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156-603: The Association's operations initially involved distributing those varieties of cotton seed which would produce the types of cotton its members required and providing expertise, both at no cost, in British protectorates and colonies where climatic and soil conditions were favourable for growing cotton and later began to supply machinery and act as a selling agent for growers. From 1921, the British Government became increasingly dissatisfied with its anomalous position as

312-507: A largely non-violent struggle by the African National Congress and other anti-apartheid activists both inside and outside 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

468-600: A boost in prices caused by the First World War, the Association's introduction of high-quality varieties of seed and the promotion of cotton in areas irrigated by the annual rise of Lake Chad improved yields and prices. The Association also instituted a series of certified cotton markets in 1921, where certification by its trained graders was required for the cotton to be accepted at Association ginneries. Until 1923, it also agreed to purchase all certified cotton at

624-634: A colony of the same name Various sultanates in the Dutch East Indies (present day Indonesia): "Protection" was the formal legal structure under which French colonial forces expanded in Africa between the 1830s and 1900. Almost every pre-existing state that was later part of French West Africa was placed under protectorate status at some point, although direct rule gradually replaced protectorate agreements. Formal ruling structures, or fictive recreations of them, were largely retained—as with

780-504: A few years later by it ceasing in Togo. Efforts to promote cotton growing in Angola and Mozambique began in the mid-19th century, mainly through plantations, but cotton only became an important product at the start of the 20th century, when Portugal's growing textiles industry became dependent on imported cotton. A number of plantation companies experimented with cotton, but it was only when

936-475: 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,

1092-461: 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

1248-699: 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

1404-783: A high point in 1929 before the Great Depression The BCGA saw West Africa as a suitable area for commercial cotton growing, particularly in Nigeria. The Gambia and Sierra Leone, although having suitable climate and soils, were heavily involved in growing peanuts and, in parts of the Gold Coast, the mining industry was the main employers. In general, the Association favoured production by African farmers, but in Sierra Leone and Ibadan it experimented with plantations. Although cotton production prospered in some areas,

1560-409: 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

1716-567: A levy of sixpence for every 500 pounds on all raw cotton purchased by British spinners to support its own activities and, at its discretion, those of the British Cotton Growing Association. The association was inaugurated with a guarantee fund of £50,000, and this was used to send consignments of seed and growing instructions to countries with potential to grow cotton and to dispatch cotton experts to undertake pioneering work and conduct experiments there. In 1904

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1872-637: A non-state organisation undertaking activities which were regarded as proper to the colonial administration and, in 1927, a governmental agency, the Empire Cotton Growing Corporation, took over most of the BCGA's work although the Association continued to operate as a trade representational body. In the last quarter of the 19th century, the Lancashire cotton industry obtained around three-quarters of its supplies of raw cotton from

2028-522: 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

2184-589: A policy of forcing African producers to grow cotton and to sell it in controlled markets. However, the efforts of the ACC largely ceased by 1915, and supplies of African cotton dwindled. After the First World War, the ACC was solely as a lobbying body for manufactures in France. Cotton production in the six main French cotton-producing colonies: Burkina Faso, (formerly Haute-Volta ), Chad , Mali (formerly Soudan Français ),

2340-550: A price determined by negotiation between the administration and the companies. Until this system was reformed in the mid1930s, it only produced moderate amounts of often low-grade cotton and impoverished the coerced growers. Initially, the BCGA was not interested in the Sudan, largely because an agreement with Egypt limited the amount of water the Sudan could abstract from the River Nile for irrigation. An agreement of 1912 between

2496-406: A price fixed six months in advance to give growers certainty, but it withdrew this guarantee as world prices recovered from a post-war slump. In 1902, the BCGA turned to Uganda as a suitable area for growing cotton, as it possessed a favourable climate and fertile soils. A high-grade long-staple cotton was introduced and, as production increased cotton become Uganda's most important cash crop. Cotton

2652-673: 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

2808-494: 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 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

2964-458: A short time, Portugal had organisations similar to the BCGA, these never exercised as much influence over colonial production as the BGCA did. Germany and Portugal initially concentrated on plantation production rather than peasant cotton growing and, in all four countries, the colonial administrations had more direct control than in British colonies where the BCGA operated and used more coercion. After

