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.
Daniel Friedman (born 9 January 1981), known on stage as Deep Fried Man, is a South African musical comedian and writer based in Johannesburg. He describes what he does as "stand-up comedy with a guitar". He adopted his stage name, a play on his real name, because "it went along with the kind of musical comedy I wanted to do, which was an unhealthy kind of comedy". (Full article...)
The Voortrekker Monument is located just south of Pretoria in South Africa. This massive granite structure is prominently located on a hilltop, and was raised to commemorate the Voortrekkers who left the Cape Colony between 1835 and 1854.
...that in 1488 Bartolomeu_Dias was the First European to sail around the southernmost tip of Africa and originally named the Cape of Good Hope the "Cape of Storms"
...that in 1647, a Dutch vessel, the Haarlem, was wrecked in the present-day Table Bay. After being rescued, the marooned crew recommended that a permanent station be established in the bay.
...that Jan van Riebeek arrived at Table Bay with three ships (Dromedaris; Reijger and Goede Hoop) on April 6, 1652 and fortified the site as a way-station for the VOC trade route between the Netherlands and the East Indies.
This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.
"Mannenberg" is a Cape jazz song by South African musician Abdullah Ibrahim, first recorded in 1974. Driven into exile by the apartheid government, Ibrahim had been living in Europe and the United States during the 1960s and '70s, making brief visits to South Africa to record music. After a successful 1974 collaboration with producer Rashid Vally and a band that included Basil Coetzee and Robbie Jansen, Ibrahim began to record another album with these three collaborators and a backing band assembled by Coetzee. The song was recorded during a session of improvisation, and includes a saxophone solo by Coetzee, which led to him receiving the sobriquet "Manenberg".
The piece incorporates elements of several other musical styles, including marabi, ticky-draai, and langarm, and became a landmark in the development of the genre of Cape jazz. The song has been described as having a beautiful melody and catchy beat, conveying themes of "freedom and cultural identity." It was released under Ibrahim's former name Dollar Brand on the 1974 vinyl album Mannenberg – Is Where It's Happening. Named after the township of Manenberg, it was an instant hit, selling tens of thousands of copies within a few months of its release. It later became identified with the struggle against apartheid, partly due to Jansen and Coetzee playing it at rallies against the government, and was among the movement's most popular songs in the 1980s. The piece has been covered by other musicians, and has been included on several jazz collections. (Full article...)
Born in Johannesburg to an influential Afrikaner family, de Klerk studied at Potchefstroom University before pursuing a career in law. Joining the NP, to which he had family ties, he was elected to parliament and sat in the white-minority government of P. W. Botha, holding a succession of ministerial posts. As a minister, he supported and enforced apartheid, a system of racial segregation that privileged white South Africans. After Botha resigned in 1989, de Klerk replaced him, first as leader of the NP and then as State President. Although observers expected him to continue Botha's defence of apartheid, de Klerk decided to end the policy. He was aware that growing ethnic animosity and violence was leading South Africa into a racial civil war. Amid this violence, the state security forces committed widespread human rights abuses and encouraged violence between the Xhosa and Zulu people, although de Klerk later denied sanctioning such actions. He permitted anti-apartheid marches to take place, legalised a range of previously banned anti-apartheid political parties, and freed imprisoned anti-apartheid activists such as Nelson Mandela. He also dismantled South Africa's nuclear weapons program. (Full article...)
Sosatie is a traditional South African dish of meat (usually lamb or mutton) cooked on skewers. The term derives from sate ("skewered meat") and saus ("spicy sauce"). It is of Cape Malay origin, used in Afrikaans—the primary language of the Cape Malays, and the word has gained greater circulation in South Africa. Marinated, cubed meat (usually lamb) is skewered and cooked by braaing (barbecued) shish kebab style. Sosatie recipes vary, but commonly the ingredients can include cubes of lamb, beef, chicken, dried apricots, red onions and mixed peppers. (Full article...)
Image 8The British Empire is red on the map, at its territorial zenith in the late 1910s and early 1920s. (India highlighted in purple.) South Africa, bottom centre, lies between both halves of the Empire. (from History of South Africa)
Image 38Looking out over the floodplains of the Luvuvhu River (right) and the Limpopo River (far distance and left) (from History of South Africa)
Image 39Statue 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. (from History of South Africa)
Image 40Oracles of the Pink Universe by Simphiwe Ndzube, 2021 (from Culture of South Africa)
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