A report on South Africa and Eswatini

Migrations that formed the modern Rainbow nation

A 19th-century Swazi container, carved in wood

Mapungubwe Hill, the site of the former capital of the Kingdom of Mapungubwe

Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias planting the cross at Cape Point after being the first to successfully round the Cape of Good Hope.

Charles Davidson Bell's 19th-century painting of Jan van Riebeeck, who founded the first European settlement in South Africa, arrives in Table Bay in 1652

Depiction of a Zulu attack on a Boer camp in February 1838

The First Boer War was a rebellion of Boers against the British rule in the Transvaal that re-established their independence.

"For use by white persons" – apartheid sign in English and Afrikaans

Mswati III has been king of Eswatini since 1986.

FW de Klerk and Nelson Mandela shake hands in January 1992

The Central Plateau edged by the Great Escarpment, and the Cape Fold Belt

A proportional representation of Swazi exports

The thick line traces the Great Escarpment bordering the central plateau; the line's red portion is the Drakensberg. The Escarpment rises to its highest, over 3000 m, where it separates KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho. No regions on the map have well-defined borders except where the Escarpment or a mountain range forms a clear dividing line

Drakensberg, the eastern and highest portion of the Great Escarpment which surrounds the east, south and western borders of the central plateau of Southern Africa

Eswatini is part of the Southern African Customs Union (green).

Eswatini's population in thousands (1950–2021)

South African giraffes, Kruger National Park

King Mswati III at the reed dance festival where he will choose his next wife

Princess Sikhanyiso Dlamini (left) and Temtsimba Dlamini (right) at the reed dance (umhlanga) festival 2006

Lowveld vegetation of the Kruger National Park

Union Buildings in Pretoria, seat of the executive

Houses of Parliament in Cape Town, seat of the legislature

Soweto Pride 2012 participants protest against violence against lesbians. The country has strong human rights laws but some groups are still discriminated against. It is the first country in Africa to recognise same sex marriage

Change in per capita GDP of South Africa, 1700–2018. Figures are inflation-adjusted to 2011 International dollars.

Annual per capita personal income by race group in South Africa relative to white levels

A proportional representation of South Africa exports, 2019

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) is the largest stock exchange on the African continent

Workers packing pears for export in the Ceres Valley, Western Cape

Life expectancy in select Southern African countries, 1950–2019. HIV/AIDS has caused a fall in life expectancy.

A plate of freshly prepared Babotie, a meat-based meal which originated within South Africa.

The Springboks in a bus parade after winning the 2007 Rugby World Cup

A SAAF JAS 39 Gripen the main combat aircraft of the South African Air Force during take off

It is bounded to the south by 2798 km of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini and it surrounds the enclaved country of Lesotho.

- South Africa

It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its north, west, south, and southeast.

- Eswatini

14 related topics with Alpha

Botswana

5 links

Landlocked country in Southern Africa.

The 'Two Rhino' painting at Tsodilo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

German map of 1905 still showing the undivided Bechuanaland area

Sechele I who led a Batswana Merafe Coalition against Boers in 1852

3 Dikgosi Monument: Khama III, Sebele I & Bathoen I who negotiated a Protectorate

Postage stamp of British-ruled Bechuanaland from 1960

Botswana map of Köppen climate classification.

The current president, Mokgweetsi Masisi

Botswana soldiers board a Botswana Defence Force plane to Mozambique, July 2021

Graphical depiction of Botswana's product exports in 28 colour-coded categories.

GDP per capita of Botswana, 1950 to 2018

GDP per capita (current), % of world average, 1960–2012; Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique

Kazungula Bridge, connecting Botswana and Zambia

Unity Dow, author of Far and Beyon, The Screaming of the Innocent and Heavens May Fall

Physicist in a Lab at Botswana International University of Science and Technology

Scottish Livingstone Hospital in Molepolole

I-Towers, Gaborone Central Business District

It is bordered by South Africa to the south and southeast, Namibia to the west and north, and Zimbabwe to the northeast.

When the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910 from the main British colonies in the region, the High Commission Territories—the Bechuanaland Protectorate, Basutoland (now Lesotho), and Swaziland (now Eswatini)—were not included, but provision was made for their later incorporation.

