Prehistory South Africa contains some of the oldest archaeological and
human-fossil sites in the world. Archaeologists have recovered extensive fossil remains from a series of caves in
Gauteng known as the
Cradle of Humankind, which has been declared a
UNESCO World Heritage Site. 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. The first hominin fossil discovered in Africa, the
Taung Child, was found near
Taung in 1924. Other hominin remains have come from the sites of
Makapansgat in
Limpopo;
Cornelia and
Florisbad in the
Free State;
Border Cave in
KwaZulu-Natal;
Klasies River Caves in the
Eastern Cape; and
Pinnacle Point,
Elandsfontein and Die Kelders Cave in the
Western Cape. 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 the
Vaal River valley.
Pre-colonial period The indigenous
San and
Khoikhoi peoples of Southern Africa were predominantly
hunter-gatherers and, in the case of the Khoikhoi, also practised
pastoralism.
Khoisan peoples may be the descendants of an early dispersal of
anatomically modern humans to Southern Africa before 150,000 years ago. They were largely displaced or absorbed by the
Bantu expansion which took place between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago. , the site of the former capital of the
Kingdom of Mapungubwe Bantu
settlers expanded from West Africa from approximately 3,000 BCE. 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. The earliest
ironworks in modern-day KwaZulu-Natal are believed to date from around 1050. The southernmost group was the
Xhosa people, whose language incorporates certain linguistic traits from the Khoisan languages, and who eventually reached the
Great Fish River in the present-day Eastern Cape. As they migrated, these larger
Iron Age populations displaced or assimilated earlier peoples. In
Mpumalanga, several stone circles have been found along with a stone arrangement that has been named
Adam's Calendar, and the ruins are thought to be created by the
Bakone, a
Northern Sotho group. 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, and several rainmaking sites have been found nearby including
Ratho Kroonkop. By 1250, the capital of the
Mapungubwe Kingdom had a population of 5,000 and the state covered 30,000 km2 (11,500 square miles), growing wealthy through 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 the
Soutpansberg, interactions between early
Shona inhabitants (possible from Mapungubwe), late-comer Shona and
Sotho-speakers between the 15th and 17th centuries culminated in the formation of the
Venda language and identity. In the late-17th century, a splinter group from the dynasty of the
Rozvi Empire migrated south; they were the Singo. The Singo settled at
Dzata, which became the capital of the
Venda Kingdom, and came to subdue all of the Soutpansberg. In the late-18th century, following trade routes moving south, the state collapsed. The most powerful dynasties that remained were the Ramabulana Singo in the western Soutpansberg, and the Tshivhase Singo and Mphaphuli Singo in the eastern Soutpansberg.
Portuguese exploration planting the cross at
Cape Point after being the first to successfully round the
Cape of Good Hope 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 was south of the furthest point reached in 1485 by his predecessor, the Portuguese navigator
Diogo Cão, being
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, , probably the present-day
Groot River, in May 1488. On his return, he saw the cape, which he named ('Cape of Storms'). King
John II renamed the point , 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. In 1497
Vasco Da Gama set sail from Lisbon and finally became the first European to reach India in 1498 via the Cape of Good Hope, opening up oceanic trade between Europe and Asia. He reportedly bypassed what became South Africa and landed instead in what is now Mozambique.
