Trek, Great, the journey by Afrikaner farmers (Boers) who left the Cape Colony to escape British domination and eventually founded Natal, Transvaal, and the Orange Free State. Trek is an Afrik...

South Africa, Afrikaans Suid-Afrika, officially Republic of South Africa, republic (2005 est. pop. 44,344,000), 471,442 sq mi (1,221,037 sq km), S Africa. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean in t...

South African literature, literary works written in South Africa or written by South Africans living in other countries. Populated by diverse ethnic and language groups, South Africa has a dis...

Soweto [acronym for south-west townships], city (1991 pop. 596,632), located 10 mi (16 km) SW of Johannesburg, South Africa. Soweto grew as black workers came to the industrialized area after ...

Boer [Du.,=farmer], inhabitant of South Africa of Dutch or French Huguenot descent. Boers are also known as Afrikaners. They first settled (1652) near the Cape of Good Hope in what was formerl...

Verwoerd, Hendrik Frensch, 1901–66, South African political leader, b. Holland. He was taken as an infant to South Africa when his parents emigrated as missionaries. He graduated from Stellenb...

Duiker, name for members of a group of small, light antelopes, found in thick brush and forest over most of Africa. All stand under 25 in. (64 cm) high at the shoulder. They have arched backs,...

Breytenbach, Breyten, 1939–, South African writer, painter, and activist. Although he is from a distinguished Afrikaner family, he soon became a committed opponent of apartheid. He left South ...

The Indo-European Family of LanguagesSubfamilyGroupSubgroupLanguages and Principal Dialects* Asterisk indicates a dead language.AnatolianHieroglypic Hittite*, Hittite (Kanesian)*, Luwian*, Lyc...

Johannesburg, city (1991 pop. 1,574,631), Gauteng, NE South Africa, on the southern slopes of the Witwatersrand at an altitude of 5,750 ft (1,753 m). Johannesburg is the largest city in South ...