THE ANCS LIBERATION STRUGGLE IN SOUTH AFRICA, 1912-1994

THE ANCS LIBERATION STRUGGLE IN SOUTH AFRICA, 1912-1994

CHAPTER ONE
BACKGROUND STUDY OF SOUTH AFRICA
Introduction

The Apartheid Situation in South Africa for decades made world headlines, so many works have been done on apartheid and South Africa, but these works are either apologists or biased depending on the political leanings of the Authors. Other works examine the apartheid era without giving historical insights as to the origin of apartheid, while the few that examine the history of South Africa fail to see or give their bearings on the emergence of a segregationist or Apartheid South Africa.

This work examines the history of South Africa and its people both the natives and the European Settlers. It examines the role of geography in shaping inter-group relations in South Africa, how natural resources helped to redefine the peaceful and cordial relationship that had existed among the races. This work also examines the historical and theoretical factors that led to segregation and apartheid. It looks at the way the people of South Africa especially the blacks through the ANC resisted the policies. Finally this research work examines the role the ANC played, the prices it paid for freedom and the eventual triumph it recorded.

This chapter is dedicated to briefly examining the role that geography played in the permanent settlement of the Europeans. It also examines the way of life of the indigenous people of South Africa and how they managed to cope with each other before it became a state policy to segregate.

How Geography Influenced the Permanent Residence ofthe Whites in South Africa

It is a known fact that the whites in South Africa were the cause of the troubles that happened in the 20th century South Africa. They were drawn by the geography of South Africa.

South Africa lies in the Southern end of the African continent, at its Southern Coast is the Atlantic Ocean and its north-eastern coastline is located the Indian Ocean. Its long coastline stretches more than 2500km from the desert border with Namibia on the Atlantic coast, South wards around the top of Africa, the north to the border with subtropical Mozambique on the Indian Ocean. It consists basically of two geographical regions, a coastal region and a high interior plateau.1In most areas, the land rises from narrow coastal plains in series of steps created by steep escarpment.2

Along the Southern Coast, the steep like terrain is interrupted by a series of high mountain ranges which run parallel to the coast.3 Elsewhere because of the semi-arid conditions, most of the rivers carry little or no water for many months of the year.4 The location of South Africa on the globe meant that the temperature are relatively high throughout the year except in some areas such as the cape. The cape vicinity experiences a Mediterranean climate with winter rain and dry summer. This was one of the reasons why a white settlement was established there in 1652.5

The history of all countries is influenced by several factors such as religion, the people, their government and most of all their geography. South Africa is not an exception. It has been greatly influenced by its geography and this must always be borne in mind.6

The presence of large mountain and plateau along the coast of South Africa and also the absence of navigable channels made access into the interior very difficult. These factors made the original inhabitants free from wars and foreign domination for a long time. Not until the mid 17th century, South Africa was largely unknown to the west as a habitable destination.7

The presence of the Indian and Atlantic Ocean coupled with the mountains and plateau gave the vicinity a temperate climate like that found in the west. The coolness of the region coupled with the absence of mosquito and tsetse fly made it a very habitable place for Europeans and the rearing of their livestock.8

The direction of the movement of the European Settlers was influenced by rainfall, this was why the eastern part of the cape was more populated by the whites. Despite the constant rainfall, the country has a very poor soil that is only ideal for pastoral farming than tillage.

THE ANCS LIBERATION STRUGGLE IN SOUTH AFRICA, 1912-1994