Colony of the Transvaal
British colony
←   ← 1877–1881 (Suz.) 1902–1910 →   →
Coat of arms Flag Badge
Location of Transvaal, ca. 1890
Capital	Pretoria
Language(s)	Dutch(written)/Afrikaans(spoken) English Tswana Zulu
Religion	Dutch Reformed, Anglican
Government	Constitutional monarchy
King
- 1902–1910	Edward VII
- 1910	George V
Governor
- 1902–1905	Viscount Milner
- 1905–1907	Earl of Selborne
- 1907–1910	Hamilton John Goold-Adams
Prime Minister
- 1907–1910	Louis Botha
Historical era	Scramble for Africa
- Established	May 31, 1902
- Pretoria Convention	1877
- London Convention	1881
- Treaty of Vereeniging	1902
- Responsible Government	1907
- Disestablished	May 31, 1910
- Union of South Africa	May 31, 1910
Today part of	South Africa

Gold mines. Aerial photography taken by Eduard Spelterini in July 1911.

The Transvaal (Afrikaans, lit. beyond the Vaal River) is the name of an area of northern South Africa. The land originally comprised most of the independent Boer South African Republic, which had existed since 1856, despite two previous attempts by the British of varying success to establish supremacy. After the Anglo-Boer War of 1899–1902 most of the land of the captured state became the Transvaal Colony, and eventually one of the initial provinces of the Union of South Africa.

History[link]

The Transvaal was colonised by Boer settlers who left the British-dominated Cape Colony during the 1830s and 1840s in what came to be known as the Great Trek. The emigrating Boers established several republics to the north, outside British control - after the British occupation of the former Dutch colony in 1795 and again in 1806. The Great Trek was encouraged by discontent with British rule, the economic changes caused by anti-slavery laws, lack of protection against raiding Xhosa bands, and Anglicisation of established Dutch traditions. Many autonomous groups, each with its own goals, set out. Some, moving north-east, 'behind' the Nguni societies (Xhosa and Zulu), established the first independent republic, Natalia. This was soon occupied by the British in 1843 via their outpost, Port Natal, on the coast. Two years later the voortrekkers established Transoranje, (1845, later the Orange Free State). Finally, the voortrekkers migrated further north and established a number of smaller republics across the Vaal river, in the area known as the Transvaal, later to be united as the Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek (South African Republic), or ZAR.

The trekkers took advantage of the political vacuum left after the Zulu wars and their aftermath, and easily overcame the indigenous peoples. During the 1850s, the British made an agreement with the Boer republics, recognising the independence of the ZAR in what is now the Transvaal. However, in 1877 Britain annexed the ZAR as a convenient way of resolving the border dispute between the Boers and the Zulus. This also saved the Transvaal from financial ruin, as its government had little money. The Boer republic regained its independence in 1881^[1] after the so-called First Boer War.

Beginning in 1885, the discovery of a tremendous lode of gold in the Witwatersrand caused the immigration of many foreigners (uitlanders) to the Transvaal. The economy of the Transvaal soon boomed. The wealth of the Transvaal state was bound to overcome the British-controlled, Boer-dominated Cape Colony, and it was speculated the Boers might eject the British from power in the region^{[citation needed]}. Furthermore, the longer this new source of gold remained out of British control, the position of London as the centre of the world's gold trade was threatened. Using the ZAR refusal to grant Uitlander franchise as a pretext, the British therefore planned annexation of Transvaal, as a continuation of their seizure years prior of the former Orange Free State and the immense diamond fields of Kimberley therein. In 1895 foreign mine owners funded an attempted coup d'état known as The Jameson Raid. The financiers of the Raid were dissatisfied with the Boer's taxation and restrictions of business. The raid caused alarm among the Boers and resulted in massive armament, mainly from German suppliers.

Increasing fear of British designs on the Transvaal and the amassing of British forces on their borders caused the Boers to make an ultimatum to the British to decrease their forces in the region, and, when it was ignored, to war in 1899. The Second Boer War endured for three years. By the end of 1902 Britain employed 500,000 soldiers against a fighting force of approximately 64,000 Boers. Boer women and children were incarcerated in concentration camps and about 26,000 died of malnutrition, poor hygiene and disease. The British blockade and scorched earth strategy enforced through the entire Transvaal forced the Boer military commanders into submission. A defeated Transvaal was incorporated into the British Empire in 1902. The war also had immense effects on British policy domestically, within Europe and throughout the Empire. The Second Boer War made it apparent that the Empire was more vulnerable than assumed.

In 1910, the Boer republics were joined with the Cape Colony to form the Union of South Africa. Half a century later, in 1961, the union ceased to be part of the Commonwealth of Nations and became the Republic of South Africa. The PWV (Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging) area in the Transvaal became South Africa's economic basis, a position it still has today^{[citation needed]}.

