South Africa

South Africa

South Africa is a country located on the southern tip of Africa. It shares borders with Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Lesotho (an independent enclave surrounded by South Africa). The Atlantic and Indian oceans make up a 1,550 mile coastline along the southern border of the country.

The origins of modern-day South Africa date back to 1652 when Dutch traders landed at the southern tip of the continent of Africa and established a stopover point on the spice route between Europe and the East. This stopover point founded the city of Cape Town.

After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers or Boers founded their own republics in the north. The discovery of Diamonds and Gold in the interior region of the country stimulated economic growth and further subjugation of the natives.

Fast Facts

Capitals: Pretoria (administrative Capital), Bloemfontein (judicial), Cape Town (legislative)
Government: Republic
Population: 43,997,828
Currency: South African Rand
Exchange Rate: 6.88
Official Language:11 languagues are recognised as official
Languague Listed: IsiZulu IsiXhosa Afrikaans

The Boer War

In 1899 the Boers successfully resisted British encroachments but were eventually overwhelmed by British forces. As a result of the Treaty of Vereeniging the British and the Afrikaners (as the Boers became known) ruled together under the Union of South Africa.

Apartheid

In 1948, the National Party was voted into power and instituted a policy of apartheid - meaning separateness. Apartheid was a system of legalized racial segregation, legitimized racism and white nationalism. While the White minority enjoyed the highest standard of living in all of Africa, the Black majority remained disadvantaged by almost every standard including income, education, housing, and life expectancy. By the early 1990s the National Party government effectively negotiated itself out of power and the first multi-racial elections in 1994 brought an official end to apartheid - ushering in black majority rule.

Categories

Geography | Travel | Africa | Countries

| View Note History

Also try: South Africa Vacation | South Africa Hotels

The Mahalo Top 7

Official Site: South Africa
South Africa: The Official Gateway
Wikipedia: South Africa
CIA World Factbook: South Africa
U.S. Department of State: South Africa
Foreign & Commonwealth Office: South Africa
BBC News: South Africa

South Africa Recent News

Official Site: The Times (Sunday Only Paper)
Official Site: The Star
Official Site: (iOL) Internationa Online: South Africa
Official Site: Buisness Day Weekly
Official Tabloid: Sowetan Top Stories

South Africa Vacation

Mahalo's page on South Africa Vacation
Mahalo's page on South Africa Restaurants
Mahalo's page on South Africa Tours
Mahalo's page on South Africa Hotels

South Africa Travel Information

Lonely Planet: South Africa
South Africa.com: South Africa Travel Information
U.S. Department of State: Consular Information Sheet
Official Site: Kruger National Park

South Africa Politics

Wikipedia: Politics of South Africa | Law of South Africa
Polity.org.za: Policy, Law, Economics and Politics
Google News: Politics of South Africa

South Africa Government Sites

Official Site: South African Government Online
Official Site: Parliament of South Africa
Official Site: Office of the President: Thabo Mbeki
Official Site: South African Govenment Information
Official Site: Government Communication and Information System
Wikipedia: National Assembly of South Africa

South Africa Foreign/International Relations

Official Site: Department of Foreign Affairs | Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma
Official Site: Department of Trade and Industry
World Trade Organization: South Africa
SA Consulate General: South African Consulate in New York USA

South Africa Human Rights

Amnesty International: South Africa Report 2007
SAHRC: South African Human Rights Commission
Human Rights Watch: South Africa
U.S. Department of Health: Country Reports on Human Rights: South Africa (2006)

South Africa Aids

Mahola's page on AIDS in Africa
Official Site: Aids Foundation South Africa
Avert.com: HIV & Aids in South Africa
USAID.org: HIV/Aids: South Africa

South Africa and Nuclear Weapons

Wikipedia: South Africa and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Wikipedia: Vela Incident
GlobalSecurity.org: Weapons of Mass Destruction: South Africa
Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI): South Africa Profile

