South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in the southern region of Africa. About forty-five million people live there.

South Africa is next to Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Swaziland.

The largest city is Johannesburg; the capitals are Cape Town, Pretoria, and Bloemfontein. This is because the government is based in Pretoria, the parliament in Cape Town and the Supreme Court in Bloemfontein

There are 11 national languages or National Lexicography Units (NLUs): Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Xhosa, Zulu, Swati, Setswana, Sesotho, Sesotho sa Leboa, Venda and Tsonga. As a result, the country has an official name in each language.

One of South Africa's most notable people is Nelson Mandela, who was its President from 1994 until 1999.

History

The first European people to come to South Africa were Portuguese explorers. In 1487, Bartolomeu Dias discovered the Cape of Good Hope. Dias wanted to call it "Cape of Storms", but the King of Portugal changed it to "Cape of Good Hope". He called it this because it gave them a new chance to find a sea route to India.
In 1652 Jan van Riebeeck colonized the Cape by starting a refresh station. He started the camp for the Dutch East India Company so that they could give fresh food to ships on their way to the south of Asia. Since there were very few native people living in the Cape, slaves were brought from Indonesia, Madagascar and India to work at the Colony. In 1795 Great Britain took the Cape from the Dutch East India Company because it wanted to stop France from taking it. It was given back to them in 1803 but was then annexed in 1807 when the Dutch East India Company went bankrupt.
Diamonds were discovered in South Africa in 1867 and gold was discovered in 1884. This caused many people to come to South Africa from Europe hoping to make money. Not only was there gold and diamonds to find but people were needed to run shops, build houses and do many other jobs. The First Boer War happened in 1800-1881. The war was between the British, who controlled the Cape, and the Boer Republics. The Boer Republics were established when Dutch settlers moved north in the Great Trek.The British soldiers and their commanders underestimated the Boers and lost the war. They returned 8 years later in 1899 and won the war in 1902. The British brought many more soldiers this time, and the Boers had no chance of winning. At this time, the British made use of concentration camps which demoralized the Boers and helped the British stop the war from lasting any longer. on May 31, 1910 the Union of South Africa was created from the Cape and Natal colonies, as well as the Orange Free State and the Transvaal, the two Boer Republics.

Economy

South Africa's economy is split between First World and Third World standards. The developed part of the economy is similar to that of most wealthy nations, such as Britain or Australia. The rest of the economy is closer to that of poor nations, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo or rural India.

The main industries in South Africa are mining (mostly gold and diamonds), car making, and service industries, such as insurance.

Military

South Africa's military is the most powerful in southern Africa. South Africa spends more on its military than any of its neighbors, and as a result it has very advanced weapons. South Africa used to have nuclear weapons, but they were taken apart in 1993.

See also

• Nelson Mandela

Other websites

• Official government site(not simple)
• South Africa in the news (not simple)
• South Africa