South Africa

South Africa
Introduction
South Africa is bordered in the west by the Atlantic Ocean and by the Indian Ocean by the south and east. The countries just above South Africa are Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. South Africa is the only country that has three capitals: Pretoria, which is treated like the principal capital and where the president is, Cape Town, the legislative one andthe Supreme Court, is located in Bloemfontein. Although Johannesburg is not actually one of the capitals, is the commercial center of the country. There are three capitals in South Africa because of the of the historical reality of the country after the war Anglo- Boer, a political agreement was reached to get the two Boerstates, Orange and Transvaal, to join the British colonies of Cape and Nataland that was how the South African Union was formed.
 This country has a lot of diversity in its population, with approximately 50,000,000 people with a big variety of cultures, languages and religious beliefs. Africans are the majority occupying 79.5% of the population, while white people and colored people each are 9.0% and the Indian/Asian population is 2.5%.

Flag

Thisbecame the first flag of a united South Africa on 27 April 1994, at the same time that South Africa had its first democratic elections and Nelson Mandela became president.
Colors
Red, white and blue are common in historical flags of South Africa; including colonial flags of Britain and Holland, while green, black and gold were often colors of the African people. The color combinations of the newflag can be interpreted differently by different people.
The main design of the flag, the green 'Y' starting at the flag post and coming together in the center of the flag, can be seen like the coming together or the union of the different people of South Africa, who then take the road ahead together.
History
Over a hundred thousand years ago people in what is now South Africa lived byhunting animals and gathering plants. They used stone tools. Then about 2,000 years ago people in the west learned to herd sheep and cattle. About 200 people mixed farming and iron tools were introduced into the east of South Africa.
At the end of the 15th Century the Portuguese sailed past the Cape of Good Hope. However it was not until 1652 that the Europeans founded a colony in South Africa. In1652 the Dutch, led by Jan van Riebeeck founded a base where ships travelling to the Far East could be supplied. From 1658 the Dutch imported slaves into South Africa. Meanwhile, at first the Europeans traded with the native people but they fell out soon. In 1658 they fought their first war, the first of many.
Eventually the Dutch colony in South Africa expanded and from 1688 French Huguenots(Protestants) arrived escaping religious persecution. Slowly the native people were driven from their land and in 1713 many died in a smallpox epidemic. In 1795 the British captured Cape Colony, which now is called South Africa. They handed it back to the Dutch in 1803 but took it again in 1806. In 1814 an agreement confirmed British ownership of Cape Colony. In 1812 the British founded Grahamstownand in 1820 4,000 Britons were granted land by the Great Fish River.
The Boers (Dutch settlers) in South Africa resented British rule. When slavery was abolished in 18344 they were antagonised still more. Finally the Boers began a mass migration away from the British called the Great Trek. In 1838 the Boers fought and defeated the Zulus at the battle of Blood River. Eventually the Boers foundedtwo republics away from the British, Orange Free State and Transvaal. In the 1850s the British recognised the two Boer republics.
However the situation changed in 1867 when diamonds were found in Northern Cape. In 1871 diamonds were also found at Kimberley. Gold was discovered at Gaueng in 1886.
Meanwhile in 1879 the British fought the Zulus in South Africa. The British were badly defeated by...