132-582: In the Colonies and Boer Republics which became the Union of South Africa in 1910, several unofficial military decorations and medals were instituted and awarded during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The Kimberley Star is an unofficial private campaign medal which was instituted by the Mayor of Kimberley in 1900. The medal was awarded to all who took part in the defence of the diamond mining town during
264-780: A German colony , except for Walvis Bay and the Offshore Islands which remained part of the Cape, outside of German control. Following the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the Union of South Africa occupied and annexed the German colony of German South West Africa . With the establishment of the League of Nations and cessation of the war, South Africa obtained a Class C Mandate to administer South West Africa "under
396-541: A Trusteeship agreement instead. This invitation was in turn rejected by the Union, which subsequently did not modify the administration of South West Africa and continued to adhere to the original mandate. This caused a complex set of legal wranglings that were not finalised when the Union was replaced with the Republic of South Africa. In 1949, the Union passed a law bringing South West Africa into closer association with it including giving South West Africa representation in
528-475: 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,
660-461: 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
792-648: 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
924-409: 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
1056-522: 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
1188-673: 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
1320-612: A separate colony and 40.6% in favour of joining the Union of South Africa. The inhospitable coast of what is now the Republic of Namibia remained uncolonised up until the end of the 19th century. From 1874, the leaders of several indigenous peoples, notably Maharero of the Herero nation, approached the Cape Parliament to the south. Anticipating invasion by a European power and already suffering Portuguese encroachment from
1452-627: 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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#17327905503971584-666: 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
1716-481: 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
1848-722: 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
1980-511: 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 the region over 100,000 years ago. The first known people were
2112-462: 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 is considered one of
2244-706: The British Crown as a self-governing dominion of the British Empire . With the passage of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, the Union and other dominions became equal in status to the United Kingdom, and the Parliament of the United Kingdom could no longer legislate on behalf of them. This had the effect of making the Union and the other dominions de jure sovereign nations. The Status of
2376-774: The British Parliament in December 1931, which repealed the Colonial Laws Validity Act and implemented the Balfour Declaration 1926 , had a profound impact on the constitutional structure and status of the Union. The most notable effect was that the South African Parliament was released from many restrictions concerning the handling of the so-called "native question". However, the repeal was not sufficient to enable
2508-488: The British Parliament 's adoption of the South Africa Act , which ratified the Union. The four colonies that would become South Africa were represented, along with a delegation from Rhodesia . The 33 delegates assembled behind closed doors, in the fear that a public affair would lead delegates to refuse compromising on contentious areas. The delegates drew up a constitution that would, subject to some amendments by
2640-609: The Cape of Good Hope , and besieged the British garrisons at Ladysmith in Natal and at Mafeking and Kimberley in the Cape of Good Hope. The siege of Kimberley began on 14 October 1899 and lasted four months, until the town was relieved on 15 February 1900. Official military recognition for the defence and relief of Kimberley took the form of two clasps to the Queen's South Africa Medal ,
2772-479: 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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#17327905503972904-613: 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
3036-704: 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
3168-869: 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
3300-495: 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
3432-819: The Kingdom of Portugal or the German Empire . In response, the Cape Parliament appointed a special Commission under William Palgrave , to travel to the territory between the Orange and Cunene rivers and to confer with these leaders regarding accession to the Cape. In the negotiations with the Palgrave Commission , some indigenous nations such as the Damara and the Herero responded positively (October 1876), other reactions were mixed. Discussions regarding
3564-679: 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
3696-760: 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
3828-907: 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
3960-498: 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
4092-469: 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
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4224-563: The South African Defence Force (SADF). [REDACTED] Wikimedia Atlas of Union of South Africa 30°S 25°E / 30°S 25°E / -30; 25 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
4356-604: 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
4488-848: 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
