was taken into custody on 18 August 1977 and brutally tortured by unidentified security personnel until he lapsed into a coma. He was not medically treated for three days and died in Pretoria. At

11704-608: The South African government because of its racial policies. The boycotts and restrictions were later extended to international sanctions and the divestment of holdings by foreign investors. 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 opened bilateral discussions with Nelson Mandela in 1993 for

11856-503: The South African government. After Sharpeville the ANC and PAC were banned. The SACP denied it existed, having dissolved in 1950 to escape banning as the CPSA. Leaders like Mandela and Sobukwe were either in jail or in exile. Consequently, there were serious mutinies in Angolan camps by Soweto and Cape student recruits angry at the corrupt and brutal consequences of minority control. The government

12008-477: The South African security forces. Success of the MK's strategy depended on its ability to stoke the anger of a politically conscious black underclass and its armed struggle was essentially a strategic attempt at mass socialisation.This reflected the principles of Leninist vanguardism which heavily influenced SACP and ANC political theory to a lesser extent. MK commanders hoped that through their actions, they could appeal to

12160-516: The adjoining plain below (at approximately 700–800   m above sea level – see map on the right) is known as the Great Karoo , which consists of sparsely populated shrubland . To the north, the Great Karoo fades into the more arid Bushmanland, which eventually becomes the Kalahari Desert in the north-west of the country. The mid-eastern and highest part of the plateau is known as

12312-670: The administration was multiracial, it was not addressing many of the issues of the mounting number of black students since 1960. This resulted in the 1967 creation of the University Christian Movement (UCM), an organisation rooted in African-American philosophy. In July 1967, the annual NUSAS symposium took place at Rhodes University in Grahamstown . White students were permitted to live on university grounds, but black students were relegated to accommodation further away in

12464-544: The apartheid system, beginning with the Constitutional Referendum of 1983 . This introduced the Tricameral Parliament , which allowed for some parliamentary representation of Coloureds and Indians , but continued to deny political rights to black South Africans. The resulting controversy triggered a new wave of anti-apartheid social movements and community groups which articulated their interests through

12616-657: The arrival of the 1820 Settlers . 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. In the early 1800s, the Mfecane (lit. 'crushing') saw a heightened period of conflict, migration, and state formation among native groups, caused by the complex interplay of international trade, environmental instability, and European colonisation. Chiefdoms grew wealthier and competed over trade routes and grazing land, leading to

12768-425: The back. Many witnesses stated that the crowd was not violent, but Colonel J. Pienaar, the senior police officer in charge on the day, said: "Hordes of natives surrounded the police station. My car was struck with a stone. If they do these things they must learn their lesson the hard way." The event became known as the Sharpeville massacre . In the aftermath the government banned the African National Congress (ANC) and

12920-563: The black majority remained disadvantaged by almost every standard, including income, education, housing, and life expectancy. 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 a referendum (only open to white voters) which narrowly passed; the British-dominated Natal province largely voted against

13072-491: The campaign, almost 8,000 black and Indian people had been detained; at the same time, ANC membership grew from 7,000 to 100,000, and the number of subdivisions went from 14 at the campaign's beginning to 87 at its end. There was also a change in leadership: shortly before the campaign ended, Albert Luthuli was elected as the new ANC president. By the end of the campaign, the government was forced to temporarily relax its apartheid legislation. Once things had calmed down, however,

13224-520: The carnage in Soweto the ANC's Nelson Mandela grudgingly concurred that bloodshed was the only means left to convince the NP to accede to commands for an end to its apartheid policy. A subversive plan of terror was mapped out, with Biko and the BCM at the forefront. The BCM and other opinionated elements were prohibited during the 1970s because the government saw them as dangerous. Black Consciousness in South Africa adopted

13376-543: The coast, which is subtropical . The Free State is particularly flat because it lies centrally on the high plateau. North of the Vaal River , the Highveld becomes better watered and does not experience subtropical extremes of heat. Johannesburg, in the centre of the Highveld, is at 1,740 m (5,709 ft) above sea level and receives an annual rainfall of 760 mm (29.9 in). Winters in this region are cold, although snow