3120-454: A state. Multiple regions—such as the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria , the Colony and Protectorate of Lagos , and similar—were subjects of colonial protection. Conditions of protection are generally much less generous for areas of colonial protection. The protectorate was often reduced to a de facto condition similar to a colony, but with the pre-existing native state continuing as

3276-627: 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

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3432-422: A very weak protectorate surrendering control of its external relations but may not constitute any real sacrifice, as the protectorate may not have been able to have a similar use of them without the protector's strength. Amical protection was frequently extended by the great powers to other Christian (generally European) states, and to states of no significant importance. After 1815, non-Christian states (such as

3588-467: Is a multi-ethnic society encompassing a wide variety of cultures , languages , and religions ; it is often referred to as the " rainbow nation " to describe the country's multicultural diversity, especially in the wake of apartheid. Recognised as a middle power in international affairs, it maintains significant regional influence and is a member of BRICS , the African Union , SADC , SACU ,

3744-564: Is different from a colony as it has local rulers, is not directly possessed, and rarely experiences colonization by the suzerain state. A state that is under the protection of another state while retaining its "international personality" is called a "protected state", not a protectorate. Protectorates are one of the oldest features of international relations, dating back to the Roman Empire . Civitates foederatae were cities that were subordinate to Rome for their foreign relations. In

3900-666: 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

4056-481: 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

4212-722: 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

4368-650: The Chinese Qing dynasty ) also provided amical protection of other, much weaker states. In modern times, a form of amical protection can be seen as an important or defining feature of microstates . According to the definition proposed by Dumienski (2014): "microstates are modern protected states, i.e. sovereign states that have been able to unilaterally depute certain attributes of sovereignty to larger powers in exchange for benign protection of their political and economic viability against their geographic or demographic constraints". *protectorates which existed alongside

4524-609: The Commonwealth of Nations , and the G20 . A developing , newly industrialised country , South Africa has 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

4680-945: The Dominican Republic and Nicaragua through the Bryan–Chamorro Treaty . Some agencies of the United States government , such as the Environmental Protection Agency , refer to the District of Columbia and insular areas of the United States—such as American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands —as protectorates. However, the agency responsible for the administration of those areas, the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) within

4836-479: 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

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4992-613: 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

5148-704: 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

5304-869: 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

5460-495: 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

5616-560: The Ivory Coast , Benin (formerly Dahomey ) and Cameroon) was developed by cooperation between the French Administration and a French public company, Compagnie française pour le développement des fibres textiles (CFDT). Its two main problems were the unsuitability of much of French West Africa for cotton production without irrigation, and competition from local textile industries. Where cotton could be grown successfully,

5772-477: The Middle Ages , Andorra was a protectorate of France and Spain . Modern protectorate concepts were devised in the nineteenth century. In practice, a protectorate often has direct foreign relations only with the protector state, and transfers the management of all its more important international affairs to the latter. Similarly, the protectorate rarely takes military action on its own but relies on

5928-796: 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

6084-760: 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

6240-907: 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

6396-498: 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

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6552-469: 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

6708-569: The Sennar Dam in the Sudan and the expansion of Nigerian Railways . Although India was already established as a supplier of raw cotton, much of this was of the short-staple variety generally used for the coarse types of cotton cloth produced for the Indian domestic market and, while much existing African cotton production was also short-staple, the Association thought that the higher prices which high-quality long-staple cotton would command, and

6864-668: 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

7020-848: 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

7176-403: The United States Department of Interior , uses only the term "insular area" rather than protectorate. South Africa South Africa , officially the Republic of South Africa ( RSA ), 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

7332-405: 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

7488-677: 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

7644-540: The Zambezi valley in Southern Rhodesia and the Association saw this as a promising area to develop production by distributing suitable seed from 1904 on. However, results were unfavourable before the First World War, as peasant farmers made more money selling maize or other foods. A wartime increase in the cotton price, intensive promotion of cotton and a further price increase in the mid-1920s caused more African farmers to turn to cotton, although white farmers expressed concern about African labour shortages on their farms. From

