South Africa has a history spanning back many thousands of years. In fact, the oldest humanoid fossils were found at the Cradle of Humankind near Johannesburg. Below is a brief introduction to the history of South Africa.

BC

Khoi-San Hunters migrate south with their livestock into the present day Limpopo valley

1300 - 1500

SeSotho-SeTswana people settle in the interior, while Nguni-speaking people settled on the south-eastern seaboard and the Khoi-San settled in the south-western Cape.

1488

Vasco Da Gama successfully navigates the southern coast of Africa (present day South Africa) and successfully finds a route to India

1652

Jan Van Riebeek lands at Cape Town

1659

Khoi-San rebel against the new settlers

Middle 1700s- 1850

White immigrants, mainly Dutch and French Huguenots, move inland and fight fierce battles with the already settled Xhosa and Zulu tribes.

1800-1850

The British settlers also have encounters with the Zulu in present-day KwaZulu-Natal.

1899

Anglo-Boer War

1910

South Africa becomes a Union

1948

Apartheid formalised, although the black population were already not treated equally

1960

69 killed in Sharpville for protesting pass laws

Anti-apartheid parties are banned

1961

South Africa becomes a Republic

1976

Soweto Uprising

1990

FW De Klerk lifts the ban on anti-apartheid parties

Nelson Mandela released from prison

1994

First general elections with universal suffrage.

Mandela become President of South Africa

2004

South Africa awarded the rights to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup™

2004

South Africa celebrates 10 years of democracy

The first recorded football match in South Africa was played in 1862 in Cape Town between British Officers and Civil Servants.