13528-632: The conscription of views across the country and the Congress of the People. Demands were documented and sent to the local board of the National Action Council in preparation for drafting the Charter. The Congress of the People was held 25–26 June 1955 in Kliptown , south of Johannesburg . 3,000 delegates gathered under police watch to revise and accept the Freedom Charter that had been endorsed by

13680-722: The control of the French First Republic , which had invaded the Low Countries . After briefly returning to Dutch rule under the Batavian Republic in 1803, the cape was occupied again by the British in 1806. Following the end of the Napoleonic Wars , it was formally ceded to Great Britain and became an integral part of the British Empire . British emigration to South Africa began around 1818, subsequently culminating in

13832-525: The country and black people disregarded racial laws; for example, they walked through "whites only" entries. At the campaign's zenith in September 1952, more than 2,500 people from 24 different towns were arrested for defying various laws. After five months, the African and Indian Congresses decided to call off the campaign because of the increasing number of riots, strikes and heavier sentences on participants. During

13984-520: The country has over 62 million people . Pretoria is the administrative capital, while Cape Town , as the seat of Parliament , is the legislative capital. Bloemfontein has traditionally been regarded as the judicial capital. The largest and most populous city is Johannesburg , followed by Cape Town and the busiest port city in sub-Saharan Africa, Durban . Archaeological findings suggest that various hominid species existed in South Africa about 2.5 million years ago, and modern humans inhabited

14136-452: The country, earning him the moniker "The Black Pimpernel". Mandela initially avoided arrest within South Africa, but in August 1962, after receiving some inside information, the police put up a roadblock and captured him. MK's success declined with his arrest and the police infiltrated the organisation. In July 1963, the police found the location of the MK headquarters at Lilliesleaf. They raided

14288-404: The country, the repeal of discriminatory laws began in the mid-1980s. Universal elections took place in 1994 , following which all racial groups have held political representation in the country's liberal democracy , which comprises a parliamentary republic and nine provinces. South Africa is a multi-ethnic society encompassing a wide variety of cultures , languages , and religions ; it

14440-461: The crowd was estimated to be 20,000 people. The crowd converged on the Sharpeville police station, singing and offering themselves up for arrest for not carrying their pass books. A group of police officers panicked and opened fire on the demonstrators shortly after the crowd approached the police station, killing 69 people and injuring 186. All the victims were black, and most of them had been shot in

14592-537: The extreme desert of the southern Namib in the farthest northwest to the lush subtropical climate in the east along the border with Mozambique and the Indian Ocean. Winters in South Africa occur between June and August. The extreme southwest has a climate similar to that of the Mediterranean with wet winters and hot, dry summers, hosting the famous fynbos biome of shrubland and thicket . This area produces much of

14744-410: The farm and arrested many major leaders of the ANC and MK, including Sisulu, Mbeki and Ahmed Kathrada . They were detained and indicted with sabotage and attempting to bring down the government. At the same time, police collected evidence to be used in the trial that allowed them to arrest others like Denis Goldberg . Particularly damaging was the information on Operation Mayibuye (Operation Comeback),

14896-458: The façade of mere separation; it gave the owners of public amenities the right to bar people on the basis of colour or race and made it lawful for different races to be treated inequitably. Sisulu, Mandela, Albert Luthuli , other famous ANC members, Indian Congress, and trade union chiefs' activities were all proscribed under the Suppression of Communism Act. The proscription meant that the headship

15048-1284: 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 and Florisbad in Free State Province ; Border Cave in KwaZulu-Natal Province; Klasies River Caves in Eastern Cape Province; and Pinnacle Point , Elandsfontein and Die Kelders Cave in Western Cape Province. These finds suggest that various hominid species existed in South Africa from about three million years ago, starting with Australopithecus africanus , followed by Australopithecus sediba , Homo ergaster , Homo erectus , Homo rhodesiensis , Homo helmei , Homo naledi and modern humans ( Homo sapiens ). Modern humans have inhabited Southern Africa for at least 170,000 years. Various researchers have located pebble tools within

15200-523: The fledgling colony from Indonesia , Madagascar , and parts of eastern Africa. Some of the earliest mixed race communities in the country were formed between vrijburgers , enslaved people, and indigenous peoples. This led to the development of a new ethnic group, the Cape Coloureds , most of whom adopted the Dutch language and Christian faith. The Khoisan people, comprising the Khoikhoi and San, were

