History of Northern Cape, South Africa - South African Information

South Africa Info Quick Links

South Africa Info Home World Cup 2010 in South Africa Accommodation in South Africa South African Conference Venues Property in South Africa About South Africa Info Contact South Africa Info Links to South African Sites South Africa Info Sitemap

Northern Cape Information > History

A Short History of the Northern Cape
The Northern Cape was one of three provinces carved out of the Cape Province in 1994 at the end of apartheid in South Africa. The other regions that came out of the Cape Province was the Western Cape to the south and the Eastern Cape to the southeast.

The Northern Cape has been politically dominated by African National Congress since 1994. The Northern Cape has an Afrikaans speaking majority giving rise to many ethnic issues in the politics of the Northern Cape. One of the widely publized issues is the site of the controversial Orania settlement, whose leaders have called for a Volkstaat for the Afrikaner people in the Northern Cape province.

The Northern Cape is also the home of over 1,000 San who immigrated from Namibia following the independence of the country; they had served as trackers and scouts for the South African government during the war, and feared reprisals from their former foes. They were awarded a settlement in Platfontein in 1999 by the Mandela government.

Today the Northern Cape is the largest province in South Africa (Almost 3 times the size of Germany) and it is also the most sparsely populated South African province. The Northern Cape is well known for it's grapes from Upington, Iron from Sishen and diamonds from Kimberley.

 

 

©2008 South Africa Info - Information on South Africa Including Property, Conference Venues and Accommodation in South Africa