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Feb 24, 1480
Bartholomeu Dias
Portuguese navigator who was the first European to travel round the southern tip of Africa -
Feb 24, 1497
Vasco da Gama
Portuguese explorer who lands on Natal coast. This opened up a network for trade to the Indian Ocean. -
Jan van Riebeeck
Discovered the Cape Colony of Table Bay with the East India Trading Company. Established a supply base at this point. Settlers settled on the land creating the Cape Colony. -
British forces seize Cape Colony
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Boers leave Cape colony in the great trek
On this "Great Trek" the Boers founded the Orange Free State and the Transvaal -
British grant limited self government to the Transvaal
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Diamonds discovered
Diamonds discovered at Kimberley. This attracted many settlers in a sort if "diamond rush". This made the population to 50,000 within five years. The discovery ended the isolation of the Boers and changed South African history. -
Britain annexes the Transvaal
Sir Theophilus Shepstone, the British Secretary for Native Affairs in Natal, convinced the Transvaal government to accept British annexation. He also convinced people that the Zulu posed a threat to the peace. -
Boers rebel against the British
The boers were the farmers. This sparks the first Anglo-Boer War in the Transvaal. This conflict ends with a negotiated peace. -
Gold discovered at "White Water Ridge"
Contained the largest deposit of gold. -
Anglo-Boer War
Boer Republican commandos attacked Natal and Cape Colony -
Formation of Union of South Africa
This was formed by the former British colonies of the Cape and Natal, and the Boer republics of Transvaal, and Orange Free State. -
African National Congress
The Native National Congress was founded, later renamed the African National Congress (ANC) -
Land Act introduced
This was introduced to prevent blacks, except thise living in Cape province, from buying land outside reserves. -
Supports Allies
South Africa supported the Allied nations during World War One -
Population Registration Act .
Population Registration Act authorizes racial classification in South Africa. Each person in South Africa must register according to what race they are. This is because of the system of apartheid. -
First fully democratic election
The dismantling of apartheid began in 1990. But in 1994, this signaled the absolute end of the apartheid segregation system in South Africa