South Africa

A country of southern Africa on the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Originally inhabited by the San and Khoikhoin, the region was settled by various Bantu peoples c. 1500. European settlement began with the Dutch in the mid-17th century. The region passed to Great Britain in 1814 but was hotly contested by descendants of the Dutch settlers in the Boer War (1899-1902), in which Britain took possession of the entire territory, creating the Union of South Africa in 1910. South Africa declared itself a republic in 1961, severed ties with the British Commonwealth, and further consolidated the apartheid system, which was repealed beginning in 1989. An interim constitution ending white rule was adopted in 1993, and the first multiracial elections were held in 1994. Pretoria is the administrative capital; Cape Town, the legislative capital; and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital. Population: 44,000,000.