7800-472: 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

7956-441: The suzerainty of a more powerful sovereign state without being a possession. In exchange, the protectorate usually accepts specified obligations depending on the terms of their arrangement. Usually protectorates are established de jure by a treaty . Under certain conditions—as with Egypt under British rule (1882–1914)—a state can also be labelled as a de facto protectorate or a veiled protectorate . A protectorate

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8112-456: 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

8268-416: The 1930s, cotton growing suffered from low prices and being restricted to areas considered unsuitable for tobacco growing or cattle herding, so it never realised the Association's earlier expectations. The BCGA experimented with cotton growing in the areas of North-Eastern Rhodesia close to the Nyasaland border from 1908. Upland cotton of good quality could be grown there, but lack of economic transport made

8424-514: 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

8580-404: The Association sought legislation by the colonial authorities to regulate the production and sale of cotton, aiming to promote exports at the expense of local sales. In 1927 the Empire Cotton Growing Committee was replaced by the Empire Cotton Growing Corporation (later renamed the Cotton Research Corporation) as the main governmental agency supporting cotton production. This body took over most of

8736-453: The Association to purchase their cotton. After a boom in sales at the start of the First World War, discontinuance of a British Government grant in 1916 caused the association to cease operations in areas where transport was difficult, and disastrous floods in the Lower Shire in 1918, were good transport links existed, severely hit production there. A post-war slump in cotton prices convinced most European planters, and many African farmers outside

8892-473: The Association to rely on African producers. The Association paid African farmers at least market rates, and sometimes above-market rates, particularly after the First World War, when worldwide cotton prices slumped, to ensure growers did not change to growing crops other than cotton. It also offered significant cash incentives for high-quality cotton and, as a result of these two policies, the Association frequently lost money on its cotton dealing. In West Africa,

9048-417: The Association withdrew from Kenya, although its former operations there were transferred on by the British East Africa Corporation. From 1903, the BCGA promoted the growing of Egyptian cotton by African farmers in the Lower Shire River valley and along the shores of Lake Nyasa . This type was unsuitable for highland areas but a variety of Upland cotton was developed for the Shire Highlands . Initially,

9204-463: The Association's main input was the provision of free reliable seed to local farmers, but it later provided advice on cultivation and, in 1910, it built a ginnery and purchased part of the cotton crop. Also in 1910, the colonial administration made rules limiting who could issue seed to or purchase cotton from African farmers, creating a virtual monopoly for the Association. Although European planters growing cotton were not covered by these rules, many used

9360-480: The BCGA also faced the problem that growing cocoa, peanuts or tobacco could be more lucrative than cotton, in East Africa and Northern Nigeria that local cotton industries with limited transport costs offered comparable or better prices than Lancashire and that in much of Nyasaland and Uganda poor transport links increased costs to uneconomic levels. It was also prevented from operating in Egypt, which produced excellent long-staple cotton. In order to meet these challenges,

9516-455: The BCGA ceased its development operations in 1927, British colonial administrations assumed greater control over their cotton production. The French textile industry was even more dependent than Britain's on United States cotton, with over 90% of its supplies from that source at the end of the 19th century. Although cotton had been produced for centuries in West Africa, it was not grown intensively and yields were low. Attempts were made to improve

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9672-416: The Belgian textile industry. Initially, the administration sought to promote peasant cotton growing through incentives but, from 1921, it gave twelve Belgian companies the exclusive right to purchase cotton in a defined area and, in practice, a labour monopoly in those areas. Further grants were made in later years. Cotton growers in these areas were forced to grow cotton and sell it to the designated company at

9828-402: The Cadbury Research Library, University of Birmingham. Protectorates List of forms of government A protectorate , in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its internal affairs, while still recognizing

9984-463: 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

10140-454: The Egyptian and Sudanese governments allowed the latter greater freedom to use the waters of the Blue Nile for irrigation and, from 1915, the Association began to import Sudanese cotton and sell it to Lancashire mills. However, it was only after the British Government advanced funds for large-scale irrigation in the Gezira region that substantial cotton production was possible. As most of the land in Gezira belonged to its indigenous population,

10296-437: The German Government. Its main aim was to increase colonial cotton production, although it also attempted other projects to increase raw material supplies. The main KWK project was in Togo , where cotton was produced on European owned plantations between 1904 and 1909. However, much of this cotton was low-grade and the attempt was later ended. Colonial cotton production never met more than a small fraction of German needs. One of