In 1994, after the end of apartheid, the former provinces were restructured, and a Transvaal district ceased to exist. The new Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces lie within the borders of the old Transvaal as does most of the North West and also a small segment of KwaZulu-Natal. However, even before 1994 the Transvaal province was subdivided into regions for a number of purposes (such as for sporting divisions), into Northern Transvaal (Pretoria, and Limpopo province now), Eastern Transvaal (Mpumalanga province now), Western Transvaal (Northwest province now) and Southern Transvaal (Gauteng province now, excluding Pretoria)

The Transvaal was used as the name of a provincial division of the High Court of South Africa, until 28 February 2009.^[2] The division still exists, but under a new name.

Geography[link]

The Transvaal province lay between Vaal River in the south, and the Limpopo River in the north, roughly between 22½ and 27½ S, and 25 and 32 E. To its south it bordered with the Orange Free State and Natal provinces, to its west were the Cape Province and the Bechuanaland Protectorate (later Botswana), to its north Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe), and to its east Portuguese East Africa (later Mozambique) and Swaziland. Except on the south-west, these borders were mostly well defined by natural features.

Several Bantustans were entirely inside the Transvaal: Venda, KwaNdebele, Gazankulu, KaNgwane and Lebowa. Parts of Bophuthatswana were also in the Transvaal, with other parts in Cape Province and Orange Free State.

Within the Transvaal lies the Waterberg Massif, a prominent ancient geological feature of the South African landscape.

Divisions:

• Zoutpansberg

Cities in the Transvaal:

• Heidelberg
• Johannesburg
• Messina
• Nelspruit
• Pietersburg
• Pretoria
• Vereeniging

In popular culture[link]

Frank Tashlin's 1938 Warner Bros. cartoon You're an Education shows travel brochures coming to life and doing a musical performance. Among these, the Thief of Baghdad steals some diamonds from Transvaal.

See also[link]

• Flag of Transvaal
• History of South Africa
• South African Republic
• Transvaal civil war, 1854 conflict

References[link]

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

External links[link]

• Public-domain historical maps of South Africa

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2007)

v t e Administrative divisions of South Africa Capitals: Pretoria (executive); Bloemfontein (judicial); Cape Town (legislative) Provinces Eastern Cape Free State Gauteng KwaZulu-Natal Limpopo Mpumalanga North West Northern Cape Western Cape Municipalities Metropolitan Buffalo City (East London) Cape Town Ekurhuleni (East Rand) eThekwini (Durban) Johannesburg Mangaung (Bloemfontein) Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth) Tshwane (Pretoria) District Municipalities of the Eastern Cape of the Free State of Gauteng of KwaZulu-Natal of Limpopo of Mpumalanga of the North West of the Northern Cape of the Western Cape Full list Local Municipalities Full List Settlements in the Eastern Cape in the Free State in Gauteng in KwaZulu-Natal in Limpopo in Mpumalanga in the North West in the Northern Cape in the Western Cape

Coordinates: 25°S 30°E / 25°S 30°E / -25; 30

Orange River Colony Oranjerivierkolonie
British colony
← 1902–1910 →
Flag
Orange River Colony
Capital	Bloemfontein
Language(s)	Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Sesotho
Religion	Dutch Reformed Church Anglican African religions
Government	Constitutional monarchy
King
- 1902-1910	Edward VII
- 1910	George V
Governor
- 1902-1905	Viscount Milner
- 1905-1907	Earl of Selborne
- 1907-1910	Sir Hamilton John Goold-Adams
Prime Minister
- 1907 - 1910	Abraham Fischer
Historical era	20th century
- British occupation	28 May 1900
- British annexation	6 October 1900 1902
- Treaty of Vereeniging	31 May 1902
- Self-government	27 November 1907
- incorporation in the Union of South Africa	31 May 1910 1910
Currency	Pound sterling
Today part of	South Africa

The Orange River Colony was the British colony created after this nation first occupied (1900) and then annexed (1902) the independent Orange Free State in the Second Boer War. The colony ceased to exist in 1910, when it was absorbed into the Union of South Africa as Orange Free State Province.

Constitutional history[link]

During the Second Boer War the British forces entered the territory of the Orange Free State and occupied the capital Bloemfontein on 13 March 1900. Five months later, on 6 October 1900 the British government declared an official annexation of the full territory of the Orange Free State, despite the fact that the British had not yet occupied the full territory of the state, nor defeated the Free State forces.

The Orange Free State government had moved to Kroonstad during the first months of the war and would subsequently convene in the field until the end of the war. From the perspective of the Orange Free State, independence was only lost with the ratification of the Treaty of Vereeniging on 31 May 1902.

