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One of the characteristics of South Africa is the wide diversity in race, language, culture, and religion of its people. Numerous population groups with different languages, cultural backgrounds and origins all coexist in South Africa. This diversity is evidenced by the fact that there are eleven (11) official languages in South Africa. These languages are: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu.The total population of South Africa is estimated to be 49 million people. Black South Africans comprise the majority (about 77 percent) of the population. This population can be further divided into a number of different ethnic groups. The bigger groups are the Zulus, Xhosas and the Sotho. Then there are also the Tswana, Venda, Ndebele, Swasi, Pedi and still other groups.White South Africans comprise about 10 percent of the population. They are primarily descendants of Dutch, French, English, and German settlers who arrived in the late 17th century. Their main languages are Afrikaans (which evolved locally from Dutch) or English. There is a small population of people of Indian decent whose families came to work on the plantations or in the mines during the 1800’s. There are three million people of mixed race, the so-called “coloreds”. |
Terms to Remember: Zulus, Xhosa, Sotho, Swazis, Boers (Afrikaners), Great Boer Trek, Cecil Rhodes, Paul Kruger, Cetshwayo, Battle of Islandlwana, kaffirs, Boer War (1899-1902), Cape Colony, Natal Province, Orange Free State, Transvaal Republic, Union of South Africa (1910), Kimberly (diamonds), Johannesburg, Witwatersrand (gold), Soweto, Pretoria, Durban, Capetown, Jan Smuts, Barry Hertzog, Afrikaner National Party, Afrikaner Broederbond, D.F. Malan + GNP, Hendrik Verwoerd, B.J. Vorster, apartheid, Bantustans, pass laws and Pass Laws Act (1952), ANC (African National Congress), PAC (Pan-Africanist Congress), Robert Sobukwe, Sharpesville Massacre, Trial and Imprisonment of Nelson Mandela, Stephen Biko
Apartheid Legislation
Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act #55 (1949)
Population Registration Act #30 (1950)
Group Areas Act #41 (1950)
Suppression of Communism Act #44 (1950)
Prevention of Illegal Squatting Act #52 (1951)
Native Laws Amendment Act of 1952
Natives (Abolition of Passes and Co- Ordination of Documents) Act #67 (1952)
Bantu Education Act #47 (1953)
Reservation of Separate Amenities Act #49 (1953)