South Africa's History

The San people were the first settlers; the Khoikhoi and Bantu-speaking tribes followed. The Dutch East India Company landed the first European settlers on the Cape of Good Hope in 1652, launching a colony that by the end of the 18th century numbered only about 15,000. In 1815 Britain took permanent possession at the end of the Napoleonic Wars and brought 5,000 settlers. In 1867 diamonds and gold brought an influx of outlanders republics. Louis Botha, a Boer, became the first prime minister.