British Imperialism In South Africa In The Late 1800s

In the early 1800s, the Dutch ruled over the Cape Colony in South Africa while advocating for the independence of the thirteen British colonies in North America. Outraged by the Dutch pledging international recognition to Britain’s territories to self-govern, Britain crafted what seemed to be an ideal plan for retaliation: imperialize the Dutch Cape Colony (Magubane). After years of consecutive control of the area, the Dutch had formally ceded the Cape Colony to the British in the Congress of Vienna in 1814 (“Cape Province”). Soon, there was an expansion of the British South African territory from the Cape Colony east to the present-day South Africa-Mozambique border, which collectively became known as the Union of South Africa. Under the British, there was no representation of black or mixed-raced South Africans in the British parliament in South Africa, resulting in the implementation of many laws politically and economically impairing indigenous South Africans (“South Africa Act”). Discrimination heightened under British rule, as the British

After South Africa gained independence as a country from Britain, it was a new beginning for the nation. However, elements of British influence continued to exist — the social discrimination and the preservation of the white superior social hierarchy system, for example — influencing the development of South Africa. It took many resistance movements, brutal protests and courageous individuals to instill equality within South African society after their independence. The negative effects of British imperialism on South Africa still resonate among South Africans and British today, many of whom may have a personal connection to the unjust laws, oppression and