History in South Africa

The Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama reached the bay of today’s Durban on Christmas Day 1497. He named it "Rio de Natal", Christmas Rive however it was not until 1823 that the beginnings of European settlement took place. These settlement were established in the Cape and from then on settlements both north and east.

The first European settlers the Boers were continually opposed as to expansion firstly by the Khoikhoi  and thereafter by the Xhosa. In 1779, the first of the ferocious Xhosa wars broke out.

In Swellendam and Graaff-Reinet, the first Republics were proclaimed, although they only existed for a short time.

The ended with the arrival of the British at the Cape and the annexing of the colony to the United Kingdom in 1795.

Through incredible atrocities and cruelties the infamous Zulu warrior Shaka gained control over a number of Zulu clans.

When the Voortrekkers came to Natal in 1836, and fierce battles with the Zulus were on the daily agenda, Durban was also frequently threatened by attacks. After the defeat of the Zulus in the Battle of Blood River, there was peace for a while, but soon the British and the Voortrekkers started to fight for supremacy over Natal. Ultimately, the bitter conflicts were decided in favour of the British. In 1844, Natal became a Crown Colony and the Voortrekkers retreated.

In 1879, the British laid claims on the whole of Zululand resulting Anglo-Zulu War. The battle at the Isandlwana Mountain on 22 January, 1879 was particularly disastrous. About 20,000 Zulu soldiers overran the British army camp. England decided to send more troops and the Anglo-Zulu War continued with heavy loss of lives, until it ended in victory for the British in 1887. KwaZulu was annexed by Natal. The northern border is the Tugela River.

After the Voortrekkers were defeated by the British in Natal in 1842, the trekkers settled north and south of the Vaal river. First, they formed the independent Transvaal to the north, which would later become the South African Republic.

The Cape Colony and all the land between the Vaal and Orange rivers was declared British territory in 1848.

By the middle of the 19th century, all the land formerly inhabited by Xhosa was in the hands of white settlers.

With the founding of the South African Union in 1910, the British colony and the independent Boer Republics were united. In which only the white population could execute the right to vote.

On October 11, 1899 a war broke out between Boer Republics and the British colonies of Cape and Natal.

Deprived of the right to vote or to strike, the black population had no means of political influence, and so the ANC, African National Congress was formed.

Frederik Willem de Klerk spelled the end of Apartheid in February 1990, and declared himself in favour of a democratic South Africa.

Nelson Mandela, the President of the ANC, was released from prison on Robben Island, after 27 years behind bars.

In April 1994, the first democratic elections were held in South Africa. As expected, the ANC gained the overwhelming majority.

Nelson Mandela was inaugurated on the 10th of May 1994 as the first black African President of the New South Africa.