South Africa and Apartheid A country of contrasts

South Africa and Apartheid A country of contrasts Simonetta Gatto Istituto Comprensivo di Casella (GE)

The Republic of South Africa is in the south of the African continent.

The borders • Northwest: Namibia • North: Botswana • Northeast: Zimbabwe and Mozambique • East: Swaziland. • Southwest: Atlantic Ocean • Southeast: Indian Ocean • Enclave: Lesotho

Enclaves What is an enclave? • It is a country within the territory of another How many enclaves are there in the world? • Three: Lesotho, the Vatican and the Republic of San Marino.

Physical map • South Africa is located at the southern tip of Africa. • It has a long coastline of about 2, 500 km (1, 553 miles) and two oceans: Atlantic and Indian. • The interior is a vast and flat land. • The north is dry because of the desert. • The mountain ranges are the Drakensberg Mountains and the Roggeveld Mountains.

Political map • Constitutional parliamentary republic • 9 provinces • Capital cities: Pretoria (executive), Bloemfontein (judicial), Cape Town (legislative) • Indipendence: from the UK in 1910 • Population: 49 million people (70% black, 9% coloured, 9% white, 3% Asian) • Languages: South African English and Africaans

The Head of State • The President of the Republic is Mr Jacob Zuma. • He was born in 1942 and was elected by Parliament after the victory of his party in general election in 2009. • His party is the African national Congress (ANC)

What was Apartheid? • It was a system of government from 1948 to 1990. • This Afrikaans word means separation: the whites were separated from the black Africans and other minorities. • The white minority ruled the country and the black majority did not have any rights.

How did the world react to Apartheid? • A lot of countries boycotted South Africa during Apartheid: they refused to buy its products. • Film and pop stars refused to perform in South Africa

The world of sports against Apartheid • South Africa was absent from international sport events for most of the apartheid era due to sanctions • A lot of teams and champions refused to compete either in South Africa or against South Africa

The first black president: Nelson Mandela • He was the most important antiapartheid leader • He spent 27 years in prison for his ideas • In 1994 he became the first black president after the first free elections in South Africa: for the first time the black people could vote in their own country.

Economy: one fifth of the African products are from South Africa The most important products are: • Gold • Diamonds • Wine: the eighth producer in the world • Tourism

Tourists come to South Africa to see the game parks The big five: • Elephant • Buffalo • Lion • Leopard • Rhyno

National sports

Other popular sports • • • Rugby Running Netball Surfing Boxing