Thursday, March 10, 2005
Meanwhile, in South Africa...
The capital of the most important economy of Africa, Pretoria, has been renamed without too many people taking notice. The capital of South Africa will from now on be called Tshwane, after an ancient black tribal leader. The World Briefing section of the NYT provides some background.
Pretoria was named after Andreas Pretorius, an Afrikaner best known for the 1838 Battle of Blood River, so named because the river ran red with the blood of 3,000 Zulus killed by Voortrekkersettlers. Tshwane (pronounced t'SHWAN-ay) is the African name for another local river and for an Ndebele chief who ruled there before the arrival of whites. The city says the word means "we are all together."
Pretoria was named after Andreas Pretorius, an Afrikaner best known for the 1838 Battle of Blood River, so named because the river ran red with the blood of 3,000 Zulus killed by Voortrekkersettlers. Tshwane (pronounced t'SHWAN-ay) is the African name for another local river and for an Ndebele chief who ruled there before the arrival of whites. The city says the word means "we are all together."
