Concise History Of South Africa

This book provides a succinct overview of the past 1500 years of South African history, up to and including the government of Nelson Mandela. On the basis of a description of precolonial African societies and of colonial conquest, it concentrates on the economic and political transformations leading up to the radical changes of the past decade. Nevertheless, it also devotes much attention to the diversity of South African society and the vibrancy of its cultural life.

"This book will provide its readers with a good platform from which to begin to expand their undestanding of Southern Africa." H-Net Reviews of Southern"Ross's writing style will help the book find a wide audience. The narrative is not overburdened with the jargon of any particular historical school, and he uses strong, declarative sentences to make his points." The Historian

This book gives a succinct overview of the last 1500 years of South African history, up to and including the Mandela government. It covers pre-colonial African societies, the colonial conquest and the economic and political transformations leading up to the radical changes of the last decade.

1. Introduction; 2. The settlement of the land; 3. Colonial conquest; 4. Unification; 5. Consolidation; 6. Apartheid; 7. The costs of apartheid; 8. ‘Let Freedom Reign’: the end of apartheid and the transition to democracy, 1980 — 1994; 9. Epilogue: the acid rain of freedom; Suggestions for further reading.