15352-470: The formation of the Ndwandwe and Mthethwa Paramountcies in the east. Ndwandwe defeated Mthethwa which split into different groups, one of which was led by Shaka of the amaZulu . The 1810s saw the fourth and fifth Xhosa Wars as British colonisation expanded. Ndwandwe splintered amid costly raids and Shaka's Zulu Kingdom rose to fill the power vacuum. The Gaza kingdom formed. The Zulu totally defeated

15504-719: The government responded harshly and took several extreme measures, among which were the Unlawful Organisations Act, the Suppression of Communism Act , the Public Safety Act and the Criminal Procedures Act. Criminal Law Amendment Act No 8 stated that "[any] person who in any way whatsoever advises, encourages, incites, commands, aids or procures any other person ... or uses language calculated to cause any other person to commit an offence by way of protest against

15656-445: The indigenous inhabitants of South Africa. Conflicts with Dutch settlers began in the 17th century and continued for centuries. Initial encounters between Dutch coloniers and Khoikhoi were peaceful, but tensions arose over land and resources. The Khoikhoi resisted Dutch expansion, leading to skirmishes and battles. The eastward expansion of Dutch colonists ushered in a series of wars with the southwesterly migrating Xhosa tribe, known as

15808-546: 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. On 16 May 1876, President Thomas François Burgers of the South African Republic declared war against

15960-534: The law... shall be guilty of an offence." In December 1952, Mandela, Sisulu and 18 others were tried under the Suppression of Communism Act for leading the Defiance Campaign . They received nine months' imprisonment, which was suspended for two years. The government also tightened the regulation of separate amenities. Protesters had argued to the courts that different amenities for different races ought to be of an equal standard. The Separate Amenities Act removed

16112-521: The masses and inspire a popular uprising against the South African regime. A popular uprising would compensate for the MK's weaknesses as it offered a way to defeat the National Party politically without having to engage in a direct military confrontation which the guerrillas would have no hope of winning. On 16 December 1961, MK operatives bombed a number of public facilities in several major South African cities, namely Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban. This programme of controlled sabotage

16264-603: The names and addresses of all those present. In 1956, the Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) was founded and led by Lilian Ngoyi , Helen Joseph and Amina Cachalia . On 9 August that year, the women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria and protested against the pass laws. On the morning of 5 December 1956, the police detained 156 Congress Alliance leaders: 104 African, 23 white, 21 Indian and eight Coloured people. They were charged with high treason and plotting

16416-586: The national vote fall below 50% for the first time since the end of Apartheid, though it remained the single largest party in the South African Parliament. President Ramaphosa announced a national unity government , the first since the Cabinet of Nelson Mandela , and entered a deal with the Democratic Alliance , the previous main opposition party, and other minor parties. Ramaphosa was reelected for

16568-645: The north of the Cape Peninsula is bounded on the west by the Atlantic Ocean and the first row of north–south running Cape Fold Mountains to the east. The Cape Fold Mountains peter out at about the 32°   S line of latitude, after which the Great Escarpment bounds the coastal plain. The most southerly portion of this coastal belt is known as the Swartland and Malmesbury Plain, which is an important wheat growing region, relying on winter rains. The region further north

16720-683: The north of the Swartberg range up to the Great Escarpment is the lowland part of the Great Karoo, which is climatically and botanically almost indistinguishable from the Karoo above the Great Escarpment. The narrow coastal strip between the Outeniqua and Langeberg ranges and the ocean has a moderately high year-round rainfall, which is known as the Garden Route . It is famous for the most extensive areas of forests in South Africa (a generally forest-poor country). In

16872-644: The northeast, consists of the Limpopo Lowveld, which merges into the Mpumalanga Lowveld, below the Mpumalanga Drakensberg (the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment). This is hotter, drier and less intensely cultivated than the Highveld above the escarpment. The Kruger National Park , located in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in north-eastern South Africa, occupies a large portion of