Dutch and British colonisation of the Cape The Dutch first made contact with the coast of Southern Africa in 1595. With Portuguese maritime power declining in the early 17th century, English and Dutch merchants competed to dislodge Portugal's lucrative monopoly on the
spice trade. British
East India Company representatives sporadically called at the Cape in search of provisions from as early as 1601 but later came to favour
Ascension Island and
Saint Helena as ports of refuge. Dutch interest was aroused after 1647, when two employees of the
Dutch East India Company were shipwrecked at the Cape for several months, and managed to survive by obtaining fresh water and meat from the indigenous peoples, 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 time, the Cape became home to a large population of
Free Burghers. Some of the earliest mixed race communities in the country were formed between Free Burghers, 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. Dutch colonists' eastward expansion caused
wars with the southwesterly migrating Xhosa nation, as both sides competed for the pastureland near the Great Fish River, which the colonists desired for grazing cattle. Free Burghers who became independent farmers on the frontier were known as
Boers, with some (the ) adopting semi-nomadic lifestyles. 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, culminating in the arrival of the
1820 Settlers, Chiefdoms grew wealthier and competed over trade routes and grazing land, leading to the formation of the
Ndwandwe and
Mthethwa Paramountcies in the east of the country. Ndwandwe defeated Mthethwa, which in turn split into several groups, one of which was led by
Shaka of the
amaZulu. The 1810s saw the fourth and fifth
Xhosa Wars as British colonisation expanded. The Ndwandwe Paramountcy splintered amid costly raids, and Shaka's
Zulu Kingdom rose to fill the power vacuum. 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 (). They migrated to the future
Natal, Free State, and
Transvaal regions, and following their victory over the Zulu Kingdom at the
Battle of Blood River on 16 December 1838, founded the
Boer republics: the
Natalia Republic, the
South African Republic and the
Orange Free State. In the interior, the
Cape Colony expanded at the expense of the
Batswana and
Griqua, and Boer expansion destabilised 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 the interior initiated the
Mineral Revolution, which increased economic growth and immigration and intensified British subjugation of the indigenous peoples. The struggle to control these important economic resources shaped relations between Europeans and the indigenous population, as well as between the Boers and the British. On 16 May 1876, President
Thomas François Burgers of the South African Republic declared war against the
Pedi people.
King Sekhukhune defeated the army on 1 August 1876, with another attack by the Lydenburg Volunteer Corps being similarly 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 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 the obstacles were the presence of the independent states of the Boers, and the Zulu army. The Zulu nation defeated the British at the
Battle of Isandlwana but ultimately lost the war, resulting in the termination of its independence.
Boer Wars and independence was the last decisive battle during the
First Boer War. 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 the
Second Boer War (1899–1902) and, although suffering heavy casualties due to Boer
attrition warfare, were ultimately successful due in part to
scorched earth tactics and
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 the wars, Boer farmers fled into
Transvaal and Orange Free State cities, many of whom would come to constitute an urban class of "
poor whites". 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 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 created the
Union of South Africa on 31 May 1910, granting the country nominal independence. 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, which was passed by the British ruling the Parliament of the newly formed Union of South Africa, severely restricted the ownership of land by
black South Africans, who at that stage 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. In 1934, 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.
Apartheid era , the first apartheid-era prime minister (1948–1954) 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 a framework, the
nationalist government classified all peoples into three races (being "Whites", "Blacks", and "Indians and Coloured people") and developed rights and limitations for each. The white-led
minoritarian government instituted a policy of legally institutionalised segregation which came to be known as
apartheid. While whites enjoyed a higher
standard of living comparable to
First World Western nations, 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, which was multi-racial in makeup, 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 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 the position 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 the organisation in 1961. Despite
opposition to apartheid both within and outside the country from all racial backgrounds, 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, urban sabotage and, according to
Oxford Academic,
acts of terrorism. 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 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.
Post-apartheid and
Nelson Mandela shake hands in January 1992. 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 a transition of policies and government. In 1990, the National Party government took the first step towards dismantling apartheid 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 and treason. 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 the ANC won by an overwhelming majority. The country rejoined the
Commonwealth of Nations and became a member of the
Southern African Development Community. The post-apartheid period, whilst plagued by high unemployment and increasing income inequality, has been characterised by relative political stability. The country has, however, seen periodic outbreaks of violence, most notably the
2008 xenophobic riots — during which over 60 people were killed, and an estimated 100,000 people were driven from their homes — and the
Marikana massacre, which constituted the most lethal use of force by South African security forces against civilians since the Soweto uprising. Widespread
political corruption and
state capture took place under the
presidency of Jacob Zuma, whose brief imprisonment for
contempt of court during the course of his
trial for corruption in 2021 led to
widespread unrest which left 354 people dead. with
vuvuzelas in the
township of
Soweto, a
suburb of Johannesburg against
xenophobia in South Africa, 23 April 2015 The
electoral dominance of the ANC has gradually declined since the early 2000s, with the party failing to secure a parliamentary majority for the first time in the
2024 general election. President
Cyril Ramaphosa subsequently formed the
Government of National Unity with, amongst others, the
Democratic Alliance. == Geography ==