Union of South Africa - Wikipedia Union of South Africa For the steam locomotive, see LNER Class A4 4488 Union of South Africa. Union of South Africa Unie van Zuid - Afrika ( Dutch ) Unie van Suid - Afrika ( Afrikaans ) Dominion of the British Empire ( 1910 - 1931 ) Commonwealth realm ( 1931 - 1961 ) 1910 -- 1961 Flag ( after 1928 ) Coat of arms Motto Ex Unitate Vires ( Latin : From Unity, Strength ) Anthem `` God Save the King / Queen '' ( until 1957 ) `` Die Stem van Suid - Afrika '' ( after 1957 ) `` The Call of South Africa '' Location of the Union of South Africa. South West Africa shown as disputed area ( occupied in 1915, administered as 5th province of the Union under a C - mandate from the League of Nations ). Capital Cape Town ( legislative ) Pretoria ( administrative ) Bloemfontein ( judicial ) Pietermaritzburg ( archival ) Languages English, Dutch, Afrikaans Government Constitutional monarchy Monarch 1910 - 1936 George V 1936 Edward VIII 1936 - 1952 George VI 1952 - 1961 Elizabeth II Governor - General 1910 - 1914 The 1st Viscount Gladstone 1959 - 1961 Charles Robberts Swart Prime Minister 1910 - 1919 Louis Botha 1919 - 24, 1939 - 48 Jan Smuts 1924 - 1939 J.B.M. Hertzog 1948 - 1954 D.F. Malan 1954 - 1958 J.G. Strijdom 1958 - 1961 H.F. Verwoerd Legislature Parliament Upper house Senate Lower house House of Assembly History Union 31 May 1910 Statute of Westminster 11 December 1931 Republic 31 May 1961 Area 1961 2,045,320 km ( 789,700 sq mi ) Population 1961 est. 18,216,000 Density 9 / km ( 23 / sq mi ) Currency South African pound Preceded by Succeeded by Cape Colony Colony of Natal Orange River Colony Transvaal Colony South African Republic South Africa Today part of Namibia South Africa Union of South Africa Red Ensign ( 1912 - 1928 ) Merchant ensign until 1951 Union of South Africa Blue Ensign ( 1910 -- 1928 ) The Union of South Africa ( Dutch : Unie van Zuid - Afrika, Afrikaans : Unie van Suid - Afrika ) is the historic predecessor to the present - day republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of four previously separate British colonies : the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and Orange River colonies. It included the territories formerly part of the Boer republics annexed in 1902, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State. Following the First World War, the Union of South Africa was granted the administration of South West Africa ( formerly a German colony and today the sovereign state of Namibia ) as a League of Nations mandate, which became treated in most respects as if it were another province of the Union, but never was formally annexed. The Union of South Africa was a dominion of the British Empire, and became sovereign on 11 December 1931. It was governed under a form of constitutional monarchy, with the Crown represented by a governor - general. The Union came to an end with the enactment of a new constitution on 31 May 1961, by which it became a republic and left the Commonwealth, under the new name Republic of South Africa. Contents 1 Constitution 1.1 Main features 1.2 Capitals 1.3 Relationship to the Crown 1.4 Languages 1.5 Final days of the South Africa Act and legacy 1.6 Segregation 2 Previous attempts at unification 2.1 Early unification attempt under Sir George Grey ( 1850s ) 2.2 The imposition of confederation ( 1870s ) 2.3 Second Boer War 1899 - 1902 3 Reasons for unification 3.1 South African customs union and trade tariffs 4 Union of South Africa and Southern Rhodesia 5 Union of South Africa and South West Africa 5.1 Background 5.2 South African occupation 5.3 Namibian independence 6 Statute of Westminster 7 See also 8 References 9 Bibliography 10 External links Constitution Main article : South Africa Act 1909 Main features The provinces of the Union Unlike Canada and Australia, the Union of South Africa was a unitary state, rather than a federation, with each colony 's parliaments being abolished and replaced with provincial councils. A bicameral parliament was created, consisting of a House of Assembly and Senate, and its members were elected mostly by the country 's white minority. During the course of the Union the franchise changed on several occasions always to suit the needs of the government of the day. Parliamentary supremacy was a convention of the constitution, inherited from the United Kingdom ; save for procedural safeguards in respect of the entrenched sections of franchise and language, the courts were unable to intervene in Parliament 's decisions. Capitals Owing to disagreements over where the Union 's capital should be, a compromise was reached in which every