17024-553: The objectives of the National Democratic Revolution , and the need to unite the largest possible cross-section of South Africans behind these objectives," citing the actionable intent and their goal to end oppression. When the ANCYL took control of the ANC, the organisation advocated a policy of open defiance and resistance for the first time, which unleashed the 1950s Programme of Action, instituted in 1949, that emphasised

17176-727: 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. 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

17328-765: The organisation in 1961 and rejoined it in 1994. Despite 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 carrying out guerrilla warfare and urban sabotage. The three rival resistance movements also engaged in occasional inter-factional clashes as they jockeyed for domestic influence. Apartheid became increasingly controversial, and several countries began to boycott business with

17480-404: The overall status and wellbeing of the country, for example with regards to water resources . Speedy environmental changes are resulting in clear effects on the community and environmental level in different ways and aspects, starting with air quality, to temperature and weather patterns, reaching out to food security and disease burden. According to computer-generated climate modelling produced by

17632-607: 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. In 1931, the union became fully sovereign from the United Kingdom with the passage of the 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,

17784-560: The present-day Groot River , in May 1488. On his return he saw the cape, which he named Cabo das Tormentas ('Cape of Storms'). King John II renamed the point Cabo da Boa Esperança , or Cape of Good Hope , as it led to the riches of the East Indies . Dias' feat of navigation was immortalised in Luís de Camões ' 1572 epic poem Os Lusíadas . By the early 17th century, Portugal's maritime power

17936-686: The presidency, National Director of Public Prosecutions Shaun Abrahams announced that Zuma would again face prosecution on 16 criminal charges – 12 charges of fraud, two of corruption, and one each of racketeering and money laundering, just as in the 2006 indictment. A warrant was issued for his arrest in February 2020 after he failed to appear in court. In 2021 he was found guilty of contempt of court and sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment. In response, supporters of Zuma engaged in protests which led to riots, looting, vandalism and widespread violence, leaving 354 people dead. South Africa has been undergoing

18088-587: The proposal. Elizabeth II lost the title Queen of South Africa , and the last Governor-General , Charles Robberts Swart , became state president . As a concession to the Westminster system , the appointment of the president remained by parliament and was virtually powerless until P. W. Botha 's Constitution Act of 1983 , which eliminated the office of prime minister and instated a unique "strong presidency" responsible to parliament . Pressured by other Commonwealth of Nations countries, South Africa withdrew from

18240-404: The proposed solutions has been to pass legislation, such as the pending Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill , to uphold South Africa's ban on racism and commitment to equality. On 14 February 2018, Jacob Zuma resigned the presidency. Since 15 February, ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa has been President of South Africa. On 16 March 2018, just over a month after President Jacob Zuma resigned from

18392-479: The region over 100,000 years ago. The first known people were the indigenous Khoisan , and Bantu-speaking peoples who expanded from West and Central Africa later settled in the region 2,000 to 1,000 years ago. In the north, the Kingdom of Mapungubwe formed in the 13th century. In 1652, the Dutch established the first European settlement at Table Bay , and in 1795 and 1806 , the British occupied it. The Mfecane ,

18544-466: The right of the African people to freedom under the flag of African Nationalism. It laid out plans for strikes , boycotts , and civil disobedience , resulting in mass protests, stay-aways , boycotts, strikes and occasional violent clashes. The 1950 May Day stay-away was a strong, successful expression of black grievances. In 1952, the Joint Planning Council, made up of members from the ANC,

18696-531: The ruins are thought to be created by the Bakone , a Northern Sotho people. Around 1220, in the Limpopo - Shashe Basin, the elite of K2 moved to settle the flat-topped summit of Mapungubwe Hill, with the population settling below. Rainmaking was crucial to the development of sacral kingship . By 1250, the capital had a population of 5000 and the state covered 30,000 km² (11,500 square miles), growing wealthy through

18848-430: The ruling National Party (NP) government, coupled with South Africa's growing international isolation and economic sanctions, were instrumental in leading to negotiations to end apartheid , which began formally in 1990 and ended with South Africa's first multiracial elections under a universal franchise in 1994. Apartheid was adopted as a formal South African government policy by the NP following their victory in

