Portal:South Africa

Welcome to the South Africa Portal Unity in Diversity Introduction The Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of the African continent. It borders the countries of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Swaziland, and entirely surrounds Lesotho. South Africa has the largest population of people of European descent in Africa,one of the largest Indian population outside of Asia, as well as the largest Coloured (of mixed European, Asian and African descent) community in Africa, making it one of the most ethnically diverse countries on the continent. Racial and ethnic strife between the black majority and the white minority have played a large part in the country's history and politics. The National Party began introducing the policy of apartheid after winning the general election of 1948; however, it was the same party under the leadership of F.W. de Klerk who started to dismantle it in 1990 after a long struggle by the black majority, as well as many white, coloured and Indian South Africans. The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a coup d'état, and regular free and fair elections have been held since 1994, making it a regional power and among the most stable and liberal democracies in Africa. South Africa is ranked as an upper-middle income economy by the World Bank. It has the second largest economy in Africa after Nigeria, and the 34th-largest in the world. By purchasing power parity, South Africa has the 7th highest per capita income in Africa. Although being the second largest economy, South Africa has the most sophisticated economy in the continent, with modern infrastructure common throughout the country. The country is considered to be a newly industrialized country according to the World Bank classifications. More about South Africa ... Selected article - The Union Buildings viewed from the Gardens The Union Buildings (Afrikaans: Uniegebou) form the official seat of the South African Government and also house the offices of the President of South Africa. The imposing buildings are located in Pretoria, atop Meintjieskop at the northern end of Arcadia, close to historic Church Square and the Voortrekker Monument. The large gardens of the Buildings are nestled between Government Avenue, Vermeulen Street East, Church Street, the R104 and Blackwood Street. Fairview Avenue is a closed road where only officials can enter to the Union Buildings. Though not in the centre of Pretoria, the Union Buildings occupy the highest point of Pretoria, and constitute a South African national heritage site. The Buildings are one of the centres of political life in South Africa; "The Buildings" and "Arcadia" have become metonyms for the South African government. It has become an iconic landmark of Pretoria and South Africa in general, and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city and an emblem of democracy. Read more... List of selected articles Flag of South Africa Water supply and sanitation in South Africa San people Cape Town Denel Rooivalk Gautrain Siege of Kimberley KwaZulu-Natal Krugerrand Battle of Spion Kop Afrikaans Johannesburg JSE Limited South African Border War Cape Town International Airport Berg River Dam Swartkrans Apartheid Roridula Deep Fried Man University of Pretoria Pretoria Lint voor Verwonding Zulu Kingdom Cape of Good Hope Dutch Cape Colony Battle of Magersfontein PUTCO Koeberg Nuclear Power Station Selected picture - The Afrikaans Language Monument (Afrikaans: Afrikaanse Taalmonument) is located on a hill overlooking Paarl, Western Cape Province, South Africa. Officially opened on 10 October 1975, it commemorates the semicentenary of Afrikaans being declared an official language of South Africa separate from Dutch. Also, it was erected on the 100th anniversary of the founding of Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners (the Society of Real Afrikaners) in Paarl, the organization that helped strengthen Afrikaners' identity and pride in their language. Did you know... - ...that the Pilanesberg Game Reserve is located in the crater of a long extinct volcano and the result of eruptions some 1,200 million years ago. ...that Table Mountain (pictured) in Cape Town is believed to be one of the oldest mountains in the world ...that The Cape Floral Kingdom has 9,600 plant species, 70% of which are not found anywhere else in the world. WikiProjects WikiProject South Africa WikiProject South Africa discussions • South Africa Wikipedians' Notice Board • South African Wikipedians • Wikipedians in South Africa • Wikimedia ZA • Subscribe to the Wikimedia ZA mailing list Good article - This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards. Jan Willem Spruyt (4 July 1826 – 8 September 1908), also known as Jan Willem Spruijt and Jan Willem Landskroon Spruijt (birthname), was a South African civil servant, lawyer and statesman of Dutch descent. Spruyt was government secretary (1856–1862) and several times acting state president of the Orange Free State, and state secretary of the South African Republic (1866–1869). Spruyt grew up in the Netherlands, studied law, but did not complete his studies, and worked as a schoolteacher, before coming to South Africa. Here he practised as law agent in private practice in both Boer republics. Soon after his arrival he was also quickly enrolled in the administration of the Orange Free State, and attained a powerful position as government secretary. In this capacity he stood in for state president M.W. Pretorius several times in the period 1860–1862. In the third quarter of the nineteenth century several many Afrikaner politicians and government officials served in both Boer republics. So did Spruyt, who finished his career as state secretary of the South African Republic. Read more... List of Good articles 2014 South African general election Boerehaat Common eland Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa SAS President Steyn Mzoli's SAS President Pretorius Richard Goldstone Desmond Tutu Angolan Civil War Sophiatown Oscar Pistorius Action of 9 February 1799 (South Africa) Drum (2004 film) Feelings (Zonke song) Invasion of the Cape Colony Mechanics of Oscar Pistorius's running blades Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) Mannenberg Music in the movement against apartheid Selected biography - Chad Guy Bertrand le Clos, OIS (born 12 April 1992) is a South African