South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is the southernmost country in Africa, bounded by the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean coastlines and bordering Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Eswatini, and enclosing Lesotho. The first known people were the indigenous Khoisan and Bantu-speaking peoples who migrated from west and central Africa, and in 1652 the Dutch established the first European settlement at Table Bay, with British occupation following the 1806 Battle of Blaauwberg. Following the Second Boer War, the Union of South Africa was created in 1910 from the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and Orange River colonies, and the Republic of South Africa was established on 31 May 1961 after the passage of the constitution by the Parliament of South Africa. The National Party imposed apartheid in 1948, and after a struggle led by the African National Congress, universal elections took place in 1994, following which all racial groups have held political representation in the country's liberal democracy.
Facts
Start YearThe lead also names the Union of South Africa, created in 1910, as the republic's own predecessor state, and 1994 as the year universal elections first enfranchised the majority of South Africans; 1961 is recorded here as the year the Republic of South Africa itself was established. Sources
1. Wikipedia: South Africa
WikipediaIntroductionQuote, Introduction
The Republic of South Africa was established on 31 May 1961 after the passage of the constitution by the Parliament of South Africa.
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