Sadly, though, this mingling of races has brought problems. “South Africa,” wrote Sir Laurens van der Post, “has a greater variety of human tensions than any other country in the world: there are tensions between white and Asians, black and Asians, white and Cape coloureds, Afrikanera and British, and between both Afrikaner and British and black.”

Who was here first? Surprisingly, none of the above-mentioned peoples! “It is undeniable that of the tribes of today the Bushman is the ‘oldest inhabitant’ and that the others are immigrants, black from the north and white from the south,” wrote Dr. Tyrrell in Tribal Peoples of Southern Africa. The Bushmen are an endangered yellow-tinged race similar in size to the Pygmies of central Africa. They are among the last people of earth who survive solely by hunting and gathering.

Closely resembling the Bushmen were the Hottentots​—believed to be a mixture of Bushmen and blacks. They also hunted but, unlike the Bushmen, raised their own cattle and sheep. Inhabiting the southern coastal regions, the Hottentots were the first to come in contact with the whites​—who settled on Africa’s southern tip from the year 1652.

From the fourth century onward, black African tribes began penetrating southern Africa. In time the blacks came to number millions​—separated into hundreds of tribes, each with its own chieftain. Certain tribes of the same language formed larger national groups, such as the Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho, Tswana, Pedi, Venda, and Tsonga.

The Push for Land

The way of life of the Bushman was not compatible with that of the Hottentots and the African tribesmen. War over land intensified with the arrival of Europeans, who required large farms for their stocks. Though incredibly courageous, the little hunter was forced to give way, finally succumbing to the sophisticated weapons of the white man. Some were absorbed into other nations, like the Sotho, while others survived in the inhospitable Kalahari.

After initial warfare, the Hottentots were more willing to surrender and serve the white settlers. In time, they formed part of the Cape-Coloured community, an outgoing, friendly people of mixed race​—including European ancestry—​who vary in colour from white to dark brown.

The elimination of the Bushman and the subduing of the Hottentot did not bring peace to South Africa. As the book Gold and Workers explains: “There began a bitter struggle for land, first in the eastern Cape between the Xhosa and the Dutch and later the British, then later in Natal between the Zulus and the Dutch and the British . . . The turning point came when Britain sent large armies to South Africa. They settled the outcome. With their horses, their modern guns and their cannons, they were eventually able to crush the Xhosa in the eastern Cape and the Zulus in Natal.”

In 1899, 20 years later, the Anglo-Boer war started, lasting almost four years. It was a conflict between whites of English and of Dutch descent, costing upwards of 40,000 lives. Picture the spectacle that confronted the blacks. Here were “Christians,” who brought them the Bible, slaughtering one another.

Blacks and Asians

What about the blacks, who form the majority in South Africa? Are they united? In the early 19th century, a powerful Zulu warrior, Shaka, conquered a number of neighbouring tribes. His conquests brought about a chain reaction of intertribal war resulting in millions of deaths.

Over the past century, with the discovery of rich goldfields and the advance of industry, tribal blacks have gradually moved to white cities for employment. One third of the black population, representing many different languages, now live together in townships near white communities. One example is Soweto, with about one million blacks, situated on the outskirts of South Africa’s largest city, Johannesburg. Blacks living in these townships have adopted many European ways, but old tribal beliefs remain.

Adding to the rich variety of races are over a hundred thousand black mine workers on contract from neighbouring Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi, and Mozambique. These men come to earn money for their families back home. They live in mine compounds, where fighting often erupts between the different nationalities.

Finally, there are the over half million Asians in South Africa. How did they get here? In the 19th century, Britain ruled the South African coastal region of Natal. The power of the Zulus was not yet broken, and they were unwilling to work in white-owned sugar plantations. So labourers were hired from India from 1860 onward, and most of these preferred to stay after their contracts ended. Immigration from India continued until 1911, by which time over 150,000 men, women, and children had made South Africa their home, adding to its rich variety of races. Sadly, even these are not at unity. Among them are Hindus, Muslims, and a number who belong to Christendom’s different churches, and animosity between some blacks and Indians continues till the present day.

Perhaps readers can now understand why the South African author quoted earlier said that this country “has a greater variety of human tensions than any other country in the world.” Recently the exclusively white government made new plans with the hope of satisfying the Indians and the Coloureds. But many whites strongly objected, leading to the formation of a new political party.

Isaac Langa, a South African, was raised in the black township of Alexandra, Johannesburg. Having a strong racialistic spirit, he hated whites and viewed the Zulu nation as superior to other blacks. Attending meetings arranged by a banned antigovernment organization, Isaac became involved in the South African riots of 1976. He recalls: “Many were shot dead by police; some became cripples for life. As I saw all of this, I developed a spirit of revenge. I wanted to get an automatic gun and shoot as many as I could before being killed myself. Unable to find one, I decided to follow the example of others who left for neighbouring countries in order to get military training.”

Another example is that of an Afrikaner who was brought up to hate blacks. At night he and two of his companions would often beat up any Africans they met on the road.