4620-482: 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), the country has over 62 million people . Pretoria is the administrative capital, while Cape Town , as the seat of Parliament ,
4752-739: The United Party of Jan Smuts , which favoured close relations with the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth , unlike the Afrikaans-speaking National Party , which had held anti-British sentiments and was opposed to South Africa's intervention in the Second World War . Some Nationalist organisations, like the Ossewabrandwag , were openly supportive of Nazi Germany during the Second World War . Most English-speaking South Africans were opposed to
4884-525: 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
5016-677: 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
5148-472: 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
5280-426: The founding members of the League of Nations . It was mandated by the League with the administration of South West Africa (now known as Namibia ). South West Africa became treated in most respects as another province of the Union, but it never was formally annexed. Like Canada , Australia and New Zealand , the Union of South Africa was a self-governing dominion of the British Empire . Its full sovereignty
5412-424: 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
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5544-456: 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
5676-514: 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
5808-407: The Boer republics. Numerous Boer soldiers refused to surrender and took to the countryside to carry out guerrilla operations against the British, who responded by implementing scorched earth tactics. These tactics included interning Afrikaner civilians from the Boer republics in concentration camps (in which roughly 28,000 people died) and destroying homesteads owned by Afrikaners to flush out
5940-406: The British campaign medal which was awarded to British and Colonial military personnel, civilians employed in official capacity and war correspondents, who served in the Second Boer War. In addition to the military honours and to also honour non-military townsfolk who took part in the defence of the town during the siege, Mayor of Kimberley H.A. Oliver instituted the Kimberley Star in 1900. The medal
6072-416: The British government, become the South Africa Act. This was South Africa's constitution between 1910 and 1961, when the country became a republic under the Constitution of 1961 . In 1922 the colony of Southern Rhodesia had a chance (but ultimately rejected) to join the Union through a referendum . The referendum resulted from the fact that by 1920 British South Africa Company rule in Southern Rhodesia
6204-408: 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 the country, the repeal of discriminatory laws began in
6336-463: 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
6468-451: 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
6600-409: 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 :
6732-454: 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
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#17327905503976864-442: The Prime Minister of South Africa, Jan Smuts , eventually offered terms he considered reasonable and which the United Kingdom government found acceptable. Although opinion among the United Kingdom government, the South African government and the British South Africa Company favoured the union option (and none tried to interfere in the referendum), when the referendum was held the results saw 59.4% in favour of responsible government for
6996-412: 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
7128-661: 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
7260-444: The South African Parliament to ignore the entrenched clauses of its constitution (the South Africa Act ) which led to the coloured-vote constitutional crisis of the 1950s wherein the right of coloureds to vote in the main South African Parliament was removed and replaced with a separate, segregated, and largely powerless assembly. The military of the Union of South Africa was the Union Defence Force (UDF) until 1957, when it became
7392-553: 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
7524-400: The South African parliament. Walvis Bay , which is now in Namibia , was originally a part of the Union of South Africa as an exclave as it was a part of the Cape Colony at the time of Unification. In 1921, Walvis Bay was integrated with the Class C Mandate over South West Africa for the rest of the Union's duration and for part of the republican era. The Statute of Westminster passed by
7656-456: The Union Act , passed by the South African Parliament in 1934, incorporated the applicable portions of the Statute of Westminster into South African law, underscoring its status as a sovereign nation. It removed what remaining authority Whitehall had to legislate for South Africa, as well as any nominal role that the United Kingdom had in granting Royal Assent . The governor-general was now required to sign or veto bills passed by Parliament, without
7788-414: The Union. Five years earlier, some 33,000 Natalians had signed the Natal Covenant in opposition to the plans for a republic. Subsequently, the National Party government had passed a Constitution that repealed the South Africa Act . The features of the Union were carried over with very little change to the newly formed Republic. The decision to transform from a Union to Republic was narrowly decided in
7920-406: 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
8052-557: 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
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#17327905503978184-438: 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