10452-465: The Gold Coast ceased by 1912. Cotton, particularly in Northern Nigeria, was either rain-grown or an irrigated crop long before the colonial period. The BCGA made an agreement with the Nigerian Government in 1904 to establish model farms and a research station, build ginneries and provide suitable seeds and experts to improve the quality and quantity of the crop. Initially, yields were small and transport, except were farms were near major rivers or railways,

10608-410: The Lower Shire valley to cease growing cotton but, after 1924, production by African growers in the Lower Shire revived. The BCGA's interest in both sections of colonial Rhodesia was minor, as much of these territories was climatically unsuitable for cotton growing, and there were alternative employment opportunities to growing cotton for their African populations. Small amounts of cotton were grown in

10764-451: 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

10920-409: 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 :

11076-454: 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

11232-565: 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

11388-458: The Sierra Leone plantations failed and the lack of rail connections in other areas and high cost of sea transport from West Africa depressed producer prices. From 1902, some attempts were made to encourage cotton growing in the River Volta region of the Gold Coast, but efforts to grow Egyptian cotton failed and American Upland Cotton was only moderately successful. The Association's efforts in

11544-829: 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

11700-677: 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

11856-519: The Sudanese farmer received 40% of the sales price of his crop, the government that granted the concession and provided irrigation water received 35% and the company, responsible for general management and supervision, ploughing the land and ginning the cotton had the balance of 25%. Once the Gezira Scheme became fully operational in 1925, cotton became the principal export of the Sudan, reaching

12012-710: The US and India, both using their home-grown cotton, and from the emerging cotton industries of France, Germany and Japan. Despite increasing worldwide demand for cotton, production in the United States was increasing only slowly, as almost all the land suitable for cotton was already in use for its cultivation and, in years when the domestic crop was low, it was largely used at home, with little being exported. World demand for raw cotton exceeded supply and Lancashire mills, which were highly dependent on United States raw cotton, were concerned about their future as their continued supply

12168-665: The US had the right to intervene in Cuba to preserve its independence, among other reasons (the Platt Amendment had also been integrated into the 1901 constitution of Cuba ). Later that year, Panama and the US signed the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty , which established the Panama Canal Zone and gave the US the right to intervene in the cities of Panama and Colón (and the adjacent territories and harbors) for

12324-500: The United States to restrict cotton exports and raise prices in 1902-03 and 1909–10, no significant further attempts were made to corner this market. However, it is not clear how much of this increase in African cotton exports would have occurred without the Association's activities. One view is that, as the colonial administrations of several African territories lacked the financial resources to promote major agricultural change, priming

12480-436: The United States, one sixth from India and the rest mainly from Egypt and Brazil. This was because Lancashire spinning machinery was generally adapted for medium-staple cotton such as American Upland cotton , rather than Indian short-staple cotton, used mainly for cheaper fabrics, or high-grade but expensive Egyptian long-staple types. By the end of that century, Lancashire was facing increasing competition from manufacturers in

12636-572: The West Indies and British Guiana in 1903. The bulk of the crop grown was Sea Island cotton of very fine quality, but the quantities grown were small. The BCGA investigated cotton growing in Queensland Australia between 1904 and 1908 and again in 1911, but considered that the high cost of labour would prevent commercially successful operations. After German East Africa was occupied by British forces in late 1918, and before it

12792-491: The absence of significant local cotton manufacturing, would convince African farmers to produce the long-staple variety that Lancashire required: this underestimated the demand of local manufacturers in some colonies. It also wished to have a wide range of sources of supply, rather than replacing dependence on the United States with over-reliance on India. The Association initially planned to operate through plantations owned either by itself or by European planters and companies. It

12948-529: 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

13104-420: The agent of indirect rule . Occasionally, a protectorate was established by another form of indirect rule: a chartered company , which becomes a de facto state in its European home state (but geographically overseas), allowed to be an independent country with its own foreign policy and generally its own armed forces. In fact, protectorates were often declared despite no agreement being duly entered into by

