Name. The name South Africa is derived from the countrys 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 formerly separate British colonies.

What was South Africa called before Colonisation?

Following the defeat of the Boers in the Anglo-Boer or South African War (1899–1902), the Union of South Africa was created as a self-governing dominion of the British Empire on 31 May 1910 in terms of the South Africa Act 1909, which amalgamated the four previously separate British colonies: Cape Colony, Colony of

What was South Africa called before 1990?

South West Africa (Afrikaans: Suidwes-Afrika; German: Südwestafrika; Dutch: Zuidwest-Afrika) was the name for modern-day Namibia when it was under South African administration, from 1915 to 1990.

What was South Africa before 1961?

The two European countries who occupied the land were the Netherlands (1652-1795 and 1803-1806) and Great Britain (1795-1803 and 1806-1961). Although South Africa became a Union with its own white people government in 1910, the country was still regarded as a colony of Britain till 1961.

What was South Africa called in 1860?

Owing to political divisions among the Boers, it was not until 1860 that the name South African Republic was applied to the amalgamated Boer republics in the area bounded by the Vaal, Hartz, and Limpopo rivers. With the British annexation of Natal, most of the Voortrekkers rejoined their compatriots on the Highveld,

Who came to South Africa first?

The Khoisan were the first inhabitants of southern Africa and one of the earliest distinct groups of Homo sapiens, enduring centuries of gradual dispossession at the hands of every new wave of settlers, including the Bantu, whose descendants make up most of South Africas black population today.

Who found South Africa first?

1480s - Portuguese navigator Bartholomeu Dias is the first European to travel round the southern tip of Africa. 1497 - Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama lands on Natal coast. 1652 - Jan van Riebeeck, representing the Dutch East India Company, founds the Cape Colony at Table Bay.

Who started slavery in South Africa?

Abraham van Batavia Dutch rule The first slave, Abraham van Batavia arrived in 1653 (van Batavia meaning from Batavia, the name of Jakarta during the Dutch colonial period), and shortly afterward, a slaving voyage was undertaken from the Cape to Mauritius and Madagascar.

WHO officially ended apartheid?

The apartheid system in South Africa was ended through a series of negotiations between 1990 and 1993 and through unilateral steps by the de Klerk government. These negotiations took place between the governing National Party, the African National Congress, and a wide variety of other political organisations.

Where did most of the slaves in South Africa come from?

The majority of all people enslaved in the New World came from West Central Africa. Before 1519, all Africans carried into the Atlantic disembarked at Old World ports, mainly Europe and the offshore Atlantic islands.