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'''Durban''' ({{IPAc-en|'|d|ɜːr|b|ə|n}} {{respell|DUR|bən}}; {{lang-zu|eThekwini}}, from {{lang|zu|itheku}} meaning "bay, lagoon"){{efn | Also called {{lang-zu|eZibubulungwini|label=none}} for the mountain range that terminates in the area.}} is the third-most populous city in [[South Africa]], after [[Johannesburg]] and [[Cape Town]], and the largest city in the [[Provinces of South Africa|province]] of [[KwaZulu-Natal]]. Situated on the east coast of South Africa, on the Natal Bay of the [[Indian Ocean]], Durban is [[Port of Durban|South Africa's busiest port]] and was formerly named Port Natal. North of the harbour and city centre lies the mouth of the [[Umgeni River]]; the flat city centre rises to the hills of the [[Berea, Durban|Berea]] on the west; and to the south, running along the coast, is the [[Bluff, KwaZulu-Natal|Bluff]]. Durban is the seat of the larger [[eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality]], which spans an area of {{cvt|2556|km2|sqmi}} and had a population of 4.2
Archaeological evidence from the [[Drakensberg]] mountains suggests that the area had been inhabited by [[hunter-gatherers]] millennia ago. Later, the [[Nguni people]] occupied the region. During Christmas 1497, [[Vasco da Gama]] saw the coast and named it {{lang|pt|Natal}}, the Portuguese word for Christmas. In 1824, English traders from [[Cape Colony]], led by [[Francis Farewell]] and [[Henry Fynn]], established a trading post at Port Natal, and later that year, [[Shaka]], the Zulu king, granted them land around the Bay. In 1835, the settlement was named after Sir Benjamin D'Urban, then governor of Cape Colony. From 1860 onwards, indentured labourers from [[British India]] arrived in Durban, as well as later passenger Indians. [[Colony of Natal|Natal colony]], which had grown, became a province of the Union of South Africa in 1910, and the town of Durban became, in 1935, a city.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/durban-timeline-1497-1990 | title=Durban Timeline 1497-1990 | website=South African History Online | access-date=12 March 2024}}</ref>
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