Mozambique

4 links

Arab-Swahili slave traders and their captives on the Ruvuma River

The Island of Mozambique is a small coral island at the mouth of Mossuril Bay on the Nacala coast of northern Mozambique, first explored by Europeans in the late 15th century.

View of the Central Avenue in Lourenço Marques, now Maputo, ca. 1905

Portuguese language printing and typesetting class, 1930

Portuguese troops during the Portuguese Colonial War, some loading FN FAL and G3

The geopolitical situation in 1975, nations friendly to the FRELIMO are shown in orange

A US helicopter flying over the flooded Limpopo River during the 2000 Mozambique flood

Mozambique map of Köppen climate classification zones

A section of the crowd at its final campaign rally for the 2014 election

Mozambique's embassy in Washington, D.C.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets members of Indian community in Mozambique, 7 July 2016

Historical development of real GDP per capita in Mozambique, since 1960

A proportional representation of Mozambique's exports

Traditional sailboat in Ilha de Moçambique

European tourists on the beach, in Inhambane, Mozambique

National Mozambican airline, LAM Mozambique

Woman fetching water during the dry season from a polluted source in Machaze District of the Central Manica Province

The increase in the number of HIV positive Mozambicans on Antiretroviral treatment, 2003–14

Woman with traditional mask in Mozambique

Headquarters of Rádio Moçambique in KaMpfumo district of Maputo (photo 2009)

Pupils in front of their school in Nampula, Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique (Moçambique or República de Moçambique, ; Mozambiki; Msumbiji; Muzambhiki), is a country located in Southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini (Swaziland) and South Africa to the southwest.

Lesotho

4 links

1959 stamps for the Basutoland National Council

Embassy in Washington, D.C., United States

Topographic map of the region, showing Lesotho situated on the highest peaks of Southern Africa

The Afriski resort in the Maloti Mountains of Lesotho

Sani Pass on the border is a popular tourist attraction.

Lesotho, officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country enclaved by South Africa.

"It is a sovereign country like South Africa. We sent envoys to our neighbours – Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Lesotho – before we enforced the passport rule. When you travel from Britain to South Africa, don't you expect to use a passport?"

Southern Africa

3 links

Southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania.

Waterfall in the Witwatersrand region near Johannesburg

Sandton, Johannesburg, the financial centre of South Africa

Southern Africa (UN subregion and the SACU)
Geographical Southern Africa, including the UN subregion
Southern African Development Community (SADC)

United Nations geoscheme for Africa
Eastern Africa
Middle Africa
Northern Africa
Southern Africa
Western Africa

Countries commonly included in Southern Africa include Angola, Botswana, the Comoros, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Southern African Customs Union

3 links

Evolution of the Southern African Customs Union from 1903 to the present day based on [[:File:Southern African Customs Union.svg |Southern African Customs Union.svg]], and information found in Brief Chronology of Customs Agreements in Southern Africa, 1855-1979 by Derek J. Hudson. The light green area in Zambia represents the extent of the territory of North-western Rhodesia in 1905 when it joined the customs union

The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) is a customs union among five countries of Southern Africa: Botswana, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa.

Southern African Development Community

3 links

Inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana.

Its original members were Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, with Malawi and Seychelles joining later.

Commonwealth of Nations

2 links

Political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire.

The prime ministers of five members at the 1944 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference. (L-R) Mackenzie King (Canada), Jan Smuts (South Africa), Winston Churchill (United Kingdom), Peter Fraser (New Zealand) and John Curtin (Australia)

Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth

Marlborough House, London, the headquarters of the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Commonwealth's principal intergovernmental institution

The members of the Commonwealth shaded according to their political status. Commonwealth realms are shown in blue, while republics are shaded pink, and members with their own monarchies are displayed in green.

Flags of the members of the Commonwealth in Parliament Square, London

The Commonwealth flag flying at the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa

The Commonwealth Games are the third-largest multi-sport event in the world, bringing together globally popular sports and peculiarly "Commonwealth" sports, such as rugby sevens, shown here at the 2006 Games.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission serves to commemorate 1.7 million Commonwealth war dead and maintains 2,500 war cemeteries around the world, including this one in Gallipoli.

Draft of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, with "British Empire" crossed out and "British Commonwealth of Nations" added by hand.

The position is symbolic, representing the free association of independent members, the majority of which (36) are republics, and five have monarchs of different royal houses (Brunei, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malaysia, and Tonga).

