Ancient history Starting from around 500 BC , Khoikhoi , with their livestock, immigrated from further north. Gradually, hunting and gathering gave way to herding as the dominant economic activity in the region as the Khoikhoi tended to small herds of cattle and oxen . The presence of livestock was the reason for the proliferation of the concepts of personal wealth and property - ownership in Khoikhoi society, whose community structures solidified and expanded, and chieftaincies developed. The pastoralist Khoikhoi (men of men) were initially sharply distinct from the still hunting and gathering San people , whom the white European colonialist settlers referred to as Bushmen . Both groups are referred to with the episcopal term Khoisan . Over time the Khoikhoi established themselves along the coast, while small groups of San continued to inhabit the interior. Eventually, the two groups intermarried, became mixed and difficult to distinguish. Bantu migrations Main article: Bantu migrations Archaeological evidence shows that Bantu- speaking communities had settled in the borders of present-day South Africa circa 500 CE. Their advanced Iron Age culture brought with it sophisticated agriculture and animal husbandry and allowed them to easily displace the original Khoe-San inhabitants. European exploration of South Africa Bartolomeu Dias was the first European to explore this region in 1488. Although the Portuguese basked in the nautical achievement of successfully navigating the cape, they showed little interest in colonisation . The areas fierce weather and rocky shoreline posed a threat to their ships, and many of their attempts to trade with the local Khoikhoi ended in conflict. The Portuguese found the Mozambican coast more attractive, with appealing bays to use as way stations, for prawning , and as links to gold ore in the interior. The Portuguese had little competition in the region until the late 16th century, when the English and Dutch began to challenge the Portuguese along their trade routes. Stops at the continents southern tip increased, and the Cape became a regular stopover for scurvy - ridden crews. In 1647, a Dutch vessel, Haarlem, was wrecked in the present-day Table Bay at Cape Town. The marooned crew, the first to attempt settlement in the area, built a fort and stayed for a year until they were rescued. Settlers in South Africa The San The first people to settle communities in South Africa were the San tribes . The Khoikhoi The Khoikhoi began to settle all over the Southern African region ca. 2000 years ago. The Griqua people One of the best-known Khoikhoi groups also included the Griqua mixed race people (San, White, Coloured and Black), who had originally lived on the western coast between St Helena Bay and the Cederberg Range. In the late 18th century, they managed to acquire guns and horses and began trekking north-east. En route, other groups of Khoisan, Coloureds, Blacks and even white adventurers joined them, and they rapidly gained a reputation as a formidable military force. The Griquas were great hunters and became excellent shots, they excelled at guerrilla warfare and won many wars. Ultimately, the Griquas reached the Highveld around present-day Kimberley , where they created their own country that came to be known as Griqualand. They fought in many major wars with many other tribes. Arrival of the Bantu tribes The Bantu-speaking Settlers had started to make their way south and eastwards in about 1000 BC, reaching the present-day KwaZulu- Natal Province by around 500 AD. The Bantu- speakers had an advanced Iron Age culture and easily decimated, displaced and assimilated the more primitive San people. The Bantu people kept domestic animals and also farmed sorghum and other crops. They lived in small settled villages. The Bantu-speakers arrived in South Africa in small waves rather than in one cohesive migration. Some groups, the ancestors of todays Nguni peoples (the Zulu , Xhosa , Swazi , and Ndebele ), preferred to live near the coast. Others, now known as the Sotho–Tswana peoples ( Tswana , Pedi, and Basotho ), settled in the Highveld, while todays Venda , Lemba , and Shangaan - Tsonga peoples made their homes in the north-eastern areas of South Africa Specifics of the contact between Bantu- speakers and Khoisan races remains unknown, although linguistic proof of assimilation survives, as several Southern Bantu languages (notably Xhosa and Zulu ) incorporated many click consonants of earlier Khoisan languages. The assimilation is not dissimilar to that of the white skinned Africans, who had assimilated the Dutch, Belgium, German and other languages into a new African language. From around 1200 AD a trade network began to emerge just to the North as is evidenced at such sites as Mapungubwe . Additionally, the idea of sacred leadership emerged – concept that transcends English terms such as “Kings” or “Queens” .[4] Sacred leaders were elite members of the community, types of prophets, people with supernatural powers and the ability to predict the future. Similar to white African prophets, like Siener van Rensburg , these seers were powerful enough to cause tribal wars or peace. Looking out over the floodplains of the Luvuvhu River (right) and the Limpopo River (Far distance and left). Through interactions and trade with Muslim traders plying the Indian ocean as far south as present day Mozambique – the region emerged as a trade centre producing gold and ivory and trading for glass beads and porcelain from as far away as China.[4]
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 20:03:48 +0000
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