Located at the southern-most tip of the African continent, South Africa has coasts on both the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The climate of South Africa is mostly semi-arid, especially on the western coast and inland regions, making these areas prone to drought during times of low rainfall. Along the country’s eastern coast, subtropical conditions prevail. Summers are generally hot and dry, while winters are mild in most regions.
Before white settlement in the region, what is now South Africa was populated by a wide range of peoples. These were initially the San and Khoikhoi, and later the peoples of the Bantu groups. In 1652, the Dutch became the first Europeans to establish settlements in the Cape region. Throughout the 19th century, many of the descendants of the original Dutch colonialists, known as Afrikaners or Boers, moved away from the Cape region, establishing settlements further north to avoid falling under direct British rule. British forces, assisted by locally recruited native forces and units of irregulars formed from settler communities, invaded Zulu-held land in 1879, initially suffering a crushing defeat at the Battle of Isandhlwana in January of that year. However, reinforced, the British soon overcame Zulu resistance, further expanding the boundaries of the Cape Colony. The Boer War of 1899-1902 saw clashes between British and Boer settlers escalate into a war between the British Empire and the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. In the last two years of the conflict, the British strengthened their hold on Afrikaner lands while slowly overcoming a guerrilla campaign conducted by Boer irregulars.