8316-754: The central white band is wider than the red and blue bands. Approximately 5,000 Kimberley Stars were awarded, but there is no roll of recipients. While privately instituted military decorations and medals do not enjoy official status as a result of not having been formally instituted or sanctioned by the fount of honour at the time, and while none of them were therefore allowed to be worn with military uniform, some have become well-known and have acquired recognition in South Africa's military medal history. Four of these decorations and medals are considered to be significant. Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( Dutch : Unie van Zuid-Afrika ; Afrikaans : Unie van Suid-Afrika ; pronunciation )
8448-440: 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
8580-410: The colonial empire found just". Several previous unsuccessful attempts to unite the colonies were made, with proposed political models ranging from unitary , to loosely federal . Sir George Grey , the Governor of Cape Colony from 1854 to 1861, decided that unifying the states of southern Africa would be mutually beneficial. The stated reasons were that he believed that political divisions between
8712-432: 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
8844-410: 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 , the Commonwealth of Nations , and the G20 . A developing , newly industrialised country , South Africa has the largest economy in Africa by nominal GDP. It
8976-464: The creation of a republic , many of them voting "no" in the 5 October 1960 referendum . But due to the much larger number of Afrikaans-speaking voters, the referendum passed, leading to the establishment of a republic on 31 May 1961. The government led by the National Party consequently withdrew South Africa from the Commonwealth. Following the results of the referendum, some whites in Natal, which had an English-speaking majority, called for secession from
9108-399: The end of his tenure and, having little experience of southern Africa, he preferred to enforce the more familiar model of confederation used in Canada. He pushed ahead with his Confederation plan, which unraveled as predicted, leaving a string of destructive wars across southern Africa. These conflicts eventually fed into the first and second Anglo-Boer Wars , with far-reaching consequences for
9240-427: 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
9372-514: The final act of Union in 1909. A crucial difference was that the Cape's liberal constitution and multiracial franchise were to be extended to the other states of the union. These smaller states would gradually accede to the much larger Cape Colony through a system of treaties, whilst simultaneously gaining elected seats in the Cape parliament . The entire process would be locally driven, with Britain's role restricted to policing any set-backs. While subsequently acknowledged to be more viable, this model
9504-1286: 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
9636-535: 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
9768-475: 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
9900-485: 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 a system of non-racial franchise had existed in
10032-609: The four months in 1899 and 1900 while Kimberley was besieged by Boer Republican Forces during the Second Boer War . The Second Boer War between the United Kingdom and the allied Boer Republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State , broke out on 11 October 1899. In the first phase of the war, the Boer Republican Forces mounted pre-emptive strikes into British-held territories in Natal and
10164-546: The gold and diamond mines there and highly protective of its own citizens, demanded reforms, which the Afrikaners rejected. A small-scale private British effort to overthrow Transvaal's President Paul Kruger , the Jameson Raid of 1895, proved a fiasco, and presaged full-scale conflict as diplomatic efforts all failed. The Second Boer War started on 11 October 1899 and ended on 31 May 1902. The United Kingdom gained
10296-728: The guerillas and deny them a base of civilian support. Using these tactics combined with a system of blockhouses and barriers to seal off Boer holdouts, the British were able to gradually track down and defeat the guerillas. In the 1902 Treaty of Vereeniging , the British formally annexed the Boer republics into the Cape Colony , ending the war. The National Convention was a constitutional convention held between 1908 and 1909 in Durban (12 October to 5 November 1908), Cape Town (23 November to 18 December 1908, 11 January to 3 February 1909) and Bloemfontein (3 to 11 May 1909). This convention led to
10428-723: The idea in principle and the Transvaal may also eventually have agreed. However, he was overruled by the British Colonial Office which ordered him to desist from his plans. His refusal to abandon the idea eventually led to him being recalled. In the 1870s, the London Colonial Office, under Secretary for the Colonies Lord Carnarvon , decided to apply a system of confederation onto southern Africa. On this occasion, however, it
10560-408: 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 , a period of significant upheaval, led to
10692-445: 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
10824-558: 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
10956-617: The last months of 1899, Boer forces launched the first attacks of the war, besieging the British-held settlements of Ladysmith , Kimberley and Mafeking , and winning several engagements against British troops at Colenso , Magersfontein and Stormberg . However, by the next year the British soon organised an effective response to these attacks, lifting the three sieges and winning several battles against Boer forces. The British, now deploying approximately 400,000 soldiers from across their colonial empire, successfully invaded and occupied
