Democracy once seemed like a dream in South Africa. Europeans had ruled much of South Africa since the 1700s. Dutch settlers formed a colony at Cape Town. Find Cape Town on the map on page 607. Their descendants are called Afrikaners. Afrikaners make up 60 percent of South Africa's white population today. However, whites are only about 19 percent of the population. Most of the people are black.
The British took control from the Dutch in 1814. By 1900 Britain had established rule over all of South Africa. A large European population lived in the colony. When South Africa won full independence from Britain in 1961, the white minority continued to rule. Blacks like Nelson Mandela faced a future without freedom or a voice in government.