19000-533: The south-west corner of the country, the Cape Peninsula forms the southernmost tip of the coastal strip which borders the Atlantic Ocean and ultimately terminates at the country's border with Namibia at the Orange River . The Cape Peninsula has a Mediterranean climate , making it and its immediate surrounds the only portion of Sub-Saharan Africa which receives most of its rainfall in winter. The coastal belt to

19152-515: The struggle against apartheid, under the catchphrase " Liberation before education ". Black communities became highly politicised. The Black Consciousness Movement began to change its focus during the 1980s from issues of nation and community to issues of class; as a result, they may have made of an impact than in the mid-1970s, though there is some evidence to suggest that it retained at least some influence, particularly in workers' organisations. The role of Black Consciousness could be clearly seen in

19304-441: The subsequent inquest, the magistrate ruled that no-one was culpable, but the South African Medical Association eventually took action against the doctors who had failed to treat Biko. There was a strong reaction both within and outside South Africa. Foreign countries imposed even more stringent sanctions, and the United Nations imposed an arms embargo . Young blacks inside South Africa committed themselves even more fervently to

19456-408: The trial, Mandela gave his " I am prepared to die " speech. In June 1964, eight were found guilty of terrorism, sabotage, planning and executing guerrilla warfare and working towards an armed invasion of the country. The treason charge was dropped and all eight were sentenced to life imprisonment. They did not get the death penalty, as it received too much international criticism. Goldberg was sent to

19608-460: The victims were South African citizens. In a 2006 survey, the South African Migration Project concluded that South Africans are more opposed to immigration than any other national group. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees in 2008 reported that over 200,000 refugees applied for asylum in South Africa, almost four times as many as the year before. These people were mainly from Zimbabwe , though many also come from Burundi , Democratic Republic of

19760-427: The vote in the 1994 South African election. The widely publicised Rivonia Trial began in October 1963. Ten men were accused of treason for trying to depose the government and sabotage. Mandela, along with those arrested at Lilliesleaf and another 24 co-conspirators, were tried. Many of them, including Tambo, had already fled the country. The ANC used the lawsuit to draw international interest to its cause. During

19912-438: The wars, Dutch-descendant Boer farmers fled into cities from the devastated Transvaal and Orange Free State territories to become the class of the white urban poor. 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

20064-413: The wine in South Africa and is known for its wind, which blows intermittently almost all year. The severity of this wind made passing around the Cape of Good Hope particularly treacherous for sailors, causing many shipwrecks. Further east on the south coast, rainfall is distributed more evenly throughout the year, producing a green landscape. The annual rainfall increases south of the Lowveld, especially near

20216-410: The world. 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 , Cooper's Cave and Malapa . Raymond Dart identified

20368-497: Was able to dismantle the ANC's power within South Africa's borders by incarcerating leaders of MK and the ANC, and greatly affect its efficiency outside of them. The ANC faced many problems in the aftermath of the Rivonia Trial, as its inner administration was severely damaged. By 1964, the ANC went into hiding and planned guerilla activities from overseas. At the end of the 1960s, new organisations and ideas would form to confront apartheid. The next key act of opposition came in 1976 with

20520-464: Was confiscated. 3,246 PAC and Poqo members were arrested. In 1968, PAC was expelled from Maseru (where it was allied with the opposition Basutoland Congress Party) and Zambia (which was friendlier to the ANC). Between 1974 and 1976 Leballo and Ntantala trained the Lesotho Liberation Army (LLA) and the Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA) in Libya. American pressures split the PAC into a "reformist-diplomatic" group under Sibeko, Make, and Pokela, and

20672-473: Was criticised to be destructive and alien to Africa. Black people became conscious of their own distinctive identity and self-worth and grew more outspoken about their right to freedom. The National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) was the first organisation to represent students in South Africa, but it had a principally white membership, and black students saw this as an impediment. White students' concerns were more scholastic than political, and although

20824-469: Was elected as acting president, he made a public statement that he would launch an attack on South African Police with an army of 150.000 cadres. A few days after that statement, he send two women PAC couriers, Cynthia Lichaba and Thabisa Lethala, to post letters in Ladybrand, a South African town near Lesotho. The letters contained instructions and details of Poqo cadres. The two women were arrested by Basutoland police and correspondence addressed to poqo cells