11088-478: The laws of the mandatory (South Africa) as integral portions of its territory". Subsequently, the Union of South Africa generally regarded South West Africa as a fifth province, although this was never an official status. With the creation of the United Nations , the Union applied for the incorporation of South West Africa, but its application was rejected by the U.N., which invited South Africa to prepare
11220-406: The lowermost star point. The medals were awarded unnamed, although some were unofficially engraved with the name of the recipient. The ribbon is 25 millimetres (1 inch) wide, with an 8 millimetres wide black band, a 3 millimetres wide red band, a 3 millimetres wide white band, a 3 millimetres wide dark blue band and an 8 millimetres wide yellow band. Various versions of the ribbon exist and, on some,
11352-505: The magisterial structure for the area's political integration into the Cape dragged on until, from 1876, it was blocked by Britain. Britain relented, insofar as allowing the Cape to incorporate Walvis Bay as an exclave, which was brought under the magisterial district of Cape Town , but when the Germans established a protectorate over the area in 1884, South West Africa was predominantly autonomous. Thereafter, South West Africa became
11484-404: The medal in uniform. The Kimberley Star was six-pointed, with a ball on each point and struck in silver, to fit into a 46 millimetres diameter circle. Two Kimberley Stars were struck in gold. The star is attached to the suspender by a ring, which passes through an eyelet formed in the uppermost point-ball of the star. The suspension is in two parts, a decorated bar with an eyelet on the reverse for
11616-407: 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 is often referred to as the " rainbow nation " to describe
11748-521: 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
11880-660: The name of the Crown (cited in the format Rex / Regina v Accused ) and government officials served in the name of the Crown. An entrenched clause in the Constitution mentioned Dutch and English as official languages of the Union, but the meaning of Dutch was changed by the Official Languages of the Union Act, 1925 to include both Dutch and Afrikaans. Most English-speaking whites in South Africa supported
12012-533: 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
12144-715: The needs of the government of the day. Parliamentary sovereignty was a convention of the constitution, inherited from the United Kingdom; save for procedural safeguards in respect of the entrenched sections of franchise and language, the courts were unable to intervene in Parliament's decisions. Pretoria was the seat of government, while the Parliament sat in Cape Town and the Appellate Division in Bloemfontein . The Union initially remained under
12276-476: The north and Afrikaner encroachment from the south, these leaders approached the Cape Colony government to discuss the possibility of accession and the political representation it would entail. Accession to the Cape Colony, a self-governing state with a system of multi-racial franchise and legal protection for traditional land rights, was at the time considered marginally preferable to annexation by either
12408-664: 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
12540-703: 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
12672-733: 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
12804-747: 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
12936-411: The onset of the war, the British were both overconfident about the chances of success in a military confrontation with the Boer republics and underprepared for a long-term conflict. British Prime Minister Lord Salisbury and members of his cabinet , in particular Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain , ignored repeated warnings that Boer forces were more powerful than previous reports had suggested. In
13068-522: The option of seeking advice from London. The monarch was represented in South Africa by a governor-general , while effective power was exercised by the Executive Council, headed by the prime minister . Louis Botha , formerly a Boer general, was appointed first prime minister of the Union, heading a coalition representing the white Afrikaner and English-speaking British diaspora communities. Prosecutions before courts were instituted in
13200-916: 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
13332-404: 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
13464-506: 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,
13596-573: 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
13728-691: 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
13860-593: 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
13992-404: 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
14124-608: The referendum. The decision together with the South African Government's insistence on adhering to its policy of apartheid resulted in South Africa's de facto expulsion from the Commonwealth of Nations . The South Africa Act dealt with race in two specific provisions. First it entrenched the liberal (by South African standards) Cape Qualified Franchise system of the Cape Colony which operated free of any racial considerations (although due to socio-economic restrictions no real political expression of non-whites
14256-540: 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
14388-546: 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
14520-536: The subcontinent. After the discovery of gold in the 1880s, thousands of British immigrants flocked to the gold mines of the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State . The newly arrived miners, though needed for the mines, were distrusted by the politically dominant Afrikaners, who called them " uitlanders ", imposed heavy taxes on them and granted them very limited civil rights, with no right to vote. The British government, interested in profiting from