South Africa was barred from continuing as a member after it became a republic in 1961, due to hostility from many members, particularly those in Africa and Asia as well as Canada, to its policy of racial apartheid.

Second Boer War

1 links

Conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South African Republic and the Orange Free State) over the Empire's influence in Southern Africa from 1899 to 1902.

A typical British soldier Corporal Alexander Duncan Turnbull of Kitchener's Fighting Scouts

Extent of the British Empire in 1898, prior to the outbreak of the Second Boer War

The geography of the region in 1885, between the First and Second Boer Wars

A sketch showing the arrest of Jameson after the failed raid, in 1896

Paul Kruger, leader of the South African Republic (Transvaal)

Mauser 1895 bolt-action rifle (at the Auckland Museum)

General Redvers Henry Buller launched an offensive against the Boers in the early phases of the war but after several defeats, culminating at the Battle of Colenso, he was replaced by Earl Roberts.

British casualties lie dead on the battlefield after the Battle of Spion Kop, 24 January 1900.

The Relief of Ladysmith. Sir George Stuart White greets Major Hubert Gough on 28 February. Painting by John Henry Frederick Bacon (1868–1914).

General Piet Cronjé as a prisoner of war in Saint Helena, 1900–02. He was captured, along with 4,000 soldiers, after the loss of the Battle of Paardeberg.

A Transit camp for Prisoners of War near Cape Town during the war. Prisoners were then transferred for internment in other parts of the British Empire.

Kitchener succeeded Roberts in November 1900 and launched anti-guerrilla campaigns. 1898 photograph in 1910 magazine.

A surviving blockhouse in South Africa. Blockhouses were constructed by the British to secure supply routes from Boer raids during the war.

One British response to the guerrilla war was a 'scorched earth' policy to deny the guerrillas supplies and refuge. In this image Boer civilians watch their house as it is burned.

Christiaan De Wet was the most formidable leader of the Boer guerrillas. He successfully evaded capture on numerous occasions and was later involved in the negotiations for a peace settlement.

The end result of the Boer War was the annexation of the Boer Republics to the British Empire in 1902

C Company returns from Boer War, pictured here in King Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Tents in the Bloemfontein concentration camp

Memorial to soldiers from Quebec who fell in the Second Boer War, Quebec City

Alfred, Lord Milner, was the British High Commissioner of Southern Africa. He was involved from the start of the war and had a role in the peace process and the creation of the Union of South Africa.

Memorial window from St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin by An Túr Gloine. Much of the Irish public sympathised with the Boer side,, rather than the British side on which fought the Royal Irish Regiment.

A horse destined to serve in the war, being offloaded in Port Elizabeth

Stretcher-bearers of the Indian Ambulance Corps during the war, including the future leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Middle row, 5th from left)

British and Australian officers in South Africa, c. 1900

The unveiling of the South African War Memorial in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1908

Harold Lothrop Borden – son of the National Minister of Defence and the most famous Canadian casualty of the war

New Zealand troops marching down Wellesley Street, Auckland, to embark for South Africa

The top of the Dunedin Boer War Memorial. The memorial reaffirms New Zealand's dedication to the Empire. As McLean and Phillips said, the New Zealand Boer War Memorials are "tributes to the Empire and outpourings of pride about New Zealand’s place” in the Empire.

Rhodesian volunteers leaving Salisbury for service in the Second Boer War, 1899

A group of British prisoners, with Winston Churchill on the right

Canadian soldiers en route to South Africa in 1899

In South Africa, it is officially called the South African War.

Eventually, Botha had to abandon the high veld and retreat to a narrow enclave bordering Swaziland.

South African Republic

1 links

Independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it was annexed into the British Empire as a result of the Second Boer War.

Coat of arms of the South African Republic displayed on Kruger's wagon

Piet Cronjé's followers delivering up their rifles

All the east–west railways were constructed by the Netherlands-South African Railway Company, while lines were built from the Cape and Natal, and one to Pietersburg was built by a private British company

The land area that was once the ZAR now comprises all or most of the provinces of Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and North West in the northeastern portion of the modern-day Republic of South Africa.

Seeing this, the Swazis refused to hand over to the Boers any spoils from the battle, thereafter leaving and returning to Swaziland.