History and culture help explain why South Africa looks and works the way you encounter it on your trip — from the arrival of European settlers through the gold and diamond rushes to apartheid and its legacy, still visible today. Zuzka, who has lived in South Africa for 27 years, explains these topics factually, with respect, and in context with what you will actually see along the way.
From settlers to the gold and diamond rushes
Permanent European settlement began in 1652, when Jan van Riebeeck sailed into Table Bay and, on behalf of the Dutch East India Company, established a supply station for ships rounding the Cape. Khoikhoi and San communities (collectively known as Khoisan) already inhabited the land — as colonisation advanced they lost most of their land, and tens of thousands died in epidemics of unfamiliar diseases. The second half of the 19th century transformed the country with mineral discoveries: diamonds near Kimberley from 1871 (see our Hidden Gems page, Kimberley and the Big Hole), and gold on the Witwatersrand from 1886, around which Johannesburg grew within a few years.
The Boer Wars and apartheid
Disputes between the Boer republics and the British Empire culminated in two wars — in 1880-1881 and 1899-1902. The second ended in British victory and laid the foundation for the Union of South Africa, formed in 1910. In 1948 the National Party came to power and legislated apartheid, a system of racial segregation that shaped the country for more than four decades. Only in 1991 did parliament repeal its key laws, opening the way to a democratic transition crowned by the first free elections three years later.
Want to understand South Africa in context?
Tell us which topics interest you and what else you want to experience on the way. Zuzka will put together a programme that connects places, stories and personal experience.