province would be dealt a share of the benefits of the capital : the administration would be seated in Pretoria ( Transvaal ), Parliament would be in Cape Town ( Cape Province ), the Appellate Division would be in Bloemfontein ( Orange Free State ). Bloemfontein and Pietermaritzburg ( Natal ) were given financial compensation. Relationship to the Crown The Union initially remained under the British Crown as a self - governing dominion of the British Empire. With the passage of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, the Union and other dominions became equal in status to the United Kingdom and it could no longer legislate on behalf of them. The Monarch was represented in South Africa by a Governor - General, while effective power was exercised by the Executive Council, headed by the Prime Minister. Louis Botha, formerly a Boer general, was appointed first Prime Minister of the Union, heading a coalition representing the white Afrikaner and English - speaking British diaspora communities. Prosecutions before courts were instituted in the name of the Crown ( cited in the format Rex v Accused ) and government officials served in the name of the Crown. Historical states in present - day South Africa before 1600 Kingdom of Mapungubwe ( 1050 -- 1270 ) Kingdom of Mutapa ( 1430 -- 1760 ) 1600 -- 1700 Dutch Cape Colony ( 1652 -- 1795 ) 1700 -- 1800 Mthethwa Paramountcy ( ca. 1780 -- 1817 ) Ndwandwe ( ca. 1780 -- 1817 ) Swellendam ( 1795 ) Graaff - Reinet ( 1795 -- 96 ) Cape Colony ( 1795 -- 1802 ) 1800 -- 1850 Dutch Cape Colony ( 1802 -- 06 ) Cape Colony ( 1806 -- 1910 ) Waterboer 's Land ( 1813 -- 71 ) Zulu Kingdom ( 1818 -- 97 ) Adam Kok 's Land ( 1825 -- 61 ) Winburg ( 1836 -- 44 ) Potchefstroom ( 1837 -- 48 ) Natalia Republic ( 1839 -- 43 ) 1850 -- 1875 South African Republic ( 1852 -- 1902 ) Orange Free State ( 1854 -- 1902 ) Republic of Utrecht ( 1854 -- 58 ) Lydenburg Republic ( 1856 -- 60 ) Griqualand East ( 1861 -- 79 ) Griqualand West ( 1870 -- 80 ) Diggers ' Republic ( 1870 - 71 ) 1875 -- 1900 Stellaland ( 1882 -- 85 ) Goshen ( 1882 -- 83 ) Nieuw Republiek ( 1884 -- 88 ) Klein Vrystaat ( 1886 -- 91 ) 1900 -- present Cape Colony ( 1652 -- 1910 ) Union of South Africa ( 1910 -- 61 ) Transkei ( 1976 -- 94 ) Bophuthatswana ( 1977 -- 94 ) Venda ( 1979 -- 94 ) Ciskei ( 1981 -- 94 ) Republic of South Africa ( 1961 -- present ) South Africa portal Languages An entrenched clause in the Constitution mentioned Dutch and English as official languages of the Union, but the meaning of Dutch was changed by the Official Languages of the Union Act, 1925 to include both Dutch and Afrikaans. Final days of the South Africa Act and legacy This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( May 2017 ) Most English - speaking whites in South Africa supported the United Party of Jan Smuts, which favoured close relations with the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, rather than the Afrikaans - speaking Nationalists, many of whom held anti-British sentiments, and were opposed to South Africa 's entry into the Second World War. Some extremist Nationalist organisations, like the Ossewa Brandwag, openly supported Nazi Germany during the Second World War. Many opposed moves to make the country a republic, voting `` no '' in the 5 October 1960 referendum, but due to the much larger number of Afrikaans - speaking voters, the referendum passed, leading to the establishment of a republic in 1961. The Afrikaner - dominated Government consequently withdrew South Africa from the Commonwealth. Natal, which had an English - speaking majority, voted against. Following the referendum result, some whites in Natal even called for secession from the Union. Five years earlier, some 33,000 Natalians had signed the Natal Covenant in opposition to the plans for a republic. Subsequently, the National Party Government passed a Constitution that repealed the South Africa Act. The features of the Union were carried over with very little change to the newly formed Republic. The decision to transform from a Union to Republic was narrowly decided in the referendum. The decision together with the Government 's insistence on adhering to its policy of apartheid resulted in South Africa 's de facto expulsion from the Commonwealth of Nations ; South Africa left the association when it was resolved that it would not be permitted to remain on the terms it wished. Segregation The South Africa Act dealt with race in two specific provisions. First it entrenched the liberal Cape Qualified Franchise system of the Cape Colony which operated free of any racial considerations ( although