Signification :
The Dutch founded a small permanent settlement near the Cape of Good Hope, the tip of Africa on April 6, 1652. This is the origin of Cape Town, which now has nearly 2 million inhabitants. It is also the origin of the Republic of South Africa. The Union of South Africa, a British dominion, was formed in 1909 by the consolidation of former British colonies of Cape and Natal and the two defeated Boer republics.

Geography :
The Republic of South Africa is located at the southern tip of the African continent. 3 main regions : plains, mountains and costal belt. Except the two huge rivers, Limpopo and Orange, there is a lack of water in the country. Natural resources : gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, plati-num, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas.
History :
After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) trekked north to found their own republic. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the exploitation of the native inhabitants. The Boers resisted British encroachments but were defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902); however, the British and the Afrikaaners, as the Boers became known, ruled together beginning in 1910 under the Union of South Africa, which became a republic in 1961 after a whites-only referendum. In 1948, the National Party was voted into power and in-stalled a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races - which favored the white minority at the expense of the black majority. Still, the system of apartheid remained in place until the early 90’s and it was not until 1994 that this African nation elected its first black African president, the famous anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela.