Settlement of Swaziland

Lets go way back in time and see what the scientists believe was
happening in the region we call Southern Africa, near my country of study,
Swaziland. They believe that the australopithecines who roamed the
highland savanna plains of Southern Africa date from about three million to
one million years ago. There can be little doubt that for hundreds of
thousands of years Southern Africa, like eastern Africa, was in the forefront of
human development and technological innovation. (Southern Africa,
Britannica). Isnt that a great thought: Africa in the forefront of human
development for hundreds of thousands of years? Many people claim that
Africa was even the area where the Garden of Eden, a fertile, lush landscape
where the first people on Earth originated.
What we do know, factually speaking, is that the southern portion of
Africa is the same distance away from the equator as the Fertile
Crescent(Guns, Germs and Steel, Episode 3). From the investigations we
conducted last week, we learned that for a civilization to become
industrialized, and have power like the Europeans did, one of the factors
involved is the climate. Plants, animals, and people thrive in geographical
areas where the temperature is moderate. Along with the temperature, the
level of precipitation needs to be sufficient to keep the crops and seeds
germinating so people and animals will be able to live. The Fertile Crescent
and the southern portion of Africa share these attributes, to an extent.

From the information given to us by the NRCS of the USDA, 56 unique

species of large seeded grass originated in the Eurasian/ North Africa area of
the world. The Sub-Saharan Africa area only had 4 different species. This
significant contrast is another possible reason that the Europeans advanced
faster than other areas. The number of candidates that could be and were
domesticated is also significantly larger in the Eurasian area. It is instructive,
however, to note that the Europeans were able to draw the same
observations that scientists have about southern Africa:
Among the foreign productions that might be introduced, and in all
probability cultivated with success at the Cape of Good Hope, may be
reckoned the different varieties of the cotton plant. Many of these have been
already tried and found to succeed extremely well in the light sandy soil that
generally prevails in the country.
The Palma Christi, from the seed of which is expressed the Easter oil,
and the aloe, whose juice produces the well-known drug of that name, are
natives of the country, and are met with almost everywhere in great plenty;
as is also the cape olive, so like in habit and appearance to the cultivated
plant of Europe, that there can be little doubt as to the success of the latter
(Barrow).
The Eurasian area is known for having domesticated animals such as
sheep. Encyclopedia Britannica shows that when the Europeans arrived in

the Cape of Good Hope, they encountered this and other familiar animals
present there:
The first evidence of pastoralism in the subcontinent occurs on a
scattering of sites in the more arid west; there the bones of sheep and goats,
accompanied by stone tools and pottery, date to some 2,000 years ago,
about 200 years before iron-using farmers first arrived. When Europeans first
rounded the Cape of Good Hope, they encountered herding people, whom
they called Hottentots (a name now considered pejorative) but who called
themselves Khoekhoe, meaning men of men(Southern Africa, Britannica).
As time progressed, some areas of southern Africa became more
developed by the Europeans. Some native African tribes tried to push back
and preserve their lands. Many, however, were defeated by the guns and
germs brought over by their adversaries.
There was one landlocked kingdom which a British high commissioner
oversaw, named the Swazi preserve. In 1909, the Union of South Africa
brings together provinces with the anticipation of Swaziland joining them in a
short time period. Several times South Africa reminds the British government
of the ultimate plan, but due to the apartheid taking over, there is still
hesitancy to move forward. The kingdom of Swaziland improves its
performance as an economy through exportation as the 1960s roll around.
Swaziland had maintained itself as a kingdom under the thumb of
Britain. By then the dismantling of the British Empire is in full swing. A

constitution for limited self-government is introduced in 1963. In 1967 a

revised constitution transforms the Swazi territory into a protected state as
the Kingdom of Swaziland. Full independence follows a year later
(Gascoigne).
The government of Swaziland found the ability to keep its independent
status and land due to persistence and great resources found within the
area. From the Fertile Crescent and southern part of Africa, we can see that
plants, animals and timing are important to thriving in any area. While
Europeans did overrun many portions of Africa, Swaziland has been able to
maintain its independence.
References
Barrow, S. J. (1802). An account of travels into the interior of southern
Africa, in the years 1797 and 1798 [Infoweb.newsbank.com]. New York City,
NY: An Archive of Americana Collection. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
Gascoigne, Bamber. History of Swaziland HistoryWorld. From 2001,
ongoing.http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?
historyid=ad30#ixzz3zMIsmnJc
Guns, Germs, & Steel -- (Episode 3 - Into the Tropics). (2013, September 27).
Retrieved February 05, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=9xPvd_HFZZE

Southern Africa. (2016). In Encyclopdia Britannica. Retrieved

fromhttp://www.britannica.com/place/Southern-Africa