13260-667: 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

13416-576: The association was applied for, and was granted, a Royal Charter and its capital was increases to £500,000 to ensure adequate funding for the extension of its expanding operations. In its early days, the BCGA generally worked through the Colonial Office or officials in the colonies, but it soon realised that, to meet its objectives, it needed to do more than provide seed and expertise, so from 1920 it began to supply machinery and buildings, to finance cotton ginneries and to act as selling agent for

13572-581: 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

13728-554: 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

13884-462: The colonial Sudanese Government devised a scheme under which owners whose land was to be irrigated were required to lease it to the government for 40 years at a fixed rent, receiving also the right to cultivate that land in an approved manner, namely to grow cotton. From 1921, this became the basis of land tenure in the Gezira Scheme , the area of which was greatly increased when the Sennar Dam

14040-510: The colonial government in Mozambique followed the British example and turned to peasant production in 1906, followed by Angola in 1907, that significant amounts were produced, particularly in and just after the First World War. In both colonies, Africans were obliged to plant cotton, but had to sell this to European traders for export at a guaranteed but low price. Most development, including the provision of free seeds and arranging transport,

14196-760: 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

14352-663: The cost of production excessive. The withdrawal of government support to the Association and decline in cotton prices after the First World War ended its interest in that area. The BCGA set-up an experimental cotton farm in the Tzaneen area near the Limpopo in 1903 and, a cotton gin was installed there in 1905. In 1913, in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture, further experimental sites for cotton were established at Rustenburg and at Barberton . These with Tzaneen became

14508-864: The cotton crops at guaranteed prices. It worked principally in Africa, including the Sudan, Nigeria, the Gold Coast and other colonies in West Africa, Uganda and Kenya in East Africa, Nyasaland and the Rhodesias in Central Africa and Union of South Africa . It also operated in India, Iraq, Australia and the West Indies. The Association also encouraged British Government investment in infrastructure projects likely to benefit cotton production, such as roads, railways and irrigation works, including

14664-550: 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

14820-1286: 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

14976-535: 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

15132-475: 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

15288-566: The ground. This aspect of history is referred to as the Scramble for Africa . A similar case is the formal use of such terms as colony and protectorate for an amalgamation—convenient only for the colonizer or protector—of adjacent territories, over which it held ( de facto ) sway by protective or "raw" colonial power. In amical protection—as of United States of the Ionian Islands by Britain—the terms are often very favourable for

15444-522: The growing of cotton in the First World War, with some success. However, after 1918, it faced strong competition from Indian traders and a significant part of the Ugandan crop was sold to India rather than Britain, as transport costs to India were lower. Cotton found less favour in Kenya, although the association attempted to introduce it in 1906, mainly near Lake Victoria and in coastal districts. In 1914,

15600-480: The growth of cotton, and particularly long-staple cotton, in the British African colonies and in the other colonies in which it operated in during the first quarter of the 20th century. In the same period. Lancashire's consumption of American cotton decreased significantly, whereas American cotton exports to Western Europe and elsewhere were relatively stable, suggesting its aim of securing alternative supplies

15756-554: The highest Gini coefficient of 0.63, South Africa 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,

15912-445: 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

16068-558: 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

16224-490: 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 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

16380-662: The local administrators resorted to compelling local producers to grow cotton and sell it to the CFDT at low prices up to 1931. This was counterproductive, and French Africa only supplied about 7% of the cotton that metropolitan France required. The German Kolonial-Wirtschaftliches Komitee (KWK), or Colonial Economic Committee, was set up in 1896. From the outset, it was dominated by textile manufacturers seeking raw materials and, from 1902, it directed plans for economic development in German African colonies, effectively as an agent of

16536-518: The long formal name in English has been 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

16692-492: The low-level authority figures in the French Cercles —with leaders appointed and removed by French officials. The German Empire used the word Schutzgebiet , literally protectorate, for all of its colonial possessions until they were lost during World War I , regardless of the actual level of government control. Cases involving indirect rule included: Before and during World War II , Nazi Germany designated

16848-588: The main problems the KWK had is that it initially conscripted African labour to work on plantations, both in Togo and German East Africa. In Togo, this led to large-scale migration to adjacent British and French colonies to escape forced labour, and in German East Africa it was an important factor leading to the Maji-Maji uprising of 1905, after which plantation production there was abandoned there, followed

