The south africa wars
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The document discusses the arrival of the British at the Cape of South Africa and the impact it had on the indigenous population. It notes that the British initially came to protect trade routes but soon sought to develop the Cape for their own needs. This led to the introduction of slavery and forced labor models that profoundly transformed African societies. Over time, contact became colonial rule that disrupted many communities, though some resisted for decades. While Africans initially engaged with Europeans voluntarily for access to goods like firearms, they eventually suffered the most from Europeans' greatest interest - the slave trade that resulted in millions being taken and the deterioration of societies and economies over 400 years.
The south africa wars
- 1. The South Africa Wars GRADE 10 Topic 6: Presentation
- 2. Britain at the Cape • The arrival of the British at the Cape changed the lives of the people that were already living there. Initially British control was aimed to protect the trade route to the East, however, the British soon realized the potential to develop the Cape for their own needs.
- 3. Indigenous Population • With colonialism, which began in South Africa in 1652, came the Slavery and Forced Labour Model. This was the original model of colonialism brought by the Dutch in 1652, and subsequently exported from theWestern Cape to the Afrikaner Republics of the Orange Free State and the Zuid-Afrikaansche Respublika. Many South Africans are the descendants of slaves brought to the Cape Colony from 1653 until 1822.
- 4. Continuation • The changes wrought on African societies by the imposition of European colonial rule occurred in quick succession. In fact, it was the speed with which change occurred that set the colonial era apart from earlier periods in South Africa. Of course, not all societies were equally transformed. Some resisted the forces of colonial intrusion, slavery and forced labour for extended periods. Others, however, such as the Khoikhoi communities of the south-western Cape, disintegrated within a matter of decades.
- 5. Initially, a colonial contact was a two-way process. However, Africans were far from helpless victims in the initial encounter. Colonial contact was not simply a matter of Europeans imposing themselves upon African societies. For their part,African rulers saw many benefits to be had from maintaining relations with Europeans, and for a considerable period of time they engaged with Europeans voluntarily and on their own terms. Most importantly, trade with Europeans gaveAfrican rulers access to a crucial aspect of European technology, namely firearms. More than anything else, those who had ownership and control over firearms were able to gather around themselves larger and larger groups of people. In short, the ownership of firearms turned into a status symbol and a means to gain political power.
- 6. Sadly, the article of trade in which Europeans showed the greatest interest, and whichAfricans were prepared to sacrifice, were slaves.The Atlantic slave trade stands at the center of a long history of European contact with Africa.This was the era of the African Diaspora, an all- embracing term historians have used to describe the consequences of the slave trade. Estimates of the number of slaves transported from their African homes to European colonial possession in the Americas range from 9 to 15 million people.Although a great deal of violence accompanied the trade in slaves, the sheer scale of operations involved a high degree of organization, on the part of both Europeans and Africans. In other words, the Atlantic slave trade could not have taken place without the cooperation, or complicity, of many Africans.
- 7. As the number of transported salves increased, African societies could not avoid transformation, and 400 years of slave trading took their toll. Of course, not all African societies were equally affected, but countries such as Angola and Senegal suffered heavily. The most important consequences of the Atlantic slave trade were demographic, economic, and political.There can be no doubt that the Atlantic slave trade greatly retarded African demographic development, a fact that was to have lasting consequences for the history of the continent. At best, African populations remained stagnant.The export of the most economically active men and women led to the disintegration of entire societies.The trade in slaves also led to new political formations. In some cases, as people sought protection from the violence and warfare that went with the slave trade, large centralized states came into being.