By 1806 the British had taken over the
Dutch settlement. To escape British rule,
many Boers moved north during the
1830s and 1840s. Their move is known
as the Great Trek. In the 1850s the
Boers set up two states in the northeast:
the South African Republic (or Transvaal)
and the Orange Free State.
A prince of the Zulu people of South Africa
wears traditional clothing.
Facts About
SOUTH AFRICA
Population
(2008 estimate)
48,783,000
Area
470,693 sq mi
(1,219,090 sq
km)
Capitals
Pretoria (executive),
Bloemfontein
(judicial),
Cape Town
(legislative)
Form of
government
Republic
Major cities
Cape Town, Durban,
Johannesburg,
Pretoria,
Port Elizabeth
138 South Africa BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
British Rule
The British expanded their territory,
called the Cape Colony, across the
southern tip of Africa. They then tried
to take over the Boer states. From 1899
to 1902 the British and the Boers fought
the BoerWar. After winning the war,
the British made the Boer states into
British colonies.
In 1910 all the British colonies in southern
Africa united. They formed a new,
independent country called the Union
of South Africa.
Apartheid
Whites controlled the new government
of South Africa. They passed laws that
separated the population by race. This
system of separation became known as
apartheid. The word means “separateness”
in the Afrikaans language. The
system also gave the white minority
nearly all the political power, most of
the land, and the best jobs.
In 1912 blacks and people of mixed
ancestry formed a political group that
became known as the African National
Congress (ANC). The ANC held nonviolent
protests against the white government.
In 1960 police shot hundreds
of protesters in Sharpeville, South
Africa. In response, the ANC turned to
bombings and other acts of violence to
protest apartheid. Some ANC leaders,
including Nelson Mandela, went to jail.
A New South Africa
In 1990 a new South African president,
F.W. de Klerk, announced that apartheid
would end. The government released
Mandela from prison and threw out the
apartheid laws. South Africans of all
races voted in elections in 1994. Mandela
became the country’s first black
president.
#More to explore
African National Congress • Apartheid
• Bloemfontein • Cape Town • Mandela,
Nelson • Pretoria
1652 1806 1902 1910 1912 1990 1994
The Dutch settle
in South Africa.
The British take
over the Dutch
colony.
The British win
the Boer War.
The Union of
South Africa is
formed.
The African
National
Congress is
founded.
Nelson
Mandela is
released from
prison.
South Africa
elects its first
black
president;
apartheid ends.
T I M E L I N E
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA South Africa 139
South America
South America is the world’s fourth
largest continent. The countries of
South America are also part of a larger
cultural region known as Latin America,
in which most of the people speak Spanish
or Portuguese.
Land and Climate
Most of the continent is covered by
rugged mountains and plateaus, which
are high, flat lands. In the north are the
Guiana Highlands. The Brazilian
Highlands, another group of mountains
and plateaus, covers more than half of
Brazil. This amounts to about a quarter
of South America. The Andes Mountains
lie along the western edge of the
continent. They are one of the most
impressive ranges in the world. In
eastern Peru and western Bolivia is a
great plateau called the Altiplano. In
the far south is a region of vast plateaus
known as Patagonia.
South America has several rivers that
form large basins. These basins are generally
flat and low-lying. The largest is
the Amazon basin. It includes parts of
Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador,
Peru, and Bolivia. The Parana and
Orinoco rivers also form basins.
The Amazon River is the most extensive
river system in the world. Other major
rivers include the Orinoco, Paraguay,
Parana, and Uruguay. Parts of the Andes
have many lakes. In addition, vast
marshes are found in many low-lying
parts of the continent.
Most of South America has a tropical
climate. In the tropical rain forests of the
north and east, it is hot and rainy yearround.
Parts of central South America
have generally warm summers and cool
winters, with plenty of rain. There are
also several desert areas, including the
coast of Peru and northwestern Argentina.
In the far southern parts of Argentina
and Chile and high in the
mountains, it is mostly cold and rainy
year-round.
Plants and Animals
The Amazon River basin contains the
world’s largest area of tropical rain forest.
Many types of tree are found there.
However, people are rapidly destroying
large areas of rain forest. This is mainly
because settlers are trying to use the land
for agriculture or to build roads and
houses. Savannas, which are grasslands
with some trees, are typical in central
Rugged mountains form a dramatic backdrop
for the city of Ushuaia, in the province
of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.
140 South America BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA South America 141
Venezuela and Brazil. The coastal deserts
of Chile and Peru have little vegetation.
Two of the better-known animals of the
Andes are the llama and the alpaca.
