Pretoria is situated in the transitional area between the Johannesburg in the north-east of South Africa. It lies in a warm, well sheltered, fertile valley, surrounded by the hills of the Magaliesberg range, 1,370 m (4,495 ft) above sea level. The city's coordinates are approximately 25°45?S 28°17?E
History
Apies'.
During the Natal, another band of refugees arrived in this area under the leadership of Mzilikazi. However, they were forced to abandon their villages in their flight from a regiment of Zulu raiders in 1832.
Pretoria itself was founded in 1855 by Marthinus Pretorius, a leader of the Voortrekkers, who named it after his father Andries Pretorius. The elder Pretorius had become a national hero of the Voortrekkers after his victory over the Zulus in the famous Battle of Blood River. It became the capital of the South African Republic (ZAR) soon afterwards.
The founding of Pretoria as the capital of the South African Republic can be seen as marking the end of the Boers' settlement movements of the Great Trek.
During the Pretoria Convention.
The Second Boer War (1899 to 1902) resulted in the end of the South African Republic and start of Britishhegemony in South Africa. During the war, Winston Churchill was imprisoned in the Staats Model School in Pretoria but escaped to Mozambique. The city surrendered to British forces under Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts on 5 June1900 and the conflict was ended in Pretoria with the signing of the Peace of Vereeniging on 31 May 1902.
The Boer Republics of the ZAR and the Orange Free State were united with the Cape Colony and Natal Colony in 1910 to become the Union of South Africa. Pretoria then became the administrative capital of the whole of South Africa, with Cape Town the legislative capital. Between 1860 and 1994, the city was also the capital of the province of Transvaal, superseding Potchefstroom in that role.
On South Africa became a republic in 1961, Pretoria remained its administrative capital.
Pretoria previously had a negative image as "the capital of apartheid South Africa" - one of the most notable reasons for this was the so-called Treason Trial of 1956 to 1961, which was conducted in the city. However, Pretoria's political reputation was redeemed with the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as the country's first black President at the Union Buildings in the same city. However, the name Pretoria still has a negative connotation to many black South Africans, and therefore a change of name to Tshwane has been proposed. This change is controversial to the many inhabitants of the city, especially the Afrikaner community, to whom the name Pretoria has an important historical relevance.
After the creation of new municipal structures across South Africa in 2000, the name Tshwane was adopted for the Metropolitan Municipality that includes Pretoria.
Economy
Pretoria is an important industrial centre, with heavy industries including Cape Town. [2]
Interesting facts
Pretoria's main street, Church Street, is the longest urban street in South Africa and one of the longest straight streets in the world.
Many of the city's streets are lined with Jacaranda trees that blossom mauve (purplish blue) in spring, giving rise to the city's nickname "Jacaranda City".
The Cullinan Diamond (the largest gem diamond ever found) was discovered in the town of Cullinan near Pretoria at the Premier Mine on January 26, 1905.
Pretoria has the second largest number of embassies in the world after Washington, D.C.. Pax Praetoriana was named after Pretoria.