South Africa Economy

Wikipedia: Economy of South Africa
Official Site: National Treasury
Official Site: South African Reserve Bank
The World Bank: South Africa
International Monetary Fund: South Africa and the IMF
Heritage Foundation: Index of Economic Freedom: South Africa

South Africa Military

Official Site: Department of Defence
Official Site: South Africa Army
Wikipedia: South African National Defence Force
GlobalSecurity.org: South Africa Military Guide

South Africa Facts and History

Wikipedia: History of South Africa
Wikipedia: South African Republic | Union of South Africa
SouthAfrica.com: South Africa: Fast Facts
BBC News: Country Profile Facts: South Africa
StatsOnline: Statistics South Africa

Notable/Important People

Mahalo's page on Nelson Mandela
Mahalo's page on Desmond Tutu
Wikipedia: Nelson Mandela | Desmond Tutu | Steven Biko
Nobelprize.org: Nelson Mandela | Desmond Tutu
South African History Online: Stephen Bantu Biko

Anglo-Zulu War

Wikipedia: Anglo-Zulu War
KwaZula: The Anglo-Zulu War
Tourism-natal.net: The AngloZulu War of 1879

The Anglo-Boer War

Wikipedia: First Boer War | Second Boer War
Anglo-Boer.co.za: Anglo-Boer War Museum
PineTreeWeb.com: Perspectives: the South African War

Diamond Mines

Mahalo's page on Conflict Diamonds
Wikipedia: Premier Mine | Kimberley
AllAboutGemStones.com: South African Diamond Mines
Department of Geology, UCDavis: Diamonds, Gold and South Africa

South Africa Maps and Geography

Creative Commons image by "CIA World Factbook"

Creative Commons image by "CIA World Factbook"

Official Site: State of the Environment South Africa
Wikipedia: Geography of South Africa
SouthAfrica.com: South Africa's Geography | Geography and Climate

South Africa Capital

Mahalo's page on Pretoria
Wikipedia: Pretoria
Wikitravel: Pretoria
SafariNow.com: Pretoria
BBC Weather: Pretoria South Africa

South Africa Major Cities

Mahalo's page on Johannesburg Vacation
Mahalo's page on Cape Town
Official Site: City of Cape Town
Wikipedia: Johannesburg | Cape Town | Bloemfontein
Official Site: Manguage municipality
World66: Johannesburg Travel Guide
Durban.gov: Official Website of Durban South Africa

South Africa Photos and Videos

TrekEarth: South Africa
Photos-Voyages.com: South Africa Photos
Flickr: South Africa Photos
BBC Audio & Video Search: South Africa
Dailymotion Video Search: South Africa
YouTube & Google Video Search: South Africa | South Africa Documentaries
Search for Video: South Africa

South Africa Culture

Official Site: Department of Arts and Culture
Official Site: Department of Science and Technology
Official Site: Department of Sport and Recreation
Wikipedia: Culture of South Africa
Wikipedia: Demographics of South Africa

Internet Resources for South Africa

African Studies Center: South Africa Resoures
University of North Carolina: Lighthouses of South Africa
University of Denver: Natural Resources: South Africa

South Africa Blogs and Communities

South Africa Rocks: Blogs and News

Related Pages on Mahalo

Apartheid | Apartheid in South Africa | Republic of South Africa | South Africa Vacation | South Africa Restaurants | South Africa Tours | South Africa Tours | Johannesburg Vacation | Africa | Atlantic Ocean | Indian Ocean | Namibia | Botswana | Zimbabwe | Mozambique | Swaziland | Lesotho | Cape Sea Route | Cape Town | Pretoria | Bloemfontein | Johannesburg | Pretoria | Bloemfontein | Cape Town | HIV/Aids | Aids in Africa | Nelson Mandela | Desmond Tutu | Stephen Biko | Conflict Diamonds | Thabo Mbeki Resigns

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