Human history in this region starts around 46,000 years ago when red ochre was mined here. San Bushmen later inhabited the area and some of their rock art can still be found today. Some time after the bushman, the area was used by travelers from Asia for mining and trading. Between 1400 and 1700 there was an inflow of people from further north in Africa, notably the Nguni and Ndebele.
In 1836 European settlers arrived in the region and in 1871 the first of a number of gold rushes occurred with the discovery of gold on a farm near Polokwane (then Pietersburg). A number of wars followed between the boers and local tribes, as well as between the boers and Britain.
In 1926 the Kruger National Park was proclaimed and in 1948 a fisheries institute was established in Lydenburg leading to the abundance of trout farms in the area today.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Mpumalanga
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Mpumalanga - updated May 2024
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Mpumalanga Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
