Racism in South Africa can be traced back to the earliest historical accounts of European interactions with indigenous African peoples along the coast of Southern Africa. It has existed throughout several centuries in the history of South Africa, dating back to the Dutch colonization of Southern Africa which started in 1652. Before universal suffrage was achieved in 1994, White South Africans, especially Afrikaners during the period of Apartheid, enjoyed various legally or socially sanctioned privileges and rights which were denied to the indigenous African peoples. Examples of systematic racism over the course of South Africa's history include forced removals, racial inequality and segregation, uneven resource distribution, and disenfranchisement. Racial controversies and politics remain a major phenomenon in the country. Colonial racism The region that would become modern-day South Africa was located at a position of advantage for European merchants who were seeking to organize and carry out trade in the East Indies, primarily Portuguese and Dutch colonists. In 1652, the Dutch East India Company founded the Cape Colony at the Cape of Good Hope. The purpose of the colony was to ensure that Dutch ships sailing to and from Batavia would have a source of fresh provisions, as death by starvation claimed a large number of passengers. During the period of Dutch rule, Dutch settlers (eventually known as Boers) began to migrate to the colony, instituting settlements throughout the region. The region attracted Dutch slave traders who imported slaves for wheat farming and viticulture to serve the various Dutch settlements. Many slaves escaped their masters by fleeing inland and joined existing groups such as the Xhosa or formed groups that were headed by warlords such as those of Bloem, Kok and Barends families. By the late 18th century, Arabs and European merchants traded beads, brass, cloth, alcohol and firearms in return for slaves, ivory, gold, wax, cattle and skins. The profits from these trade encouraged the warlords to hunt elephants and slaves by raiding the local communities such as Rolong, Tlhaping, Huruthshe and Ngwaketse. During the Mfecane, the Zulu under Shaka overran many smaller tribes and enslaved them. Many Indians were brought to the colony as slaves. The practice of importing slaves from India stretches back to the 1600s when the Dutch bought non-Muslim slaves from various kingdoms of India who were ruled by Muslims. By the early part of the 18th century, 80% of the slaves were South Asians