South Africa Trip – 5.2.23

So, our next travel adventure begins – South Africa. Last year friends of ours graciously invited us to spend a week with them in the Kariega Game Reserve, a private reserve located near Port Elizabeth in the southern part of the country. So, Elizabeth and I spent 15 hours suspended 40,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean on a flight to the Southern tip of Africa. We landed in Cape Town, where we will spend a few days before flying to Port Elizabeth, where we will be shuttled to Kariega. Located in the shadow of Table Mountain, Cape Town is considered one of the most beautiful spots in the world.  So, we are looking forward to spending a few days here.

Touching the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans, South Africa is located well into the Southern Hemisphere.  Therefore, it is entering into winter as the United States is heading into late Spring. So, the weather will be slightly unpredictable.

Before taking this trip, I read “The Covenant” by James Michener, a novel that chronicles the history of the country. I would recommend it to anyone planning a trip to this beautiful, yet complicated country.  The original occupants dating back to pre-historic times were known as either Bushmen, who were hunter-gatherers, or Hottentots, who were farmers/herders. Unlike the Blacks from Mid-Africa, they were small brown people. These indigenous peoples would eventually become nearly extinct as a result of the Blacks (Bantu peoples) migrating from the North and the Whites, who eventually settled in Cape Town, migrating from the South.

Although the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip was discovered in the late 1400’s, this part of Africa was not settled by whites until 1648. And even then it was only established as a glorified trading post by the Dutch East India Company. And that modest trading post, now known as Cape Town, which is where we will stay the next few days, is where most of the Dutch and Germans, who were in effect indentured servants of the Dutch East India Company, arrived to begin new lives. 

A tough breed, these Dutch pioneers who eventually got their freedom, became farmers (Dutch Boers), and were eventually joined by more Germans, who were fleeing the religious wars, and the French Huguenots, who were being persecuted by the Catholic Church. South Africa can thank the French Huguenots, who introduced grapes and winemaking to the region, for their now robust wine industry. 

The Dutch did force the Germans and French to give up their own religious freedom and language. As a result, the Dutch Reform Church, with an Old Testament focused doctrine, became the primary Church for the country. And a form of Dutch known as Afrikaans, became the dominant language. So, by the late 1700’s, the white population was a mix of 40% Dutch, 35% German, 20% French Huguenot, and 5% other including indigenous peoples.

Meanwhile, the Bantu peoples (Blacks migrating down from central Africa), who were also farmers, had settled in eastern South Africa, with the Xhosa tribe being the most dominant. As the Dutch Boers and Xhosa came into contact with each other, skirmishes occurred over several decades over the rights to pastureland. 

Meanwhile, weakened by the Napoleonic Wars, the Dutch were unable to keep the English from taking over the colony in 1806. Soon thereafter, English immigrants poured in, enforcing their own religion, language and customs on the Boers. Frustrated, the Boers, now called Trekboers, migrated north and east, where they founded the Boer republics: the South African Republic, the Natalia Republic, and the Orange Free State. At the time, some of these were in fact internationally recognized as independent countries. 

The English left the Boers alone in the northern regions until diamonds and gold were discovered around Johannesburg in the mid-1800’s. This Mineral Revolution increased economic growth and immigration. This intensified British efforts to gain control over the region and its indigenous peoples. The struggle to control these important economic resources heavily influenced relations between Europeans and the indigenous population and also between the Boers and the British, creating the legacy that is the complicated race relations we have in this country today. 

The British, now intent on controlling and consolidating the entire region, manufactured the First Boer Wars in 1880-1881.  The British eventually subdued the Boers and absorbed the Boer Republics into “South Africa.”  Meanwhile many of the Bantu tribes had been consolidated into one nation called the Zulu Kingdom, which represented another threat to Britain’s plans to consolidate the region. So, during this same period, the Anglo/Zulu War was fought. The Zulu nation defeated the British at the beginning of the war, but Zululand lost the war, resulting in the termination of the Zulu Kingdom’s independence as well.

However, the Dutch Boers, a tough bunch, did not give up. And they have long memories, as the British would find out. So, the Second Boer Wars were fought in 1899-1902.  The atrocities were horrible on both sides. But the English were especially brutal. Although the British poured lots of resources and hundreds of thousands of men into the war, they became frustrated with the guerrilla warfare tactics of the Boers, who were severely outnumbered.  So, in retaliation the English confiscated Boer land and put Dutch Boer women and children in concentration camps. With little food and no sanitation, many died from starvation and disease. The English eventually put down “the rebellions” and established control. But the Boers never forgot. And they partially blamed the blacks, most of whom had helped the English. But the Blacks really had no choice because the Boers were not especially kind to Blacks or Coloureds (mixed race people), treating them no better than slaves. 

The Boers bid their time as many English out-migrated and more Boers infiltrated the government. Through voting district gerrymandering and other political maneuvers, the Afrikaners (this is what the non English whites called themselves) took control of the legislature in 1948 and what we now refer to as Apartheid began. Blacks and multi-racial people (coloureds) were disenfranchised. Votings rights, among many other rights, were taken away.  All of this is described in “The Covenant.” And reading it helps explain why this beautiful country has a complicated past and continues to struggle with race relations today.  The true irony is that the same people who perceived that they were being persecuted by the English could not see that their form of persecution of Blacks and Coloureds was much worse. 

With its rich history and beautiful landscape, South Africa has the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa. And with the end of apartheid in 1994 (which is very recent), government accountability and quality of life have substantially improved.  However, crime, poverty and inequality remain widespread, with about 40% of the total population being unemployed as of 2021. Some of this was explained to us by our driver as he drove us to our hotel. He pointed out both sides of the highway, where coloureds lived on one side with their gangs and Blacks on the other. He was quick to point out that he was Black. For in this country, the lowest caste during Apartheid were the coloureds.

Hopefully, this beautiful country will continue to make strides towards equality and justice for all.

I thought about this as we headed into the sunset towards Table Mountain, Cape Town, and our hotel for the next three nights.