From the Federation of the former Boer Republics, the South African Union was born in 1910, an autonomous domain of the British Crown, fully independent since 1931. In 1961, following the international condemnation of apartheid, and the consequent exit of the country from the Commonwealth, the Republic was proclaimed. In October 1993, Parliament approved the creation of a transitional executive council, in which all political parties (including representatives of blacks) participated. This was an important turning point after 350 years of absolute domination by whites which then paved the way for the approval of a provisional Constitution first (November 1993) and of the new Constitution, then (1997) which guarantees multiracial coexistence through full protection. minority groups. The President of the Republic is elected by the National Assembly and exercises executive power. The bicameral Parliament is formed by the National Assembly, whose members are elected for 5 years with the proportional system, and by the National Council of Provinces, whose members are appointed by the provincial assemblies. Parties that get at least 20% of the votes in the National Assembly can appoint a vice-president. The judicial system is based on Common Law British and Dutch law. Justice is administered, in its highest degree, by the Supreme Court of Appeal, competent in civil, criminal and administrative matters; then we find the High Courts and the Courts of Magistrates, one for each judicial district into which South Africa is divided. The defense of the country is entrusted to the armed forces of the South African National Defense Force (SANDF), established in 1994 and made up of the former South African armed forces integrated by men from the military wing of the African National Congress (ANC). There is also a paramilitary police force that acts to protect internal security. According to estatelearning, the South African school system reflected the rigid segregationism on which, until the end of the 1980s, the whole life of the country was based. After the the removal of racial barriers has made a global reorganization of the school system necessary. Since 1991, all children have been allowed to use state schools, regardless of race, and in 1996 a ten-year plan was launched which established compulsory schooling from 6 to 16 years of age. Education in the country is completely free.According to recent estimates (2007), the percentage of illiterate people is 12%. In the country there are numerous universities, among the most important we mention: Cape Town (1929), Rhodes (1904), Natal (1910), Witwatersrand (1922), Orange Free State (1855), South Africa (1873), Pretoria (1908), Fort Hare (1916), Stellenbosch (1918), Western Cape (1960), Zululand (1960), Durban-Westville (1960), Port Elizabeth (1964).
PREHISTORY
Known above all for the contribution of data relating to the problem of the origin of Man, recovered starting from 1924 in numerous cavities and breaches of the Transvaal, among which the most important are Swartkrans, Taung, Makapansgat, Kromdraai and Sterkfontein from which many come. remains of several species of Australopithecines, South Africa also presents documentation relating to the subsequent phases of the Paleolithic. There are numerous sites referable to different phases of the Acheulean (Amanzi, Rooidam, Montagu Cave, Fauresmith etc.) and which offer long sequences including the subsequent phases (Middle Stone Age, industries like Howieson’s Port, Late Stone Age, microlithic industries like Wilton etc.), some of which are well framed in terms of absolute chronology. Such is, for example, the sequence of the Apollo 11 cave in Namibia, with Late Stone Age industries dating back to around 40,000 years, with evidence of rock art in levels dated to about 28,000 years from today, and with materials referable to the microlithic facies of the Wiltoniano, from the Wilton field (Cape Province), where manifestations of art from the Holocene era have also been found. Equally remarkable is the sequence unearthed at Border Cave, on the border with Swaziland, which begins with Middle Stone Age industries dated between about 200,000 and 50,000 years, followed by microlithic industries dating back to around 35,000 years. Remains of archaic Homo sapiens sapiens have been found in various South African locations, sometimes in association with Middle Stone Age industries such as Boskop (Transvaal) and Klasies River Mouth (Cape Province). At Neolithic times, the Wiltonian and the Smithfildian are attributable, which see the first ceramic and iron slag associated with the lithic finds. A noteworthy place is that occupied by southern prehistoric art (probably referable to the Wiltonian) with numerous engravings and rock paintings. During the Iron Age, starting from the end of the second millennium BC. C. settled communities of farmers and ranchers developed in different sites, up to, in the century. VIII a. C., to the construction of large centers, such as Mapungubwe and Bambandyanalo, where valuable materials are documented, including glass beads, also common to the contemporary kingdom of Zimbwe, and the formation of a “proto-state” organization.