20976-439: Was fought in 1879 between the British and the Zulu Kingdom . Following Lord Carnarvon 's successful introduction of 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 to bring such plans into being. Among

21128-528: Was founded by Biko and materialised out of the ideas of the civil rights movement and Black Power movement in the USA. The motto of the movement was "Black is Beautiful", first made popular by boxer Mohammed Ali. BCM endorsed black pride and African customs, and did much to alter feelings of inadequacy while raising awareness of the fallacy of blacks being seen as inferior. It defied practices and merchandise that were meant to make black people "whiter", such as hair straighteners and skin lighteners. Western culture

21280-408: Was launched with the Defiance Campaign in June 1952. By defying the laws, the organisation hoped to incite mass arrests that would overwhelm the government. Mandela led a crowd of 50 men down the streets of a white area in Johannesburg after the 11 pm curfew that forbade black people's presence. The group was apprehended, but the rest of the country followed its example. Defiance spread throughout

21432-421: Was not deliberately employed until 1959. That year, anger over pass laws and environmental regulations perceived as unjust by black farmers resulted in a series of arsons targeting sugarcane plantations. Organisations such as the ANC, the South African Communist Party , and the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) remained preoccupied with organising student strikes and work boycotts between 1959 and 1960. Following

21584-431: Was notorious for its role in the repression of anti-apartheid activists. Prior to the 1960s, the NP government managed to quell much of the anti-apartheid opposition within South Africa by outlawing movements like the ANC and PAC, and driving their leaders into exile or captivity. Tertiary-education organisations such as the University of the North and Zululand University began to resist apartheid; they were fashioned by

21736-444: Was previously rare, increased. 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 then fell from 1995 to 2005 before recovering its 1995 peak in 2013. The fall is in large part attributable to the South African HIV/AIDS pandemic which saw South African life expectancy fall from

21888-519: Was received by the convention on 7 June 2006. The country is ranked sixth out of the world's seventeen megadiverse countries . Ecotourism in South Africa has become more prevalent in recent years, as a possible method of maintaining and improving biodiversity. Numerous mammals are found in the Bushveld including lions, African leopards , South African cheetahs , southern white rhinos , blue wildebeest , kudus , impalas , hyenas , hippopotamuses and South African giraffes . A significant extent of

22040-411: Was refused entry to Botswana and as a result stayed in No Man's Land between Namibia and Botswana for three months until being arrested by Botswana authorities and deported to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This Namibia location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . South Africa South Africa , officially the Republic of South Africa ( RSA ),

22192-428: Was restricted to their homes and adjacent areas and they were banned from attending public gatherings. On the global stage, India demanded that apartheid be challenged by the United Nations, which led to the establishment of a UN commission on apartheid. Although the movement was subjected to increasing restrictions, it was still able to struggle against the oppressive instruments of the state. Collaboration between

22344-464: 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, Rio do Infante , probably

22496-415: Was starting to decline, and English and Dutch merchants competed to oust Portugal from its lucrative monopoly on the spice trade . 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. Dutch interest was aroused after 1647, when two employees of

22648-401: Was that the ANC papers were full of communist terms like " comrade " and " proletariat ", which are often found in the writings of Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin . Halfway through the drawn-out trial, charges against 61 of the accused were withdrawn, and, five years after their arrest, the remaining 30 were acquitted after the court held that the state had failed to prove its case. In 1958

22800-420: 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 Adam's Calendar , and

22952-423: Was time for armed struggle. From 1961 to 1963, the ground in South Africa was slowly being readied for armed revolution. A hierarchical network of covert ANC cells was created for underground operations, military aid solicited from sympathetic African states and the Soviet Union, and a guerrilla training camp established in Tanganyika . In June 1961, the uMkhonto we Sizwe (abbreviated as MK) had been set up by

23104-557: Was timed to coincide with the Day of the Vow , the anniversary of an important battle between the voortrekkers and the Zulu Kingdom in 1838. Over the next eighteen months, MK carried out 200 acts of sabotage, mostly targeting pass offices, power pylons, and police stations. In October 1962 the ANC publicly declared responsibility for the sabotage campaign and acknowledged the existence of MK. Mandela began planning for MK members to be given military training outside South Africa and slipped past authorities as he himself moved in and out of

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