Historical Background

The Sterkfontein Valley, situated just 18 miles northwest of Johannesburg, has yielded some of the most startling archaeological treasures of our time. Scientists working the limestone caves in 1998 discovered a lime-encrusted skeleton, which dates the presence of early human beings in the valley to 3.5 million years ago. This discovery places Gauteng at the forefront of international palaeontology research.

Evidence of Iron Age smelters on the Melville Koppies and at Lone Hill just north of Sandton, point to a more recent human occupation. While rock engravings in Magaliesberg mark the passage of these hunter gatherers 25,000 years ago.

It is not without reason that the province in which Johannesburg sits is called Gauteng - Sotho for "Place of Gold." The city was named after Johan Rissik (the Surveyor General sent to select a site for the village) and Johannes Joubert (the mining commissioner sent to investigate the claims).

With the discovery of gold in 1886 (the world's most significant source of this precious mineral is located here), gold diggers, speculators and fortune hunters arrived in droves, and soon a tented town sprung up. This conglomerate of disparate people was to become what is today South Africa's main commercial center.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Witwatersrand gold mines attracted large numbers of African laborers who were housed in compounds on the mines. Company and municipal hostels housed migrant workers for other industries while some, such as domestic workers, resided at their places of work.

But there were also many people who were uitlanders (foreigners). Their limited voting rights was one of the reasons for the beginning of the Anglo Boer War (an earth-shattering clash between British imperialism and Afrikaaner nationalism).

It was not just the war of the white person; many Africans were employed by the British and the Boers.

The Johannesburg Fort, a prison for a good part of the late 1900s, was surrendered to the English during the Anglo Boer War. The Fort was the only major military structure built in Johannesburg by the Transvaal Republic. It was designed to control, not protect, the rebellious mining town. The battlements offered commanding views of the city and its gold miners; it was surrendered without a shot being fired.

As social and political tensions increased between 1950 and 1980, a new kind of leader emerged: Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela equipped themselves with academic qualifications.

In 1955, at a conference in Kliptown near Johannesburg, the ANC's Freedom Charter was signed and ratified by the Congress of the People.

Milestones during this period are numerous. Most significant was the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Albert Luthuli, which brought international recognition and sympathy to the struggle against apartheid.

The Rivonia Trial, the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela and finally, the student uprising in Soweto in 1976, marked the beginning of the end of apartheid. Gauteng—both Johannesburg and Soweto—was at the very cutting edge of the revolution.

Soweto (originally an acronym for Southwestern Townships adjacent to Johannesburg) comprises a number of townships, and developed into a city as a result of a policy of territorial and political segregation. It has now developed from a mere geographical concept into a vibrant city that attracts many visitors.

Johannesburg today reflects the new South African order, and a society in which the people are justly proud.

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