Type: Executive--president; bicameral parliament. Independence: The Union of South Africa was created on May 31, 1910; becamesovereign state within British empire in 1934; became a Republic on May 31, 1961; left theCommonwealth in October 1968.
Although South Africa became a Union with its own white people government in 1910, the country was still regarded as a colony of Britain till 1961.
The first European settlement in southern Africa was established by the Dutch East India Company in Table Bay (Cape Town) in 1652. Created to supply passing ships with fresh produce, the colony grew rapidly as Dutch farmers settled to grow crops.
Namibia gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek.
The country became a fully sovereign nation state within the British Empire, in 1934 following enactment of the Status of the Union Act. The monarchy came to an end on 31 May 1961, replaced by a republic as the consequence of a 1960 referendum, which legitimised the country becoming the Republic of South Africa.
The nominal head of government was a governor-general who was appointed by the British. The British also continued to control South Africa's defense and foreign relations. These constitutional arrangements meant that in August 1914, Britain's entry into the war automatically brought about the entry of South Africa.
Namibia, then known as South-West Africa, was proclaimed a German protectorate by Otto von Bismarck in 1884. The conquest of German South-West Africa by South Africa forces during World War I resulted in its subsequent administration by South Africa under a 1920 League of Nations mandate.
On May 31, 1910, four colonies were joined together to create the Union of South Africa, a self-governing Dominion in the British Empire. While the new nation was sovereign when it came to its domestic affairs, the United Kingdom maintained control over its relations with the wider world.
On March 21, 1990, Namibia-the last colony in Africa-achieved independence, and in South Africa Nelson Mandela was freed and a dialogue between the South African Government and the antiapartheid force commenced.
Ethiopia is Africa's oldest independent country and its second largest in terms of population. Apart from a five-year occupation by Mussolini's Italy, it has never been colonised.
Ethiopia and Liberia are widely believed to be the only two African countries to have never been colonized. Their location, economic viability, and unity helped Ethiopia and Liberia avoid colonization.
Boer, (Dutch: “husbandman,” or “farmer”), a South African of Dutch, German, or Huguenot descent, especially one of the early settlers of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Today, descendants of the Boers are commonly referred to as Afrikaners.
The Boers founded the Boer republics: the South African Republic, the Natalia Republic, and the Orange Free State. The discovery of diamonds in 1867 and gold in 1884 in the interior started the Mineral Revolution and increased economic growth and immigration.
The initial purpose of the settlement was to provide a rest stop and supply station for trading vessels making the long journey from Europe, around the cape of southern Africa, and on to India and other points eastward.
Called the 'Architect of the Apartheid' Hendrik Verwoerd was Prime Minister as leader of the National Party from 1958-66 and was key in shaping the implementation of apartheid policy.
In the early 1800s, Britain took control of the European trade ports on the Gold Coast, then expanded inwards. In the middle of the century, Britain also intervened in monarchical politics in Nigeria to take control of the territory for themselves. During the Napoleonic Wars, Britain took control of the Cape Colony.
While Commonwealth conferences were normally held biennially, this conference was held after an interval of only a year following the May 1960 conference due to disagreement over South Africa and whether the country should be removed from the Commonwealth due to its policy of racial segregation.
In 1964, the colonial government declared itself independent as Rhodesia, but largely failed to secure international recognition and faced sustained internal opposition in the Bush War.
In a 1971 advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice upheld UN authority over Namibia, determining that the South African presence in Namibia was illegal and that South Africa therefore was obliged to withdraw its administration from Namibia immediately.
The Germans colonized South West Africa in a different manner than the rest of their holdings. The main goal of the Germans in Namibia was to provide a Lebensraum for its people: more territory that a state believes is needed for its natural development.
Increased European encroachment ultimately led to the colonisation and occupation of South Africa by the Dutch. The Cape Colony remained under Dutch rule until 1795 before it fell to the British Crown, before reverting back to Dutch Rule in 1803 and again to British occupation in 1806.
Britain acquired the Cape of Good Hope Colony at the southern tip of Africa in 1815 and annexed the adjacent coastal region of Natal in 1843.
Simply put, South Africa was considered by the white people in power to be part of the first world, however their apartheid system challenged that notion.