14652-490: The support of its Cape Colony, of its Colony of Natal and of some African allies. Volunteers from across the British Empire further supplemented the British war effort. All other nations remained neutral, but public opinion in them was largely hostile to Britain. Inside Britain and its Empire there was also significant opposition to the Second Boer War , spearheaded by anti-war activists such as Emily Hobhouse . At
14784-463: The suspender ring to pass through and a plain bar at the top of the ribbon with a brooch-pin on the reverse. The obverse has a central design of the Kimberley town shield, surrounded by a circlet inscribed "KIMBERLEY" at the top and "1899-1900" at the bottom. The reverse is plain and is inscribed, in relief, "MAYOR'S SIEGE MEDAL 1900" in three lines, with the silver hallmark impressed at the top of
14916-547: 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
15048-438: 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
15180-402: The way it was imposed from outside without understanding of local issues. The Confederation model was also seen as unsuitable for the disparate entities of southern Africa , with their wildly different sizes, economies and political systems. The Molteno Unification Plan (1877), put forward by the Cape government as a more feasible unitary alternative to confederation , largely anticipated
15312-412: The white-controlled states "weakened them against the natives", threatened an ethnic divide between British and Boer, and left the Cape vulnerable to interference from other European powers. He believed that a united "South African Federation", under British control, would resolve all three of these concerns. His idea was greeted with cautious optimism in southern Africa; the Orange Free State agreed to
15444-468: 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
15576-579: 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
15708-484: Was a unitary state , rather than a federation like Canada and Australia, with each colony's parliaments being abolished and replaced with provincial councils . A bicameral parliament was created, consisting of the House of Assembly and Senate , with members of the parliament being elected mostly by the country's white minority. During the course of the Union, the franchise changed on several occasions always to suit
15840-1015: Was awarded to all men who were engaged in the defence of Kimberley as well as to members of the British Forces in the Kimberley Garrison. These included, amongst others, the Kimberley Town Guard, the Kimberley Regiment , the De Beers Maxim Battery, the Cape Police, the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment and the Diamond Fields Artillery. Since the medal did not enjoy official status, however, the military recipients were not allowed to wear
15972-515: Was confirmed with the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westminster 1931 . It was governed under a form of constitutional monarchy , with the Crown being represented by a governor-general. The Union came to an end with the enactment of the constitution of 1961 , by which it became a republic and left the Commonwealth of Nations . The Republic of South Africa rejoined the Commonwealth on 1 June 1994. The Union of South Africa
16104-626: 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
16236-443: Was largely rejected by southern Africans, primarily due to its very bad timing. The various component states of southern Africa were still simmering after the last bout of British expansion, and inter-state tensions were high. The Orange Free State this time refused to even discuss the idea, and Prime Minister John Molteno of the Cape Colony called the idea badly informed and irresponsible. In addition, many local leaders resented
16368-595: Was no longer practical with many favouring some form of ' responsible government '. Some favoured responsible government within Southern Rhodesia while others (especially in Matabeleland ) favoured membership of the Union of South Africa. Politician Sir Charles Coghlan claimed that such membership with the Union would make Southern Rhodesia the " Ulster of South Africa". Prior to the referendum, representatives of Southern Rhodesia visited Cape Town where
16500-542: Was possible). The Cape Prime Minister at the time, John X. Merriman , fought hard, but ultimately unsuccessfully, to extend this system of multi-racial franchise to the rest of South Africa. Second it made "native affairs" a matter for the national government. The practice therefore was to establish a Minister of Native Affairs . According to Stephen Howe, "colonialism in some cases—most obviously among white minorities in South Africa — meant mainly that these violent settlers wanted to maintain more racial inequalities than
16632-518: 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
16764-575: 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
16896-408: Was rejected at the time by London. At the other extreme, another powerful Cape politician at the time, Saul Solomon , proposed an extremely loose system of federation, with the component states preserving their very different constitutions and systems of franchise. Lord Carnarvon rejected the (more informed) local plans for unification, as he wished to have the process brought to a conclusion before
17028-464: 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
17160-495: 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
17292-537: 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
17424-485: Was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa . It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape , Natal , Transvaal , and Orange River colonies. It included the territories that were formerly part of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State . Following World War I , the Union of South Africa was a signatory of the Treaty of Versailles and became one of
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