Therefore there existed an ambiguous constitutional situation between 6 October 1900 and 31 May 1902, with two constitutional entities and two governments. On the Boer side the government was led by state president Martinus Theunis Steyn (1857 – 1916) until 30 May 1902, when he went on sick-leave and was replaced by general Christiaan de Wet as acting state president.

On the British side Sir Alfred Milner was appointed the first governor of the Orange River Colony on 4 January 1901, with Hamilton John Goold-Adams as lieutenant-governor, in office till 23 June 1902. From 1902 to 1910 the colony was governed by a single governor:

• Alfred Milner, Viscount Milner, in office 21 June 1902 – 1 April 1905;
• William Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne, in office 2 April 1905 – 7 June 1907;
• Sir Hamilton John Goold-Adams, in office 7 June 1907 – 31 May 1910

Self-government[link]

By 1904 sentiment was growing for some form of self-government. The Orangia Unie (Orange Union Party) was formally constituted in May 1906, after several months of preparation. A similar organisation, called Het Volk, had been formed by the Transvaal Boers in January 1905. Both unions had constitutions almost identical with that of the Afrikaner Bond, a former pan-Afrikaner political movement, and their aims were also similar – to secure the position of the Afrikaners in state and society. The chairman of the Orangia Unie was Abraham Fischer, leading politician of the pre-Boer War period and top diplomat of the Boer republics during the Second Boer War. Among the other prominent members were J.B.M. Hertzog, C.R. de Wet and M.T. Steyn.

A second political party, the Constitutional Party was formed by a group of burghers content with British rule. Chairman of the party was Sir John G. Fraser, before the Second Boer War a prominent (pro-British) member of the Volksraad of the Orange Free State. The Constitutional Party had a strong following in Bloemfontein, but not outside of the capital. It is noteworthy that the political programmes of the two parties were very similar, the real difference between them being the attitude towards British annexation and Afrikaner influence.

In 1905 Lord Selborne, formerly First Lord of the Admiralty, replaced Viscount Milner as high commissioner for South Africa and governor of the Transvaal and Orange River colonies. Selborne had come to South Africa with a brief to guide the former Boer republics from crown colony government towards self-government. When Liberal Party came into office in Britain in December 1905 the process was speeded up, with the decision to give both the Transvaal and Orange River colonies self-government without delay. Selborne accepted the changed situation, and the experiment proved successful. He ceased to be governor of the Orange River Colony on its assumption of self-government in June 1907, but retained his other posts until May 1910, retiring on the eve of the establishment of the Union of South Africa.

On 7 January 1907 Selborne released a despatch, known as the Selborne Memorandum. It reviewed the situation in South Africa in all its economic and political aspects and was a masterly and comprehensive statement of the dangers inherent in the existing political system and of the advantages a political union offered. The document had a marked influence on the course of events and together with Selborne's conciliatory approach assisted in reconciling the Dutch and British communities of South Africa.

After the elections of 1907, the colony received self-government on 27 November 1907. Abraham Fischer became the first (and only) prime minister of the colony (in office 27 November 1907 – 31 May 1910). The first Legislative Assembly consisted of twenty-nine members of the Orangia Unie, five Constitutionalists and four independents. Fischer's cabinet consisted of:

• J.B.M. Hertzog, attorney-general and director of education;
• A.E.W. Ramsbottom, treasurer;
• C.R. de Wet, minister of agriculture;
• C.H. Wessels, minister of public works

Fischer, besides the premiership, held the portfolio of colonial secretary. The first Legislative Council counted five members from the Orangia Unie, five Constitutionalists, and one independent member, in effect holding the balance.

Policies[link]

In May 1908, the Orange River Colony took part in an inter-state conference which met at Pretoria and Cape Town, and determined to renew the existing customs convention and to make no alteration in railway rates. These decisions were the result of an agreement to bring before the parliaments of the various colonies a resolution advocating the closer union of the South African states and the appointment of delegates to a national convention to frame a draft constitution.

In this convention former state president M.T. Steyn took a leading and conciliatory part, and subsequently the Orange River legislature agreed to the terms drawn up by the convention for the unification of the four self-governing colonies in the Union of South Africa. Under the imperial act by which unification was established (31 May 1910) the colony entered the Union under the style of the Orange Free State Province. Fischer and Hertzog became members of the first Union government, while A.E.W. Ramsbottom became the first administrator of the Orange Free State as a province of the Union.

See also[link]

• Orange River Sovereignty
• Orange Free State
• Free State Province
• Vicariate Apostolic of Orange River for the Catholic missionary history

References[link]

• WorldStatesmen- SouthAfrica

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.