due to socio - economic restrictions no real political expression of non-whites was possible. ) The Cape Prime Minister at the time, John X. Merriman, fought hard, but ultimately unsuccessfully, to extend this system of multi-racial franchise to the rest of South Africa. Second it made `` native affairs '' a matter for the national government. The practice therefore was to establish a Minister of Native Affairs. According to Stephen Howe, colonialism in some cases -- most obviously among white minorities in South Africa -- meant mainly that these violent settlers wanted to maintain more racial inequalities than the colonial empire found just. Previous attempts at unification Several previous unsuccessful attempts to unite the colonies were made, with proposed political models ranging from unitary, to loosely federal. Early unification attempt under Sir George Grey ( 1850s ) Sir George Grey, the Governor of Cape Colony from 1854 to 1861, decided that unifying the states of southern Africa would be mutually beneficial. The stated reasons were that he believed that political divisions between the white - controlled states `` weakened them against the natives '', threatened an ethnic divide between British and Boer, and left the Cape vulnerable to interference from other European powers. He believed that a united `` South African Federation '', under British control, would resolve all three of these concerns. His idea was greeted with cautious optimism in southern Africa ; the Orange Free State agreed to the idea in principle and the Transvaal may also eventually have agreed. However, he was overruled by the British Colonial Office which ordered him to desist from his plans. His refusal to abandon the idea eventually led to him being recalled. The imposition of Confederation ( 1870s ) In the 1870s, the London Colonial Office, under Secretary for the Colonies Lord Carnarvon, decided to apply a system of Confederation onto southern Africa. On this occasion however, it was largely rejected by southern Africans, primarily due to its very bad timing. The various component states of southern Africa were still simmering after the last bout of British expansion, and inter-state tensions were high. The Orange Free State this time refused to even discuss the idea, and Prime Minister John Molteno of the Cape Colony called the idea badly informed and irresponsible. In addition, many local leaders resented the way it was imposed from outside without understanding of local issues. The Confederation model was also correctly seen as unsuitable for the disparate entities of southern Africa, with their wildly different sizes, economies and political systems. The Molteno Unification Plan ( 1877 ), put forward by the Cape government as a more feasible unitary alternative to confederation, largely anticipated the final act of Union in 1909. A crucial difference was that the Cape 's liberal constitution and multiracial franchise were to be extended to the other states of the union. These smaller states would gradually accede to the much larger Cape Colony through a system of treaties, whilst simultaneously gaining elected seats in the Cape parliament. The entire process would be locally driven, with Britain 's role restricted to policing any set - backs. While subsequently acknowledged to be more viable, this model was rejected at the time by London. At the other extreme, another powerful Cape politician at the time, Saul Solomon, proposed an extremely loose system of federation, with the component states preserving their very different constitutions and systems of franchise. Lord Carnarvon rejected the ( more informed ) local plans for unification, as he wished to have the process brought to a conclusion before the end of his tenure and, having little experience of southern Africa, he preferred to enforce the more familiar model of confederation used in Canada. He pushed ahead with his Confederation plan, which unraveled as predicted, leaving a string of destructive wars across southern Africa. These conflicts eventually fed into the first and second Anglo - Boer Wars, with far - reaching consequences for the subcontinent. Second Boer War 1899 - 1902 Main article : Second Boer War After gold was discovered in the 1880s, thousands of British men flocked to the gold mines of the South African Republic ( Transvaal ) and the Orange Free State. The newly arrived miners were needed for the mines but were distrusted by the politically dominant Afrikaners, who called them `` uitlanders '' and imposed heavy taxes and very limited civil rights, with no right to vote. The British, jealous of the