Durban – Travel Guide At Wikivoyage

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Durban
Climate chart (explanation)
JFMAMJJASOND
122 28 21 108 29 21 93 28 21 73 26 18 47 25 14 30 24 11 59 23 11 31 23 13 71 24 15 105 24 17 117 25 19 120 27 20
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation+Snow totals in mm
Imperial conversion
JFMAMJJASOND
4.8 82 70 4.3 83 70 3.7 82 69 2.9 79 64 1.8 77 58 1.2 74 52 2.3 73 51 1.2 74 55 2.8 74 60 4.1 75 63 4.6 78 65 4.7 80 68
Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
Precipitation+Snow totals in inches

Durban has a large bay that was protected from the seas by a land spit now known as The Point. This bay formed a natural harbour.

Durban was originally called Port Natal by the Portuguese mariner Vasco da Gama who sighted the bay on Christmas Day, 1497. The city was founded as Port Natal by British settlers in the 1820's and became part of the British Empire in 1842. It was renamed Durban in honour of Sir Benjamin D'Urban, Governor of the Cape Colony.

In the years immediately preceding the European settlement of the area, Shaka, king of a small African clan known as the Zulu, built up his strength, making the Zulu people the dominant African tribe in the area.

The hot and humid climate was ideal for growing sugar and after the first railway was built in 1860, sugar became the principal export from the area. Indian workers were brought in on contract to work the sugar cane plantations. When their contracts finished, they were offered return trips to India or land to the value of the return trip. Many chose to stay making this one of the largest population centres of Indians in the world.

After the discovery of coal in North Natal and gold in the Witwatersrand, Durban expanded rapidly and, excluding the Mediterranean, became one of the largest port in Africa.

Its warm climate and ample beaches have made it one of South Africa's premier holiday areas. Zulu and English are the most common languages in Durban.

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