Southern Africa: migrations and invasions

Authors

Noel Castree, University of WollongongFollow

RIS ID

109625

Publication Details

Castree, N. (1992). Southern Africa: migrations and invasions. In A. Rogers (Eds.), Peoples and Cultures (pp. 194-201). New York, United States: Oxford University Press.

Abstract

Farmers and pastoralists had been living on southern Africa's plateaus and coastal plains for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans in the 15th century. The impact of colonialism on these groups brought about enormous cultural and social change. The migration of thousands of Europeans to farm the fertile lands of the region and to exploit its mineral resources undermined local societies andd destroyed their economies by depriving them of their lands and drawing adult males away to work in the mines and cities. South Africa's history of racial conflict between whites and blacks has distorted outside perceptions of the region and obscured its cultural diversity. Today southern Africa is being drawn firmly into the modern world, but the transition is not easy, and produces inevitable tensions.