Canadian Medical Guide > Geographic Locations > Geographic Locations > Africa > Africa South of the Sahara > Africa, Southern Terms and Definitions




Africa, Southern

Medical Definition: The geographical area of Africa comprising ANGOLA; BOTSWANA; LESOTHO; MALAWI; MOZAMBIQUE; NAMIBIA; SOUTH AFRICA; SWAZILAND; ZAMBIA; and ZIMBABWE. It includes what was formerly called South-West Africa or German Southwest Africa but it was terminated in 1966 by a United Nations resolution. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1144)
Guide Notes: a geog area: prefer specific countries; do not confuse with SOUTH AFRICA ( = Union of South Africa 1910-60)
Africa, Southern Categories.
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Angola - A republic in southern Africa, southwest of DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO and west of ZAMBIA. Its capital is Luanda. It was formerly a Portuguese overseas province called Portuguese West Africa, having been reached by Portuguese sailors in 1483, with Portuguese rule established in 1575. Its status was changed from colony to overseas province in 1951 and it received its independence in 1975. Angola is named for N'gola, a native ruler there in the 16th century. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p51 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p23)
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Botswana - A republic in southern Africa, between NAMIBIA and ZAMBIA. It was formerly called Bechuanaland. Its capital is Gaborone. The Kalahari Desert is in the west and southwest. Botswana was organized as a British protectorate in 1885 and became independent in 1966. The name comes from bo, the prefix for abstract nouns + Tswana, the people themselves. Bechuana in its earlier name is the English corruption of Botswana. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p185 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p74)
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Lesotho - A kingdom in southern Africa, an enclave lying within the republic of SOUTH AFRICA. Its capital is Maseru. It was mostly uninhabited before 1800. In the early 19th century it had many disputes with the Boers. First receiving British protection in 1843, it was annexed in 1868 and made part of Cape Colony in 1871. It became a British colony in 1884 and gained independence in 1966. Sotho is the name of the indigenous people, probably meaning black. The plural is Basotho which gave the former name Basutoland. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p664 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p304)
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Malawi - A republic in southern Africa east of ZAMBIA. Its capital is Lilongwe. It was formerly called Nyasaland. This region was visited by Livingstone in 1859. It became a British protectorate in 1891, part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1953, and independent in 1964. It takes its name from the Malavi people whose name means flames, possibly referring to the reflection of the rising sun on Lake Malawi. Its former name Nyasaland is from the Malawi word for lake. (Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p715 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p326, 386)
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Mozambique - An independent state in southern Africa, south of TANZANIA and east of ZAMBIA, on the Indian Ocean. Its capital is Maputo. It was formerly called Portuguese East Africa, the town of Mozambique having been a Portuguese trading fort early in the 16th century. Organized as a colony in 1907, it became an overseas province of Portugal in 1951 and became independent in 1975. The name is a Portuguese corruption of the Arabic musa malik: Musa (the name of an early African ruler) + malik (king). (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1992, p798 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p365)
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Namibia - A republic in southern Africa, south of ANGOLA and west of BOTSWANA. Its capital is Windhoek. It was a region not much visited before the middle of the 19th century although the Portuguese landed at one of its harbors in 1486. Namibia was annexed by Germany in 1885. As the former German colony of South West Africa, it was mandated to South Africa 1920-1966, and made a direct dependent of the United Nations 1966. Its name was changed from South West Africa to Namibia in 1968. The name is from Nama, the Hottentot people who inhabit it; its origin is unknown. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1144 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p369)
Canadian Medical Guide Definition South Africa - A republic in southern Africa, the southernmost part of Africa. It has three capitals: Pretoria (administrative), Cape Town (legislative), and Bloemfontein (judicial). The history is a fabric interwoven with hostile activity among the native tribes, particularly the Zulus, the Boers (Dutch settlers), and the British. Officially the Republic of South Africa since 1960, it was called the Union of South Africa 1910-1960.
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Swaziland - A kingdom in southern Africa, west of MOZAMBIQUE. Its capital is Mbabane. The area was settled by the Swazi branch of the Zulu nation in the early 1880's, with its independence guaranteed by the British and Transvaal governments in 1881 and 1884. With limited self-government introduced in 1962, it became independent in 1968. Swazi is the Zulu name for the people who call themselves Swati, from Mswati, the name of a 16th century king, from a word meaning stick or rod. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1170 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p527)
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Zambia - A republic in southern Africa, south of DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO and TANZANIA, and north of ZIMBABWE. Its capital is Lusaka. It was formerly called Northern Rhodesia. Under the jurisdiction of the British South Africa Company 1889-1924, it became a British Protectorate in 1924, then part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland 1953-63. It became an independent republic in 1964. The country takes its name from the Zambezi River flowing through it, the fourth longest on the continent. Za (river) also gave its name to Zaire. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1370 & Room, Brewers' Dictionary of Names, 1992, p608)
Canadian Medical Guide Definition Zimbabwe - A republic in southern Africa, east of ZAMBIA and BOTSWANA and west of MOZAMBIQUE. Its capital is Harare. It was formerly called Rhodesia and Southern Rhodesia. The region was under the administration of the British South Africa Company from 1889 to 1923 when it became a self-governing British colony. Zimbabwe was a member of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland 1953-63. It was granted independence by the British in 1980 when it became Zimbabwe. The name is from that of a famous archaeological site whose name is the Bantu zimba we bahwe, (house of stones) from zimba, the plural of imba (house) + bahwe (stones). It refers to ruins comprising an acropolis with huge walls of monoliths fitted without mortar. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1013, 1374 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p610)

Africa, Southern Medical Definitions and Terms

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