1. South Africa

2. South Africa was first settled by the Dutch at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th century.
The British take over the Cape in 1806 and in fight with the Afrikaaners (Dutch-African descendents) and the British win.
In 1910, the Union of South Africa is proclaimed.

3. In 1948, apartheid was implemented.
Apartheid- “separateness;” discrimination (racial, political, and economic) against the country’s nonwhite majority.
The population was divided into 4 groups- blacks, whites, Coloreds(mixed), & Asians
Each group had its own residential and business areas and were issued passes to be able to live or trade outside of the designated group area.
Laws prohibited interracial social contacts, established separate public facilities, and restricted certain jobs on the basis of race.
Homelands (10) were created for the black population in 1959.

4. South Africa withdraws from the commonwealth due to pressure from other Commonwealth nations. A new constitution was drafted in 1983 to allow Coloreds and Asians to vote but not blacks.
Trade sanctions were imposed in the 1980’s in order to stop apartheid.
Nelson Mandela was released in 1990 (by Pres. F.W. DeKlerk) after 28 years in prison for acts of sabotage and leading an underground group (illegal at the time) called the African National Congress (ANC).

5. A new constitution was drafted to allow equality of the races.
In 1994, Nelson Mandela was elected President of South Africa.
Under Mandela, the ANC and the white government agreed to a 5 year transitional period (expired in ‘99) in order to work together for equality and a peaceful end to apartheid.
Mandela was in office for only one 5 year term (by choice)
Thabo Mbeki is the president today- a formerly exiled member of the ANC during apartheid

6. HIV/AIDS is the major health care issue with about 11% of South Africans are infected with HIV; by 2010 adult HIV could reach 25%.
The estimates are that 1,600 people are infected with HIV daily; two-thirds of them aged 15 to 20.
the population is expected to be 16 percent lower than it would have been in the absence of AIDS.
One of Nelson Mandela’s sons recently died of AIDS.
Today, poverty is still the norm for most black South Africans (60% live below the poverty line; 40% of blacks are unemployed) which has lead to high crime rates in tourism areas and white neighborhoods.