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The fact that the world famous Taung skull was unearthed in the current North-West Province is an early indication to the traveler that this part of the world has been part of man's history for many years. Prof. Dart, who discovered the skull belonging to an early hominid, named it "Australopithecus africanus", meaning the "southern ape of Africa". This discovery led many scientists to believe that the origin of early man was initiated on the African continent.
Closer to the present, it was in the North-West Province, in 1838, where General Potgieter settled after he defeated the armies of Mzilikazi at Kapain and Mosega. He was assisted in this effort by the Griqua and a terrorized tribe, the
Barolong. Some of these people's ancestors still live in North-West. Potgieter later left the area but not before founding the oldest town in South Africa north of the Vaal River, namely
Potchefstroom.
Mafikeng was in the main stream of South African history again during the early years of the Anglo-Boer War when the Boer forces besieged the town for 217 days, from 1899 until May 1900; during which time Sol Plaatje wrote his literary masterpiece "The Boer War Diary of Sol T Plaatje: an African at Mafikeng". Plaatje was later to become one of the founding fathers of the South African Native National Congress in 1912, the forerunner of the African National Congress.
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