The History of South Africa
By: Nick Strauss
South Africa’s ancient history starts even before the ancient humans roamed the lands of South Africa. In 1998 anthropologists found several cave drawings just outside of Johannesburg that reveals evidence that hominids, or the ancient great ape, used to roam the inland plateau of South Africa. Many early humans ventured down to South Africa to look for crustacean on the countries southern tip. If Africa is the cradle of civilization then South Africa certainly did a good job feeding these early great apes and Homo erectus. These early humans were just wanderers and never really set up a civilization, but true South African culture was on it’s way.
The written history of South Africa begins when European seafarers came to the southern tip, but the tribes of South Africa go back thousands of years. There were two main tribes in South Africa before the Europeans reached Africa, the San and the Khoekhoe. The San were very spread out across the entire country, as they tended to be more hunters and gatherers. While the Khoekhoe were much more settled than the ancient San, as they settled by plentiful water sources by the southern and western coasts. Peace was cut short when Jan van Riebeeck landed on the southern tip at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652. Riebeeck was instructed by the Dutch East India Company to make a fort along the eastern trade route. There was much conflict with the Khoekhoe, as they seemed threatened by these new people. Other inconsequential things like cattle theft and pore trade discussions did nothing to help the relationship between the two parties. Slowly through the 1700’s the trbe of Khoekhoe was killed off by disease, like small pox, or pushed out of their lands by the colonists. Sadly most of the Khoekhoe tribe is no longer existent.
By the 18th century, South Africa was a hot bed for Europeans looking to colonize in the east. Dutch, German and French started to colonize the country along the Eastern Cape. In the following years these colonists and their families started to lose their ties to their European ancestors and became much more assimilated in African life. This beautiful culture mixed with so many “flavors” of Europe while also staying true to the stunning continent that is Africa is what people consider today to be “South Africans”.
South Africa was not only a place for humans to develop in early civilization, but also an area for technology to develop and prosper near the southern tip. Many historians believe that long-range weapons like the spear and bow and arrows were invented in South Africa. This massive invention was able to help make humans the dominant species in the midst the dangerous African wildlife. While many countries can boast the inventions that are the cornerstone of our civilizations, what other country can take credit as the savior of human kind?
The South African’s have a rich and beautiful history that is unparalleled and spans back to the creation of Africa. Containing their ancient history to within 500 words is almost impossible just because of the shear amount of years that South Africa has been around. South Africa is a perfect example for the way humankind can develop and innovate throughout the Earth history. South Africa today is so much different than what is was 3 million years ago, and has had so many unique challenges to make it the way it is today.