South Africa. The Beautiful, by Brian Johnson-Barker

South Africa. The Beautiful, by Brian Johnson-Barker.

South Africa. The Beautiful, by Brian Johnson-Barker.

In South Africa - The Beautiful, the talents of Brian Johnson-Barker and leading photographers introduce the beautiful face of the country as it passes in a panorama of landscapes, people, cities, towns, flora and fauna.

Brian Johnson-Barker  

Introduction: South Africa. The Beautiful

Modern or westernized South Africa may be said to have begun in 1652, when a permanent Dutch settlement was established on the shores of Table Bay. Its development was slow and unequal, until the 19th century the discovery of diamonds, and later, of gold brought it to world notice. By then, through the accidents of history and the perversity of individuals, it had already been fragmented into two Boer republics (Transvaal and Orange Free State) of mainly Dutch-descended citizens, and two British colonies (the Cape and Natal) of English settlers and those Boers who were prepared to live under colonial rule. In South Africa as in other colonized territories - the Americas, Australia, New Zealand - the indigenous people were the losers. They lost land and rights and, to the colonizers, they even lost relevance except perhaps as labour units or, on occasion, enemies to be killed or conquered. But only in South Africa were statute books filled with the legislation of separation and denial. Deservedly, the inequities and inhumanities of apartheid brought South Africa universal opprobrium as successive politicians tried to maintain white privilege, effecting only minor alterations on the sidelines. The first signs of real change and hope came early in 1990, with the announcement that organizations such as the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party were no longer to be banned. The release of political detainees, of whom the best known was Nelson Mandela, followed and continued over the next year and more. Elections in 1994 brought the formerly banned resistance movements to leadership of a government of national unity, and South Africans look forward to living under real democracy in this truly beautiful land. At last, great opportunity and the potential to attain the good of all South Africans lies ahead, along a path that few believe will be less than rocky. The unequal divisions of wealth and land need to be addressed justly and fairly, and it is these divisions that, more than anything else, so clearly illustrate the outcome of the loaded policies of the past. But the country has a sound commercial and industrial infrastructure and, with returning foreign investment and a burgeoning tourism industry, the potential to achieve rapid economic advancement for the benefit of allits people. For a great many visitors, the first close-up view of the country is Johannesburg, a city built on gold and enterprise, greed and exploitation, the inseparable mix common to gold strikes the world over. [...]

This is an excerpt from the book: South Africa. The Beautiful, by Brian Johnson Barker.

Title: South Africa. The Beautiful
Author: Brian Johnson Barker
Publisher: Random House Struik
Imprint: Heritage
Cape Town, South Africa 2010
ISBN: 9781770074187 / ISBN 978-1-77007-418-7
Hardcover, dustjacket, 27x31 cm, 168 pages, throughout colour photos

Johnson-Barker, Brian im Namibiana-Buchangebot

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