To quote the title of Nelson Mandela's 1994 autobiography, it has been a long walk to freedom. The history of South Africa, one of the oldest inhabited places on earth, is also the story of one of the newest nations, made and remade over the last century. This compellingly written history of South Africa, from prehistoric times through 1999, is the only up-to-date history of the nation. Beginning with an overview of the modern nation, this narrative history traces South Africa from prehistory through the European invasions, the settlement by Dutch, the imposition of British rule, the many internecine wars for control of the nation, the institution of apartheid, and, finally, freedom for all South Africans in 1994 and the Mandela years 1994-1999.
Twin themes of colonial rule and racism intertwine over the course of the last three hundred and fifty years. Beck, a specialist in the history of South Africa, illuminates the conflicts, personalities, and tragedies of South African history over this period, culminating in the end of apartheid in 1994, the release from prison of Nelson Mandela, and his formation of a new government. Brief sketches of key people in the history of South Africa, a glossary of terms, maps, and a bibliographic essay of suggested reading complete the work. Every library should update its resources on South Africa with this engagingly written and authoritative history.
Author(s): Roger B. Beck
Publisher: Greenwood Press
Year: 2000
Language: English
Pages: 281
City: Westport
Cover......Page 1
THE HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA......Page 4
Contents......Page 8
Series Foreword......Page 10
Preface......Page 14
BEFORE THE COMMON ERA (B.C.E.)......Page 16
COMMON ERA (C.E.)......Page 17
Abbreviations......Page 28
LAND AND CLIMATE......Page 32
POPULATION AND RELIGION......Page 34
FLORA AND FAUNA......Page 35
MINERAL RESOURCES......Page 36
ECONOMY......Page 37
TRANSPORTATION......Page 38
MASS MEDIA......Page 39
FROM THE BEGINNING......Page 40
THE SAN......Page 41
THE KHOIKHOI......Page 42
Changes after European Contact......Page 45
THE BANTU-SPEAKING PEOPLES......Page 47
Changes during the Late Iron Age......Page 49
Changes after the Iron Age......Page 50
Changes after European Contact......Page 53
THE PORTUGUESE AND THE DUTCH......Page 56
A “Temporary” Colony of Freeburghers......Page 57
The Beginnings of a Race-Based Society......Page 59
Growing Conflict......Page 60
THE AFRIKANERS AND THE CAPE COLONY......Page 61
An Increasingly Stratified Society......Page 63
Migrant Farmers and Frontier Life......Page 65
Limits to Colonial Expansion......Page 69
WHITE CONTACT WITH THE SOUTHERN NGUNI......Page 70
4 The British and the Cape Colony, 1795–1870......Page 72
The First British Occupation of the Cape, 1795–1803......Page 73
British Rule Returns, 1806–1834......Page 76
The British Settlers, 1820......Page 80
MISSION SOCIETIES......Page 81
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CHANGES......Page 84
THE XHOSA WARS......Page 85
THE NORTHERN FRONTIER......Page 90
UPHEAVAL AND CHANGE AMONG THE NGUNI......Page 91
THE GREAT TREK......Page 95
THE BRITISH NATAL COLONY, 1843–1870......Page 99
AFRIKANER REPUBLICS......Page 101
THE ORANGE FREE STATE......Page 104
THE SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC......Page 106
THE MINERAL REVOLUTION......Page 108
THE SCRAMBLE FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA......Page 111
The Zulu Wars......Page 112
The Sotho and the “Gun War”......Page 114
The Pedi and the Swazi......Page 116
THE BRITISH AND THE AFRIKANERS......Page 117
PRELUDE TO WAR......Page 122
THE SOUTH AFRICAN WAR......Page 123
POSTWAR RECONSTRUCTION AND CONSOLIDATION......Page 126
7 White Union and Black Segregation: Preparing for Apartheid, 1910–1948......Page 132
Dominion or Republic?......Page 134
White Labor and Black Labor, 1910–1939......Page 137
The “Race Question” English-Afrikaner Relations, 1910–1939......Page 141
White Rule and Black Response, 1910–1939......Page 144
A WAR FOR DEMOCRACY AND A VICTORY FOR APARTHEID, 1939–1948......Page 150
South Africa in World War II......Page 151
The General Election of 1948......Page 154
8 The Apartheid Years, 1948–1973......Page 156
BAASSKAAP APARTHEID, 1948–1959......Page 157
OPPOSITION TO APARTHEID, 1948–1959......Page 167
VIOLENT RESISTANCE, IMPRISONMENT, AND EXILE, 1960–1964......Page 172
THE HIGH TIDE OF APARTHEID, 1959–1973......Page 177
NEW CHALLENGES TO APARTHEID, 1973–1978......Page 186
Black Labor in a Changing Economy......Page 187
Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness Movement......Page 190
REFORM: THE TOTAL STRATEGY, 1978–1989......Page 193
Black Insurrection, 1984–1986......Page 201
APARTHEID’S DYING DAYS, 1985–1990......Page 204
CONSTRUCTING A NEW SOUTH AFRICA, 1990–1994......Page 212
10 The Mandela Years, 1994–1999......Page 222
THE INTERIM CONSTITUTION......Page 223
ECONOMIC ISSUES......Page 225
THE AFRIKANER POPULATION......Page 226
THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION......Page 228
THE NEW CONSTITUTION......Page 229
TESTIMONY ON CRIMES UNDER APARTHEID......Page 233
TRANSITION UNDER THABO MBEKI......Page 235
Notable People in the History of South Africa......Page 238
Glossary......Page 246
Bibliographic Essay......Page 250
Index......Page 254
About the Author......Page 280
Other Titles in the Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations......Page 281
