Cape Colony encouraged immigration, and the independent farmers called Trekboers or simply Boers (the Dutch colonists or descendants of a Dutch colonists in South Africa including Calvinists, Flemish, and French Huguenots, and German and British Protestants) arrived to Cape of Good Hope during the period of the governor’s administration (1652 – 1795). Smaller groups of European ethnicities also contributed in forming the new nation. Over the centuries the South African population made of their country a modern and progressive nation. In 1992 the dismantling of restrictive legislation began. Political groups started negotiating the ending of the white minority rule, and the white electorate endorsed a stance on these negotiations in a referendum. Chief among African leaders, also the country’s first elected president, Nelson Mandela, is one of the few statesmen to have achieved universal respect. On February 11, 1990 Mandela, who had maintained a tough negotiating stance on the racism issue, was released after 27 years in prison. Mandela’s role fighting apartheid, and his imprisonment on Robben Island symbolizes the struggle of oppressed people around the world. Known by the fight for his people, indubitable moral, and fairness, Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (1993), which he shared with former South African president F.W. de Klerk. In June 2004, Mandela officially retired from public life in June 2004. Many famous and important people have been born in South Africa besides Mandela. Dr. Christiaan Barnard, at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, performed the first human heart transplant in the world in 1967, and he was the first to do a heart-lung transplant. Desmond Tutu, a South African activist, got worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid. He was the first black South African Archbishop of Cape Town. This is the land of gold and diamonds, and the right place to visit when one wants to go on a Photo Safari, or to see other unique, and incredible South African marvels. The Table Mountain alone has over 1,500 species of plants, more than the entire United Kingdom. The Kruger National Park supports the greatest variety of wildlife species on the African continent. South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique are joined to create a 13,500 square mile game park, which will become the largest conservation area in the world. South Africa is the only country in the world to voluntarily abandon its nuclear weapons program, and is the world’s leader in mining and minerals. It has nearly 90% of the platinum metals on earth, and 41% of the gold. The world’s largest diamond the Cullinan Diamond was found in South Africa. It weighed CONTINUED ON PAGE 147
THE DOG NEWS ANNUAL • 83