fascinating facts about south africa

Nicolò Tito
Lit
02/05/11



Fascinating Facts



POLITICAL INFORMATION:
In South Africa there was the apartheid. Until at that moment all the black people couldn’t vote because they were “controlled” by the white people. If they tried to do something without the permission of a white people they would have been killed. The apartheid finished in the year 1994, the man who stopped it is Nelson Mandela a black man who talked and persuaded the white people to stop killing each other just for fun. Nelson Mandela is still living and is really appreciated by all the people. Now all of the civilization of South Africa can vote and it will be the opinion of everybody. There are a lot of ethnic groups and the black is the most popular there in the South Africa is the Black population. The black population has the 79.4% of the population. South Africa has 11 official languages that are: Afrikaans, Spanish, French, English and their other 7 different languages. South Africa is a very international country that gives an opportunity to everybody to speak or do business there. A curios thing about South Africa that it has two gigantic and important cities in the entire world but the capital of South Africa is Pretoria. Pretoria is a small city that does not have 500,000 habitants. Pretoria is out of the business and social trading because it is more agriculture city.

SOCIAL INFORMATION:
In South Africa people do not know how to read perfectly. In South Africa people can learn how to read if they are rich and have a wealthy family. But the most of the population do not know how to read or neither write.
The expectancy of a mother when she is pregnant is to have a boy or girl that will find a better job than her and then his father. They will give all the attention to the children so they will have a better life than the normal people of South Africa. They will try to give all the money that they have to the child and hope that he will have a better life than the parents.
South Africa has 11 official languages but the most used are: English, Spanish, French, Afrikaans.

GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION:
A very interesting thing about South Africa is that the weather and climate is nearly the same. Autumn, winter, and spring nearly have the same temperature because it is always in the middle of 15-18 degrees Celsius. This is very good for plants and for people because they get used of the temperature and they do not need changes of clothing or something else.
Mountain ranges, Normal Mountains and also the sea in a country like South Africa couldn’t miss. There is on of the biggest mountain chains like
THE DRAKENSBERG RANGE that is one of the highest in Africa.
There are also some strange mountains with strange names: there is the LIONS HEAD and the TABLE MOUNTAIN. The table mountain is a mountain that is always covered with fog. The top of the mountain is flat and the tourist can easily play with a ball but without making it fall! The fog and the flat top of the mountain made a strange table where people could eat and drink!
The Lions head is called like this because it has the peak like a shape of a lion.
These are the reasons why these mountains have such a strange name.
These aren’t the only natural hazards and high elevation of the country; there are also cape of hope and cape of horn. These two capes are found on the opposite sides of the country. Cape of horn watching the Indian ocean and cape of hope is just where the INDIAN AND PACIFIC OCEANS meet. It is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.

VALUES AND BELIEFS:
South Africa has a vast type of religion, but the most used is Christians. Religious people say that in some parts of South Africa you can really se what it really is the Christian world. This thing, in my opinion, is a very cool fact because to learn the real Christian religion it takes time and I think that this is cool because you stay with the nature and without the technological things for an entire life.
ECONOMIC INFORMATION:
Agriculture, fabrics, and trading for the South African people are a normal thing. South Africa is well divided in zone like Pretoria; Pretoria is the most important city in the entire South Africa that trades only agriculture and doesn’t trade technology things. Cape Town is the complete opposite; Cape Town only trades technology for other technologic things. Johannesburg and Cape Town just discovered the petrol that they had under the both cities and this made them trade and more powerful in comparison to other countries like Italy. South Africa is taking advantage about this thing and is becoming more powerful everyday. Their banks increase of value and of money every our, because people buy a lot of actions that the bank can trade and get more money in exchange. Natural resources bring them a lot of money because the safari in a park cost a lot and to stay a week there would bring money to the state. The safaris are one of the most important attractions in Africa because there you can find animals that in your country you don’t find. Industries are becoming everyday more important in a South African life because they are becoming powerful and bring you money if you work there. The most company and industries are the hotels because people are becoming more interested on the country and the tourism increases and the hotel work more and so on.


HISTORICAL INFORMATION:
Everybody knows the story about the apartheid that happened 30 years ago, but if you multiply that 30 for 2 million years the country of South Africa was born and had already an interesting history. One of the first human was born. They started to create their population and to move around the continent without knowing what to do. They founded new civilizations and they became “friends” and continued their voyage together searching for new civilization. Arrived at the coast they saw something that they could have never thought of it; a blue liquid substance that seem icy but hot at the same time: the SEA!!!
During the years they advanced themselves, now in the year 2011 this advancing of 3 million years is completed and the south African people are intelligent full of culture and ready to travel over the sea.