The Beginning of South African History (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from The Beginning of South African History<br><br>In January 1896 I completed a small volume which was published in London and Capetown with the title of The Portuguese in South Africa, and which is now out of print. The preface to that volume was as follows: -<br><br>"A very few years ago, when I prepared my large History, the expression 'South Africa' meant Africa south of the Limpopo. Mainly through the ability of one man - the Right Honourable Cecil John Rhodes - that expression today means Africa south of the Zambesi. The event which I took as an initial point - the arrival of Van Riebeek in Table Valley in April 1652 - has thus come to be incorrect for that purpose, the true starting-point now being the arrival of D'Anaya in Sofala in September 1505. I have therefore written this volume, in order to rectify the beginning of my work.<br><br>"As Bantu tribes that were not encountered by the Dutch, and that differed in several respects from those south of the Limpopo, came into contact with the Portuguese, it was necessary to enlarge and recast the chapters in my other volumes descriptive of the South African natives. I need not give my authorities for what I have now written concerning these people, for I think I can say with truth that no one else has ever made such a study of this subject as I have.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.