The early inahbitants were made up of hunter-gatherer communities
Around 200 Bantu-speaking groups began moving into South Africa, bringing with them agriculture and iron technologies
By the 7th century, varius chiefs had began building kingdoms
The indigenous peoples traded with each other, exchanging goods such as ivory, gold and cattle

The Portuguese rounded the Cape of New Hope in 1488 whilst establishing a maritime route to India
They began to build small coastal forts and trade with the local kingdoms
The Portuguese often tried to exert military force when engaging with locals in order to show their dominance

In 1652, the Dutch East India Trading company established a resting and refreshment station at the Cape (the new Dutch settlers were known as Boers)
The Dutch then began to expand their territory through agriculture and farming. Using violence to steal land

After the Napoleonic Wards, the British annexed the Cape Colony in 1815, causing more conflicts with the indigenous
The Anglo-Boer war (1899-1902) took place as British interest in the region increased due to the finding of Diamond mines

The Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, entrenching segregation that later developed into the full apartheid system implemented after 1948.
Apartheid ended in 1994 with the country’s first democratic elections, leading to Nelson Mandela’s presidency and the beginning of efforts to address historic inequalities.