gold and diamond mines and highly protective of its people, demanded reforms, which were rejected. A small - scale private British effort to overthrow Transvaal 's President Paul Kruger, the Jameson Raid of 1895, was a fiasco, and presaged full - scale conflict as diplomatic efforts all failed. War started on 11 October 1899 and ended on 31 May 1902 as Great Britain was aided by its Cape Colony, Colony of Natal and some native African allies. The British war effort was further supported by volunteers from across the Empire. All other nations were neutral, but public opinion in them was largely hostile to Britain. Inside Britain and its Empire there also was a significant Opposition to the Second Boer War because of the atrocities and military failures. The British were overconfident and under prepared. Prime Minister Salisbury and his top officials, especially colonial secretary Joseph Chamberlain, ignored the repeated warnings of military advisors that the Boers were well prepared, well armed, and fighting for their homes in a very difficult terrain. The Boers struck first, besieging Ladysmith, Kimberly, and Mafeking in early 1900, and winning important battles at Colenso, Magersfontein and Stormberg. Staggered, the British fought back, relieved its besieged cities, and prepared to invade first the Orange Free State, and then Transvaal in late 1900. The Boers refused to surrender or negotiate, and reverted to guerrilla warfare. After two years of hard fighting, Britain, using over 400,000 soldiers systematically destroyed the resistance, raising worldwide complaints about brutality. The Boers were fighting for their homes and families, who provided them with food and hiding places. The British solution was to forcefully relocate all the Boer civilians into heavily guarded concentration camps, where about 28,000 died of disease. Then it systematically blocked off and tracked down the highly mobile Boer combat units. The battles were small operations ; most of the dead were victims of disease. The war ended in victory for the British and the annexation of both republics, which became the Transvaal Colony and the Orange River Colony. Reasons for unification The first Union cabinet At the close of the Anglo - Boer War in 1902, the four colonies were for the first time under a common flag, and the most significant obstacle which had prevented previous plans at unification had been removed. Hence the long - standing desire of many colonial administrators to establish a unified structure became feasible. South African customs Union and trade tariffs The matter of trade tariffs had been a long - standing source of conflict between the various political units of Southern Africa. Essentially at the heart of the crisis lay the fact that the Transvaal was a landlocked economic hub that resented its dependence on its neighbours, as well as the costs it was incurring through rail and harbour customs. The Cape Colony was heavily dependent upon customs as a source of tax revenue and subsequently was directly competing with both Natal and Portuguese East Africa ( Mozambique ). At the time of unification the bulk of cargo destined for the Witwatersrand area entered through Lourenço Marques ( now Maputo in Mozambique ) owing largely to the relative distance and the ZARs policy of reducing its dependence on the British Empire. The South African Customs Union came into existence in 1906, but various problems existed with the arrangements particularly because the Transvaal was insistent on dominating the Union. After Unification the South African Customs Union continued to exist including the other British territories ( the Protectorates and Rhodesia ). Union of South Africa and southern Rhodesia In 1922 the colony of Southern Rhodesia had a chance ( ultimately rejected ) to join the Union through a referendum. The referendum resulted from the fact that by 1920 British South Africa Company rule in Southern Rhodesia was no longer practical with many favouring some form of ' responsible government '. Some favoured responsible government within Southern Rhodesia while others ( especially in Matabeleland ) favoured membership in the Union of South Africa. Politician Sir Charles Coghlan claimed that such membership with the Union would make Southern Rhodesia the `` Ulster of South Africa ''. Prior to the referendum, representatives of Southern Rhodesia visited Cape Town where the Prime Minister of South Africa, Jan Smuts, eventually offered terms he considered reasonable and which the United Kingdom government found acceptable. Although opinion among the United Kingdom government, the South