Similar, yet…..

Upon seeing the title of Dr. Anton Ehlers’ presentation, South Africa’s Political Economy Q and A Session, I was not immediately thrilled. I shrugged it off thinking this would suit someone else’s interest, but not mine. To my surprise, I enjoyed his talk and brief overview of South Africa’s economic history. He began by describing how Kaapstad (Cape Town) was established as a halfway station for the Dutch East India Company. Cape Town operated under a Dutch royal charter based on trade from 1652 until 1795, when the first British occupation occurred. Over 60,000 slaves, approximately, were imported during Dutch rule because the Dutch needed workers to operate their trading facilities. In his presentation, he pointed out that South Africa was established as a European colony, which pushed the native people to move or to “detribalize” and become a part of the colony. I enjoyed the comparisons that Dr. Anton Ehlers made between the histories of the United States and South Africa because they were similar in many ways. This made me wonder why the two countries are so different now. With remarkably similar histories, shouldn’t they have turned out similarly?