swimmer who is an Olympic and Commonwealth Games champion as well as the Commonwealth record holder in the 50 and 100 meter butterfly. He won gold in the 200 meter butterfly and silver in the 100 meter butterfly in the 2012 Olympics in London. He also won five medals at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore. He attended Westville Boys' High School in Durban, South Africa, matriculating in 2010. He has been swimming from a very young age, and when he started competing at the age of 10 he already had a few years of training under his belt. Le Clos was conferred the silver Order of Ikhamanga on 27 April 2013 in absentia. In a statement by the Chairperson of the National Orders Advisory Council, Dr. Cassius Lubisi, le Clos was conferred the honour "For his excellent achievements on the international swimming stage, especially at the London Olympics in 2012, thus placing South Africa in high standing globally in the field of Aquatic sports." Selected fare or cuisine - A close-up view of a personal-sized Gatsby sandwich prepared with calamari and chips A Gatsby is a South African submarine sandwich typically sold as a foot-long sandwich sliced into four portions. It is a popular sandwich in the Western Cape province, with many fast food and takeaway restaurants, stores and food stands purveying them. One large sandwich may be shared among several people. The Gatsby is also sometimes mistakenly referred to by the nickname AK‑47, which is a variant of the sandwich made in Johannesburg, in part due to how it can be held in one's arm in a similar manner to the firearm. It has been described as a "filling, budget meal", a standard menu item in Cape Town corner stores, and as a significant part of the heritage and a cultural symbol of Cape Flats, where it originated. Read more... List of selected fare/cuisine articles Boerewors South African wine Potjiekos Bokkoms Hertzoggie Ouma Rusks Bobotie Malva pudding Morogo Bunny chow Amarula Droëwors Spatlo Umqombothi Sosatie Skilpadjies Selected quote - Selected panorama - The Greater Swartberg General images - The following are images from various South Africa-related articles on Wikipedia. Meat on a traditional South African braai Shaka Zulu in traditional Zulu military garb Jan van Riebeeck, first Commander of the Dutch East India Company colony Khoisan men demonstrating how to start a fire by rubbing sticks together. Painting of the Sharpeville massacre of March 1960 Indian indentured labourers arriving in Durban Flag of the Republic of the Orange Free State Zulus in Natal King Moshoeshoe with his advisors The statue of Jan van Riebeeck, the founder of Cape Town, in Heerengracht Street. Olive Schreiner, the author of The Story of an African Farm (1883) Members of 44 Parachute Brigade on patrol during the South African Border War. Boer Voortrekkers depicted in an early artist's rendition Statue of Bartolomeu Dias at the High Commission of South Africa in London. He was the first European navigator to sail around the southernmost tip of Africa. The Rhodes Colossus—Cecil Rhodes spanning "Cape to Cairo" Johannesburg before gold mining transformed it into a bustling modern city Enoch Sontonga Looking out over the floodplains of the Luvuvhu River (right) and the Limpopo River (far distance and left) "For use by white persons" – sign from the apartheid era Flag of the South African Republic, often referred to as the Vierkleur (meaning four-coloured) An array of traditional South African cuisine An account of the first trekboers The Castle of Good Hope (Kasteel de Goede Hoop in Dutch), Cape Town. Founded officially in 1652, Kaapstad/Cape Town is the oldest urban area in South Africa. Map of the black homelands in South Africa at the end of apartheid in 1994 View of Table Bay with ships of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), c. 1683. Generals Smuts (right) and Botha were members of the British Imperial War Cabinet during World War I. Union Buildings, government administrative centre, Pretoria, circa 1925 Frederik W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela, two of the driving forces in ending apartheid Daniel François Malan, National Party leader from 1934–1953 Emily Hobhouse campaigned against the appalling conditions of the British concentration camps in South Africa, thus influencing British public opinion against the war. Cecil John Rhodes, co-founder of De Beers Consolidated Mines at Kimberley Replica of an East Indiaman of the Dutch East India Company/United East Indies Company (VOC). The Dutch East India Company was a major force behind the (c. 1590s–1720s) and Netherlandish cartography (c. 1570s–1670s). Nicolaas Waterboer, Griqualand ruler, 1852-1896 Regional geography during the period of the Anglo-Boer wars:      South African Republic/Transvaal      Orange Free State      British Cape Colony      Natalia Republic Castle of Good Hope, the oldest building in South Africa This map illustrates the rise of the Zulu Empire under Shaka (1816–1828) in present-day South Africa. The rise of the Zulu Empire      under Shaka forced other chiefdoms and clans to flee across a wide area of southern Africa. Clans fleeing the Zulu war zone      included the Soshangane, Zwangendaba, Ndebele, Hlubi, Ngwane, and the Mfengu. A number of clans were caught between the Zulu Empire and advancing Voortrekkers and British Empire      such as the Xhosa     . Simon's Town harbour and naval base in South Africa was used by the Allies during World War II. Sir Harry Smith The British Empire is red on the map, at its zenith in 1919. (India highlighted in purple.) South Africa, bottom centre, lies between both halves of the Empire. Church on Greenmarket Square in Cape Town, South Africa with a banner memorialising the Marikana massacre King Cetshwayo (ca. 1875) Topics Categories Select [►] to view subcategories ▼ South Africa ► South Africa-related lists ► Buildings and structures in South Africa ► South African culture ► Economy of South Africa ► Geography of South Africa ► History of South Africa ► Organisations based in South Africa ► South African people ► Politics of South Africa ► South African society ► Wikipedia books on South Africa ► South Africa stubs Related portals Atlas Geography Africa Zambia Associated Wikimedia Portals Activities Culture Geography Health History Mathematics Nature People Philosophy Religion Society Technology Random portal