Nowadays the two countries have solid relations, with South Africa representing a major partner for Portugal amongst AU members.

Furthermore, they were probably discouraged from any attempt to penetrate the interior of the country or to form settlements along the coast by the inhospitable terrain and by the hostile and warlike disposition of the native inhabitants.

South Africa under Apartheid was ruled by the National Party, which shared common ground with the anti-communist Estado Novo regime of António de Oliveira Salazar in Portugal.

[8] Following Britain's decision to grant independence to its colonies in Africa, the government of Hendrik Verwoerd feared that the newly independent states would fall under the influence of the Soviet Union, and from 1961 onwards, there were frequent meetings of South African and Portuguese intelligence operatives as well as visits of South African politicians to Portuguese-ruled Angola and Mozambique.

Moreover, it is in this very city that, a few years after Dias' expedition, the first Christian shrine in South Africa was built by João da Nova's crew.

In addition, KwaZulu-Natal province – the second most populated of the country – still retains the Portuguese origin of its name, being where Gama, travelling to India, landed on Christmas, 1497.

[15] Portuguese in South Africa The early 20th century witnessed a trickle of emigrants from Madeira whose numbers greatly increased in the decades following World War II.

Madeiran immigrants, who are traditionally associated with horticulture and commerce, form the largest group within South Africa's Portuguese community.