The Kingdom of Swaziland is a small, landlocked country in southern Africa (one of the smallest on the continent), situated on the eastern slope of the Drakensberg mountains, embedded between South Africa in the west and Mozambique in the east. The country is named after the Swazi, a Bantu tribe. Due in part to a high rate of HIV infection, Swaziland has the world's lowest life expectancy, 32.62 years.

History

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Main article: History of Swaziland

Human remains and artifacts from more than 100,000 years ago have been found in Swaziland. The earliest inhabitants of the area were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. They were largely replaced by Bantu tribes during Bantu migrations. Evidence of agriculture and iron use dates from about the 4th century, and people speaking languages ancestral to current Sotho and Nguni languages began settling no later than the 11th century. The ruling Dlamini lineage had chiefships in the region in the 18th century. An enlarged Swazi kingdom was established by Sobhuza I in the early 19th century. Soon thereafter the first whites started to settle in the area. In the 1890s the South African Republic in the Transvaal claimed sovereignty over Swaziland but never fully established power. After the South African War of 1899–1902, Swaziland became a British protectorate. The country was eventually granted independence on September 6, 1968. Since then, Swaziland has seen a struggle between pro-democracy activists and the totalitarian monarchy.

Politics

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pcjswaziland (PCJ - Swaziland) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:10:39 -0000
Back At It http://bit.ly/7YRZOU #swaziland
Happy and Merry Swazi Style http://bit.ly/7eTa1g #swaziland
pcjswaziland (PCJ - Swaziland) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:12:36 -0000
Happy and Merry Swazi Style http://bit.ly/7eTa1g #swaziland
Hey can Swaziland borrow 10 bucks? http://bit.ly/55ndEW #swaziland
pcjswaziland (PCJ - Swaziland) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:12:27 -0000
Hey can Swaziland borrow 10 bucks? http://bit.ly/55ndEW #swaziland
@kunsypt Yep. 31-year-life-expectancy Swaziland. The doc Subscribe to Swaziland RSS feed