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Imperialism in South Africa emerged with the discovery of Gold and diamond. Imperialism in South Africa shattered the economy of the country and leads to racial discriminations.
History of Imperialism in South Africa
The virgin land of South Africa came into first European contact when Portuguese traders, in fifteenth century began trading in South Africa. Dutch started pouring in by seventeenth century, when they used Cape of Good Hope as their fueling station. These Dutch soon started settling in by pushing the original inhabitants aside. These Dutch later called themselves Afrikaners.
By nineteenth century, the British started a formal imperial rule over the Afrikaners and the native Africans by establishing themselves in Cape of Good Hope. The Imperial rule of British in South Africa leads to the difference with the Afrikaners, who were already having a conflict with the Zulu, which was an African kingdom that was itself involved in territorial expansion. The discovery of diamonds in 1867 and gold in 1886 leads to the imposition of formal British rule over South Africa and superseded all existing conflicts.
In order to ensure full profits of the diamond and gold mines into the hand of British Empire in South Africa, rigid policies like full power over the African labor and African movement were emerged. Imperialism in South Africa provoked racial discrimination later in twentieth-century, which leads to Apartheid.
Imperialism in South Africa was the main cause of the widespread racial discrimination in South Africa.
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