South Africa is popularly perceived as the most influential nation in Africa – a gateway to an entire continent for finance, trade and politics, and a crucial mediator in its neighbours' affairs. On the other hand, post-Apartheid dreams of progress and reform have, in part, collapsed into a morass of corruption, unemployment and criminal violence.A Short History of South Africa is a brief, general account of the history of this most complicated and fascinating country – from the first evidence of hominid existence to the wars of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries that led to the establishment of modern South Africa, the horrors of Apartheid and the optimism following its collapse, as well as the prospects and challenges for the future.This readable and thorough account, illustrated with maps and photographs, is the culmination of a lifetime of researching and teaching the broad spectrum of South African history.Nattrass's passion for her subject shines through, whether she is elucidating the reader on early humans in the cradle of humankind, or describing the tumultuous twentieth-century processes that shaped the democracy that is South Africa today.
- 304 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
A Short History of South Africa
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Maps
- Abbreviations
- Timeline
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: How it all began
- Chapter 2: Early settlers from about 1000 bc to ad 1500
- Chapter 3: Settlers from out of Africa
- Chapter 4: Migrations within South Africa
- Chapter 5: The mineral discoveries
- Chapter 6: The decline of the African chiefdoms and the rural areas
- Chapter 7: The Two Anglo-Boer Wars, 1880–1881 and 1899–1902
- Chapter 8: Union, the rise of nationalisms, resistance movements, World War I(1914–1918), and the PACT government (1924–1929)
- Chapter 9: New political parties, the rise of the Afrikaners, World War II (1939–1945) and the 1948 elections
- Chapter 10: The apartheid government
- Chapter 11: The 1960s
- Chapter 12: The 1970s and 1980s
- Chapter 13: The momentous 1990s
- Chapter 14: The years 1999–2008 and 2009–2016
- Chapter 15: Prospects and challenges
- Postscript
- Acknowledgements
- Index
- About the Author
- Copyright
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Yes, you can access A Short History of South Africa by Gail Nattrass in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & World History. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.