South Africa
From Kaiserreich
| Motto Ex Unitate Vires | |
| Official Language | English, Afrikaans |
| Capital | Pretoria |
| Head of State | Jan Smuts |
| Head of Government | Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr |
| Establishment - South Africa Act 1909 | May 31 1910 |
| Government | Semi-presidential republic |
| Currency | South African pound |
| Area | Around 1.850.000 km² |
| Population | Around 10 million |
South Africa is a country in Africa. It is bordered by Mittelafrika to the north-west and the Portuguese colony of Mozambique to the north-east.
Contents |
History
For thousands of years South Africa has been populated by two distinct cultural groups: the hunter gatherer San (Bushmen) and the agrarian Khoikhoi (Hottentots). These communities were irretrievably shattered by the arrival, in 1652, of Dutch bases on the cape, which were quickly followed by settlements. The Khoikhoi were soon reduced to forced labor for the settlers and for the Dutch East India Company, with rights often much less than that of slaves in the Americas. After the British took control of the colony during the Napoleonic Wars several attempts were made to alleviate the plight of the Khoikhoi, with limited success. Either way the liberal policies of the British led to large numbers of Dutch Voortrekkers to head north and establish their own republics on still more Khoikhoi land. The interior of South Africa would remain largely unsettled by whites, however, well into the 19th century. This would all change upon the discovery of vast diamond and gold deposits in the area. The influx of British prospectors would soon lead to increasingly violent confrontations between British colonials and Boer Republicans. The period also saw the final, violent repressions of the last remaining free chiefdoms in South Africa. An attempt at a federal system incorporating both the colonies and the Boer republics was shattered by a Boer victory over the British at Majuba in 1881. The resulting Anglo-Boer War, which raged from 1899-1902, would lead to an annexation of the Boer republics. The Boers, however, would win the peace, creating a constitution that ensured the retention of white-only rule in South Africa. White Afrikaners still, however, held a great deal of resentment towards the British Empire. Though an agreement was made with the Crown in 1926 which ensured that South Africa would remain part of the Commonwealth, a great deal of the population still opposes this measure
Politics
In the 1933 South African general election the United Party led by Jan Smuts received more votes than the National Party led by James Hertzog and the Labour Party led by William Andrews, but did not achieve an absolute majority and was therefore forced to form a minority government. New elections are scheduled for May 1938 and as of now it is impossible to predict who the people will chose.
Head of State: Jan Smuts
Head of Government: Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr
Foreign Minister: Jan Smuts
Minister of Armament: Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr
Minister of Security: Nicolaas Jacobus de Wet
Minister of Intelligence: Jan Smuts
Chief of Staff: Pierre van Ryneveld
Chief of Army: James Mitchell-Baker
Chief of Navy: Pierre Oliver-Knoll
Chief of Air Force: Pierre van Ryneveld
Military
Foreign Relations
Very good relations and with Canada and Australasian Confederation. Both countries also grant military access to South Africa.
Friendly relations with Portugal and Mittelafrika.
Unfriendly relations with Abyssinia.
