A “Thousand Years before Van Riebeeck” written by Prof Monica Wilson could give the visitor an “indigenous” introduction to the history of Africa of what used to be described as “The Dark Continent” or “Monomotapa”. Modern Archaeology reveals a continent which could be the Cradle of Mankind due to the discoveries of the Taung child (1925) and Ms. Ples (1947).
The early history of South Africa starts as the European Renaissance discoveries by Dias and Da Gama introduced southern Africa to learned and literate inhabitants of Europe resulting in the change of the Cape of Storms to the Cape of Good Hope - an economic settlement by the Dutch East India Company to supply its ships with fresh water and food. French, German and British missionaries brought the Christian Faith to this “Dark Continent” to convert the indigenous peoples from paganism, heathenism or tribalism to Christianity by bringing them the Gospel, teaching them to read and write and translating the Bible into their distinctive home languages. Moffat and Livingston (British) working under the Tswanas, Casalis (French) under the Basotho, Lindley (American) under the Zulus and Weinholdt (German) under the Shangaans are well-known examples of European involvement in the African affairs.
The 17th and 18th centuries of the history of South Africa brought about an extension of the economic world order from the Cape of Good Hope to the interior where Europeans met with the indigenous peoples to the east and north bringing with them an African Tradition from the north of this sparsely inhabited country.The history of South Africa at the beginning of the 19th century constitutes the start of British Colonialism resulting in the Great Trek of the Dutch Settlers to the north of the Gariep or Orange River. This population migration, similar to the westward trek of the Americans, brought Western Civilization to the interior of South Africa. Western, American and especially German music and songs are still characteristic of Afrikaner culture.
Unfortunately from the start African Tradition clashed with Western Civilization in many respects. On many occasions this resulted in warfare between European authorities and the different African peoples. English and Afrikaans literature conveyed different viewpoints on these contradictions and the former spread ideas to the learned world quite different from the ideas of a newly formed Afrikaner nation. Through the history of South Africa examples of clashes amongst the different groups are quite a number of wars between the Cape Colony and the Xhosa tribe, boundary wars amongst the Afrikaners and British troops against the Basotho, intertribal warfare amongst the Zulus, the Tswanas and the newly formed Matebele under the leadership of Mzilikazi during the difakane.
It is not a myth that large areas of the interior of South Africa were emptied by the difakane allowing Europeans to settle there after the intertribal wars were ended by the Wars of Blood River (1838) and Mosega (1837).The discovery of diamonds and gold during the latter half of the 19th century marks the beginning of the influx of large numbers of foreigners, capital and Western amenities. Urban development in specific islands of prosperity laid the basis for an economic upliftment of all peoples in this part of the world.
• Notwithstanding the want for peace, cultural differences amongst the different population groups prohibited the formation of a unitary state in Southern Africa although British rule intended such a country under the British flag. The 20th century was marked by World Wars I and II amongst the different countries of the Western world and, as an aftermath of these wars, in South Africa a struggle between the two language groups, Afrikaans and English, resulted in a Whites-only government in the Union of South Africa since 1910 and the Republic of South Africa since 1961.
Under White Afrikaner majority rule recognition of the vast cultural differences amongst the population groups gave rise to the idea of separate development, duly discredited world-wide as apartheid, allowing the African National Congress (ANC) to come to power in 1994, uniting South Africa for the first time as a democratic nation. The 10 years which have followed our first democratic elections have seen great improvements in various areas such as social development , economic prosperity and South Africa has once again taken its rightful position on the world stage.
A great influx of tourists has followed the collapse of apartheid and South Africa has become one of the worlds foremost travel destinations. |