African government and the British South Africa Company favoured the union option ( and none tried to interfere in the referendum ), when the referendum was held the results saw 59.4 % in favour of responsible government for a separate colony and 40.6 % in favour of joining the Union of South Africa. Union of South Africa and South West Africa Background Main article : Palgrave Commission The inhospitable coast of what is now the Republic of Namibia remained uncolonised up until the end of the 19th century. From 1874, the leaders of several indigenous peoples, notably Maharero of the Herero nation, approached the Cape Parliament to the south. Anticipating invasion by a European power and already suffering Portuguese encroachment from the north and Afrikaner encroachment from the south, these leaders approached the Cape Colony government to discuss the possibility of accession and the political representation it would entail. Accession to the Cape Colony, a self - governing state with a system of multi-racial franchise and legal protection for traditional land rights, was at the time considered marginally preferable to annexation by Portugal or Germany. In response, the Cape Parliament appointed a special Commission under William Palgrave, to travel to the territory between the Orange and Cunene rivers and to confer with these leaders regarding accession to the Cape. In the negotiations with the Palgrave Commission, some indigenous nations such as the Damara and the Herero responded positively ( Oct 1876 ), other reactions were mixed. Discussions regarding the magisterial structure for the area 's political integration into the Cape dragged on until, from 1876, it was blocked by Britain. Britain relented, insofar as allowing the Cape to incorporate Walvis Bay, which was brought under the magisterial district of Cape Town, but when the Germans established a protectorate over the area in 1884, South West Africa was predominantly autonomous. Thereafter, South West Africa became a German colony, except for Walvis Bay and the Offshore Islands which remained part of the Cape, outside of German control. South African occupation South West Africa stamp : Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret on the 1947 Royal Tour of South Africa Following the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 the Union of South Africa occupied and annexed the German colony of German South West Africa. With the establishment of the League of Nations and cessation of the war, South Africa obtained a Class C Mandate to administer South West Africa `` under the laws of the mandatory ( South Africa ) as integral portions of its territory ''. Subsequently, the Union of South Africa generally regarded South West Africa as a fifth province, although this was never an official status. With the creation of the United Nations, the Union applied for the incorporation of South West Africa, but its application was rejected by the U.N., which invited South Africa to prepare a Trusteeship agreement instead. This invitation was in turn rejected by the Union, which subsequently did not modify the administration of South West Africa and continued to adhere to the original mandate. This caused a complex set of legal wranglings that were not finalised when the Union was replaced with the Republic of South Africa. In 1949, the Union passed a law bringing South West Africa into closer association with it including giving South West Africa representation in the South African parliament. Walvis Bay, which is now in Namibia, was originally a part of the Union of South Africa as it was a part of the Cape Colony at the time of Unification. In 1921 Walvis Bay was integrated with the Class C Mandate over South West Africa for the rest of the Union 's duration and for part of the Republic era. Namibian independence In 1990 South West Africa gained independence as Namibia, but Walvis Bay remained under South African sovereignty. At midnight on 28 February 1994 South Africa formally transferred sovereignty over Walvis Bay and the Penguin Islands to Namibia. Statute of Westminster The Statute of Westminster passed by the Imperial Parliament in December 1931, which repealed the Colonial Laws Validity Act and implemented the Balfour Declaration 1926, had a profound impact on the constitutional structure and status of the Union. The most notable effect was that the South African Parliament was released from many restrictions concerning the handling of the so - called `` native question ''. However the repeal was not sufficient to enable the South African Parliament to ignore the entrenched clauses of