South frica

Cubilla Ibel, Reyna Valentina.

South Africa is a republic situated in Africa. The name of this country comes from its location. It is
characterized by the diversity in culture and language, amazing landscapes and the fight for black
people's right.

History
About 2000 years ago, the Bantu-speaking people arrived and they brought an Iron Age culture. Sheep
and cattle grazing was practiced. By the mid-1700s there were more slaves in the Cape than free
settlers. In 1795 the British settled in Cape Town. The British brought diseases and they introduced
Christianity. Cape Town was used as a strategic base and it was integrated into the international
commercial empire of Great Britain. The British and the Boers fought for three years. It was positive
for British because they used to practice a policy of land burned which consisted of destroy everything
that could be useful for the enemy. Further on, diamonds were discovered on the Vaal River in the
late 1860s as well as the Witwatersrand gold fields were discovered too. The regional trade was based
on mining and processing of minerals such as iron, copper, tin and gold. Slaves were used to work but
when they were scarce labor, they imported slaves from East Africa.

South Africa became an independent domain on May 31, 1910. It was called the Union of South Africa.

This country was characterized by racism. White people were always benefited and blacks were living
practically without right or as slaves. In 1948, blacks were forced to live in homelands because the
government disagreed with organizations that supported strikes and demonstrations against whites.
For this reason, many leaders were arrested, including Nelson Mandela in 1964 and he was sentenced
to life imprisonment. [4]

Currently, the country is under the black people domination. Even though the apartheid was banned,
lots of South Africans are poor and without job. South African white people reported that they had
been killed since 1994, for this reason BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) have been helping to level
the living conditions of both groups of people. Some original tribes live without political representative
and they are victims of racial violence.

Geography
South Africa is in the southern end of the African continent. It borders Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe,
Mozambique and Swaziland in the north; the Indian Ocean in the east/south and in the west by the
Atlantic Ocean. It is divided into nine provinces: Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Western Cape,
Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Free State and Northern Cape. [5] And it is the only country to
have 3 different capital cities. They are: Cape town: the legislative capital. Bloemfontein: the judicial
capital. And Pretoria: the administrative capital. Another important city is Johannesburg, the
economic heartland. [2]

Its climate is semiarid and subtropical in the coast. The days are sunny and the night is cold. [5] And
the area has two physiographic categories: the interior plateau, and the land between the plateau and
the coast. Both are divided into the eastern plateau slopes, the Cape folded belt and adjacent regions
and the western plateau slopes, as well. [1]

The country has one of the larger world's environmental reserves and a great diversity of species. It
has 290 conservation parks, almost 300 mammal species, 860 bird species and 8 000 plant species. [1]

Population
South Africa's population is rounding 55,408,513 people. [6] People in this country are divided in black
(75.2%), white (13.6%), coloured (8.6%) and Indian (2.6%). [3] The basic unit of South Africa society is
the family, which includes nuclear family, extended family and tribe. Families whose move to the
urban areas supports families financially in the country sides. Cape Town's residents are proud of their
city and the family, friendship and social standing are the important things for them.

For its great variety of races and culture in South Africa there are 11 official languages: Afrikaans,
English, Ndebele, Northen Shoto, Shoto, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu. Afrikaans is
the language used every day but English is becoming the lingua franca of the country.

Religion and ritual belief are present in people's life. Despite the 68% of the population is Christian,
there are other religions in minority such as Jewish, Muslim and Hinduism. [7]

Economy
The most important event in South Africa's economy was the finding of diamond and gold. At present,
it is a stable and solid economy, the most advanced in the country and it is based on private enterprise.
South Africa exports 40% of the national products like corn, wheat, sugar care, fruit, vegetables, beef
and dairy product. The largest industry is the exploitation of minerals, especially gold, diamond,
platinum and metal. [1]

Culture
The different races of people finished in very rich and variable culture. It includes music, art, customs,
sport and food. Black people have never forgotten their traditional customs such as dancing, singing
and making and weaving.

South Africa's music and literature represent a fusion of cultural influences. In some circumstances,
men who work in mines write to tell how the working is there and claim for their right in this way.
Art started in cave with drawings of animals and the first statues appeared in 19 th century in
expeditions of caves. They were made of gold.

In this country, the most common sports are football, rugby, boxing, athletic and cricket. In 2010,
South Africa was host of the Football World's Cup and it was the first country in Africa that had carried
out that celebration.

Rituals are part of the life of South African indigenous people. They carry out rituals for people who
die, men have to fight to be the husband of the few women who are there and young men practise
the circumcision.

Conclusion
In summary, South Africa is in the same position as all the underdeveloped countries but it does not
have the resources to grow as a republic. The future of the country will depend on the government. It
should focus on reforming the education system, especially to include every South Africa's person in
it, without living any social class outside.

References

[1] Editor: Elas Tibane (2015/2016). South Africa Yearbook. http://www.gov.za/about-

[2] Brand South Africa. Official custodian of South Africa's Nation Brand. July 11th 2017.
https://www.brandsouthafrica.com/tourism-south-africa/geography/geography

[3] Commisceo Global. Country Guides (South Africa guide). http://www.commisceo-

[4] South Africa. History https://www.jyu.fi/viesti/verkkotuotanto/kp/sa/soc_history.shtml

[5] Parents and Teachers: Support Ducksters. Geography. Africa. South Africa History and
Timeline. http://www.ducksters.com/geography/country/south_africa.php
[6] Country Meters. South Africa Population. http://countrymeters.info/en/South_Africa

[7] languages in Africa (continent): Languages and in English language: African English

https://www.britannica.com/place/South-Africa/Languages

[8]The free Encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_South_Africa