17004-717: The maintenance of public order. The 1904 constitution of Panama , in Article 136, also gave the US the right to intervene in any part of Panama "to reestablish public peace and constitutional order." Haiti later also became a protectorate after the ratification of the Haitian–American Convention (which gave the US the right to intervene in Haiti for a period of ten years, which was later expanded to twenty years through an additional agreement in 1917) on September 16, 1915. The US also attempted to establish protectorates over

17160-610: 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

17316-450: 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), 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

17472-664: 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

17628-703: 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

17784-677: 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

17940-747: 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

18096-633: The oldest archaeological and human-fossil sites in 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

18252-838: 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

18408-404: 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

18564-618: 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,

18720-415: 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

18876-635: 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

19032-534: 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

19188-404: 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

19344-423: The protection relationship is not usually advertised, but described with euphemisms such as "an independent state with special treaty relations" with the protecting state. A protected state appears on world maps just as any other independent state. International administration of a state can also be regarded as an internationalized form of protection, where the protector is an international organisation rather than

19500-426: The protection through a bilateral agreement with the protector, while international mandates are stewarded by the world community-representing body, with or without a de facto administering power. A protected state has a form of protection where it continues to retain an "international personality" and enjoys an agreed amount of independence in conducting its foreign policy. For political and pragmatic reasons,

19656-402: The protector for its defence. This is distinct from annexation , in that the protector has no formal power to control the internal affairs of the protectorate. Protectorates differ from League of Nations mandates and their successors, United Nations trust territories , whose administration is supervised, in varying degrees, by the international community . A protectorate formally enters into

19812-400: The protectorate. The political interest of the protector is frequently moral (a matter of accepted moral obligation, prestige, ideology, internal popularity, or dynastic , historical, or ethnocultural ties). Also, the protector's interest is in countering a rival or enemy power—such as preventing the rival from obtaining or maintaining control of areas of strategic importance. This may involve

19968-634: The pump by the BCGA was necessary to bring about change, at least in the poorer countries. An alternative view is that the cost of the Association's operations may have been excessive for the benefit achieved, and its obsessive quest for new supplies may have been at the expense of adapting the industry to the new technologies emerging in that period. In 1902 when the BCGA was formed, four other European states (France, Germany, Portugal and Belgium) each had domestic textile industries and African colonies, and each attempted to grow cotton in those colonies to reduce dependence of imported cotton. Although France and, for

20124-428: The quantity and also the quality of cotton produced in the late 19th century, but the first sustained effort began in 1903 when the Association Cotonniere Coloniale (ACC), composed of French cotton manufacturers, began to supply seeds and technical advice: unlike the BCGA, the ACC did not market raw cotton and built only a few ginneries. The colonial administration did not favour of European-owned plantations but instituted

20280-447: 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 , 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

20436-412: The research work previously carried out the BCGA to improve the quality and yield of cotton grown. By this time, the Association had generally given up its role as buyer, because many colonies had established their own marketing boards. However, the Association continued as a consulting organisation and as a trade representational body. There is little doubt that the Association was successful in promoting

20592-403: The rights to these concessions were rescinded when the Belgian Government annexed its territory as the Belgian Congo in 1908, Congolese people were debarred from activities other than subsistence agriculture. Few of the concessionaires had initiated cotton growing, but in 1917 a requirement to produce saleable crops was imposed on Africans, including the growing of varieties of cotton suitable for

20748-434: 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

20904-435: The rump of occupied Czechoslovakia and Denmark as protectorates: Some sources mention the following territories as de facto Russian protectorates: After becoming independent nations in 1902 and 1903 respectively, Cuba and Panama became protectorates of the United States . In 1903, Cuba and the US signed the Cuban–American Treaty of Relations , which affirmed the provisions of the Platt Amendment , including that

21060-423: 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

21216-589: The state supposedly being protected, or only agreed to by a party of dubious authority in those states. Colonial protectors frequently decided to reshuffle several protectorates into a new, artificial unit without consulting the protectorates, without being mindful of the theoretical duty of a protector to help maintain a protectorate's status and integrity. The Berlin agreement of February 26, 1885, allowed European colonial powers to establish protectorates in Black Africa (the last region to be divided among them) by diplomatic notification, even without actual possession on

