South Africa Freedom Day

South Africa Freedom Day

April 27In 1652, the Dutch East India Trading Company set up a station in Cape Town, South Africa, to service passing ships. After that, European pioneers began to colonize South Africa. In 1657, colonial authorities started giving land to the European settlers. As more Europeans arrived and built their farms, the need for land and labor grew. The settlers began spreading into other areas, and they brought people from East Africa and Madagascar to serve as slaves.
By the mid-1700s, even though there were more slaves than European colonists in South Africa, the white colonists continued to maintain power and authority. Throughout South Africa the minority white population practiced apartheid, an official policy of segregation that involved discrimination against non-white citizens in political, legal, and economic matters. Black South Africans faced stifling discrimination in all areas of their lives. Intense pressure from other countries forced the South African government to put an end to the practice of apartheid. In February 1990, South African President Frederik Willem de Klerk ended apartheid in the county.
On April 27, 1994, the Republic of South Africa held its first democratic elections. The African National Congress (ANC), an important black organization formed to fight for the freedom and rights of all black citizens, won the election. The new ANC-led government began the reconstruction and development of the country and its institutions, bringing with it socio-economic change that improved the lives of all South Africans, especially the poor.
Every year, the Republic of South Africa celebrates Freedom Day, a public holiday that commemorates the anniversary of the historic day in 1994. Special cultural events and exhibitions are held in various venues around Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa, and other locations around the country.
CONTACTS:
South Africa Government
Cape Town, Western Cape South Africa
www.info.gov.za
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