south africa
- 1. South Africa
- 2. Summary • 1 - Location • 1.1 capitals • 2- Languages • 3- History • 3.1- Colonization • 3.2- Apartheid and recent History • 4- Culture • 4.1- Flag • 4.2- Religions
- 3. 1- Location • - South Africa is located in the African Continent. It is surrounded by 6 countries. To the North by Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe; On the East side by Mozambique and Swaziland. In the middle of the country we can find another country called Lesotho.
- 7. 2- Languages • South African society ( known as the rainbow nation) it is quite multicultural,since it has many different cultures, languages and religions, which is reflected in its constitution that recognizes 11 official languages. • Two of them have European origins: Afrikaans coming from the Dutch colonization, and English from the British being the main language used in public and in the commercial life.
- 8. 3- History South Africa has suffered colonization from several european countries, from the Portuguese till the French. But the biggest influence came from the Dutch and the British.
- 9. 3.1-Colonization When Europeans arrived in the country there were already a dominant group of people whose language was the Bantu, who had been living there for one thousand years, being the two major groups the Xhosa and Zulu peoples.
- 10. The Portuguese Influence • We can say the country was discovered by the portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias in 1488 who was at the time exploring the unknown trade route to the Far East via the African continent. • Later in 1497 the Portuguese Vasco da Gama succeed to go round the Cape of Good Hope, continuing its way to India, opening a new era in History by creating a new connection between Europe and Asia;
- 11. The Dutch Influence • In 1967 two ships of the Dutch East India Company got shipwrecked in South Africa for several months. Having its mariners survived by the generosity of its inhabitants they returned back to Holand saying that the new country would be a great place to serve as warehouse for the passing ships. • Later, on behalf of their company they created a station in what would in the future would be Cape Town city, where they settled and started mixing with some indigenous groups.
- 12. The British Influence • The British ocupation first happened at the beggining of the 19th century, but it was in the second half of this century that the British interest grew due to the discover of Diamond mines in the country. • At the end of this century , after facing dutch and french colonizers in the boers war, the British start to control the main part of the region. • The segregation of black people from the white ones was notarious since the 19th century but it was in 1913 with the Natives Land Act that an official law came out restricting rights of the black people;
- 13. 3.2- Apartheid and Recent History
- 14. The Apartheid • In 1948 with the National Party in power the segregation of black people became official under Bristh and Dutch colonial rules, limitating throughout the time , more and more the rights of black people, these ones the majority in the country ( 80%); • Several discriminatory rules were created, including : the prohibition of marriage between white and black people ( 1949); The creation of ghetos in certain areas of the city only for black people;
- 15. The interdiction of black people in using some public facilities such as drinking fountains and public bathrooms ( 1951) and the creation of a different education sistem for black children. In 1955 the Freedom Charter,by the Congress Alliance, demanded a non-racial society and an end to discrimination.
- 16. • In 1961 the Union of South Africa conquers the independence from England, forming the African South Republic • . During the 60's the UN declares to be against the apartheid and it was also during this time that Nelson Mandela was sent to prison, being arrested for 27 years. He was released in 1990 under the protection of the government of Frederik Willem de Klerk. Once released he conducted the process that ended the Apartheid having won the Nobel Price in 1993. • The apartheid came to an end in 27th April 1994 with free elections. Nelson Mandela was elected President of the South African Republic.
- 17. 4- Culture • There is not a single South African culture because of its ethnic diversity. This can be not only noticed in the different population but also in the country's different kinds of gastronomy, sports and languages. There are, however, some unifying traits common to the different people.
- 18. 4.1 Flag • The flag of South Africa was designed in March 1994 and adopted on 27 April 1994, at the beginning of South Africa's 1994 election, to replace the flag that had been used since 1928. The new national flag, was chosen to represent the country's new democracy after the end of apartheid.
- 19. 4.2-Religions • South Africa is characterized by a great diversity and religious miscegenation. In the country we can find some traditional African religions, Hindu and Islamism. • However, about 70% of the South African population follows some Christian religion, coming from the European colonization.
- 20. The end