21372-413: The subscribers. The association was at first given financial support by the British government, but in 1915 subsidy was withdrawn and, in 1917, the Empire Cotton Growing Committee was established to take over some of its responsibilities. This led to the association restricting its activities in several countries. However, the Cotton Industry Act 1923 empowered the Empire Cotton Growing Committee to collect

21528-535: The three main centres of cotton production, all in the Transvaal. However, cotton was never of more than local important in the country until the 1930s. In 1920, Iraq became a League of Nations mandate under British control. The BCGA established that soil and climatic conditions are suitable for growing cotton, but only with irrigation and better transport facilities. However, the high cost of implementing infrastructure improvements prevented significant commercial production there. The BCGA introduced cotton growing into

21684-460: 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

21840-438: 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

21996-413: 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

22152-415: Was advised against this policy by many colonial officials, particularly in areas where cotton was already grown. However, at least ten private cotton plantation companies were floated, mainly in West Africa, between 1902 and 1914: all failed through poor planning, insufficient capital or lack of agricultural experience. The cost of supporting private firms that failed to create viable plantations also convinced

22308-412: Was completed in 1925. A smaller irrigation scheme also operated in Kassala province . Unlike the rest of Africa where plantations had either not been or abandoned, in the Sudan, the “Syndicate” system operated: a type of plantation where native producers entered into a form of partnership with the Sudan Plantations Syndicate Limited, which had received a concession from the Sudan government. Under this,

22464-436: Was composed of manufacturers, merchants, shippers and representatives of the various industries and trades unions connected with the cotton industry in Lancashire. It was organised as a semi-philanthropic body, using subscriptions from those involved in the cotton industry to distribute seed and provide technical expertise at no cost to the beneficiaries in order to develop cotton-growing, without any direct or immediate benefit to

22620-434: Was dependent on market conditions and open to speculative manipulation. In 1901, a committee was appointed to investigate the establishment new cotton growing areas in British colonies, dependencies and protectorates. Following the committee's recommendation, the British Cotton Growing Association (BCGA), aiming to promote growing suitable grades of cotton within the British Empire, was founded in February 1902. The association

22776-424: Was difficult. Cotton growing was not popular in areas where cocoa, oil palms or peanuts were grown and, in 1910 the Association's research station was closed, so by 1914 the future for cotton looked uncertain. In the Kano region, the Association's was disappointed because the local cotton industry paid as much or more to local farmers as it did, until the railway arrived there in 1912 and cut transport costs. However,

22932-437: Was formally mandated to Britain as Tanganyika (territory) , the Association was given the task of promoting cotton production, including guaranteeing prices, arranging transport and building new ginneries. However, it was already stretched and unable to devote sufficient resources to carry this out effectively and was replaced by the Empire Cotton Growing Corporation. Archives of the British Cotton Growing Association are held at

23088-439: 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

23244-445: Was initially planted in Buganda and extended to the Bunyoro , Busoga and Ankole districts in 1905. Ugandan cotton production increased rapidly until 1912, aided by a degree of coercion applied from 1908 onward. The cotton producers were then hit by fluctuating world prices and disruption caused by the First World War and many in areas with poor transport links ceased growing the crop. The Association made strenuous efforts to promote

23400-444: 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

23556-612: Was promoted by colonial governors, as an organisation modelled on the BCGA only existed for a few years and did not undertake these tasks. Frequent changes of government before 1926 prevented consistent policies being applied, and Angola and Mozambique only produced around 5% of the cotton Portugal's textiles industry required, until the establishment of the Estado Novo , which introduced increasingly brutal coercion from its inception in 1926, and particularly after 1938. The Congo Free State which gained international recognition in 1885, granted large concessions to private companies and, until

23712-442: Was realised. However, the United States remained Britain's largest supplier, with the BCGA's colonial cotton supplying about 20% of cotton Lancashire used in 1918. This colonial supply was useful in ensuring that there were no shortages in years when the American crop was low or prices high, particularly as the range of sources made supplies less dependent on adverse conditions in one country. After attempts by brokers and speculators in

23868-519: 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

24024-464: 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

24180-415: 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

24336-420: 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

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