Tag: South Africa

  • Telecommunications in South Africa: Expanding Horizons

    Originally appeared on Wide Angle (PBS) website, “Road to Riches” episode, 2003 Building the Networks of Privilege Though telecommunications systems in Africa are generally less extensive and sophisticated than those in the developed world, South Africa’s telecommunications networks are among the best in all of Africa. The reasons behind this distinction, like so many other…

  • Mining in South Africa: The Industrialization of a Young Nation

    Originally appeared on Wide Angle (PBS) website, “Road to Riches” episode, 2003 South Africa’s Gold Rush South Africa is a land rich in mineral resources including diamonds, platinum, aluminum, coal, and gold; mining in the region dates back to the early Iron Age. The story of mining in South Africa, and especially of its gold…

  • Winemaking in South Africa: The Roots of Colonization

    Originally appeared on Wide Angle (PBS) website, “Road to Riches” episode, 2003 The Dutch Arrive in South Africa The beginnings of winemaking in South Africa coincide with the arrival of Dutch settlers to the future republic’s Western Cape in 1652. Commander Jan van Riebeeck had been sent to Table Bay by the Dutch East India…