its constitution ( the South Africa Act ) which led to the coloured - vote constitutional crisis of the 1950s wherein the right of coloureds to vote in the main South African Parliament was removed and replaced with a separate, segregated, and largely powerless assembly. See also Governor - General of the Union of South Africa References Jump up ^ After 1925 Dutch included Afrikaans. Jump up ^ South Africa Act, 1909, Part V, sections 68 to 94. Jump up ^ See South Africa Act, 1909, Part IV, sections 19 to 67 Jump up ^ See Representation of Natives Act, No. 12 of 1936 and Separate Representation of Voters Act, No. 46 of 1951. Jump up ^ Hahlo & Kahn, Union of South Africa, Stevens & Sons Limited, London, 1960, pp. 146 to 163. Jump up ^ Section 18 of South Africa Act, 1909. Jump up ^ Section 23 of South Africa Act, 1909. Jump up ^ Section 109 of South Africa Act, 1909. Jump up ^ Section 133 of South Africa Act, 1909 Jump up ^ Hahlo & Kahn, supra, p. 146 et seq. Jump up ^ See Part III of South Africa Act, 1909 Jump up ^ See section 137 of South Africa Act, 1909 Jump up ^ Secession Talked by Some Anti-Republicans, Saskatoon Star - Phoenix, 11 October 1960 Jump up ^ Jeffery, Keith ( 1996 ). An Irish Empire ? : Aspects of Ireland and the British Empire. Manchester University Press. pp. 199 -- 201. Jump up ^ Robertson, Janet ( 1971 ). Liberalism in South Africa : 1948 - 1963. Oxford : Clarendon Press. Jump up ^ `` EISA South Africa : Historical franchise arrangements ''. Eisa.org.za. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 01. Jump up ^ Howe, Stephen ( 2002 ). Empire A very Short Introduction. New York : Oxford University Press. p. 75. Jump up ^ V.C. Malherbe : What They Said. 1795 - 1910 History Documents. Cape Town : Maskew Miller. 1971. Jump up ^ P.A. Molteno : A Federal South Africa. Sampson Low, Marston & Co, 1896. ISBN 1 - 4367 - 2682 - 4 Jump up ^ Phyllis Lewsen ( ed. ). Selections from the correspondence of John X. Merriman, 1905 - 1924. South Africa : Van Riebeeck Society, 1969 Jump up ^ Frank Richardson Cana : South Africa : From the Great Trek to the Union. London : Chapman & Hall, ltd., 1909. Chapter VII `` Molteno 's Unification Plan ''. p. 89 Jump up ^ Solomon, W.E. C : Saul Solomon -- the Member for Cape Town. Cape Town : Oxford University Press, 1948. Jump up ^ Illustrated History of South Africa. The Reader 's Digest Association South Africa ( Pty ) Ltd, 1992. ISBN 0 - 947008 - 90 - X. p. 182, `` Confederation from the Barrel of a Gun '' Jump up ^ J.A.S. Grenville, Lord Salisbury, and Foreign Policy ( 1964 ) pp 235 - 64. Jump up ^ Iain R. Smith, The Origins of the South African War, 1899 - 1902 ( 1996 ). Jump up ^ William L. Langer, The Diplomacy of Imperialism ( 1950 ), pp 605 - 28, 651 - 76 Jump up ^ Denis Judd and Keith Surridge, The Boer War : A History ( 2013 ) pp 1 - 54. Jump up ^ Judd and Surridge, The Boer War : A History ( 2013 ) pp 55 - 302. Jump up ^ Jeffrey, Keith ( 1996 ). An Irish Empire ? : Aspects of Ireland and the British Empire. Manchester University Press. p. 196. ISBN 0719038731. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy '' ( PDF ). Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2012. Jump up ^ P.A. Molteno : The life and times of Sir John Charles Molteno, K.C.M.G., First Premier of Cape Colony, Comprising a History of Representative Institutions and Responsible Government at the Cape. London : Smith, Elder & Co. 1900. Vol. I. p. 284. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy '' ( PDF ). Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2012. Bibliography Wikimedia Atlas of Union of South Africa Beck, Roger B. The History of South Africa ( Greenwood, 2000 ). Davenport, Thomas, and Christopher Saunders. South Africa : A modern history ( Springer, 2000 ). Eze, M. Intellectual history in contemporary South Africa ( Springer, 2016 ). Ross, Robert. A Concise History of South Africa ( 2009 ) Thompson, Leonard, and Lynn Berat. A History of South Africa ( 4th ed. 2014 ) Thompson, Leonard. The Unification of South Africa 1902 -- 1910 ( Oxford UP, 1960 ). Welsh, Frank. A History of South Africa ( 2000 ). External links Wikisource has several original texts related to : Union of South Africa World Statesmen.org : South Africa Media related to History of South Africa at Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to Union of South Africa. Political history of South Africa Defunct polities Kingdom of Mapungubwe ( c. 1075 -- c. 1220 ) Dutch Cape Colony ( 1652 -- 1806 ) Mthethwa Paramountcy ( c. 1780 -- 1817 ) Ndwandwe Kingdom ( c. 1780 -- 1819 ) Cape Colony ( 1795 -- 1910 ) Zulu Kingdom ( 1816 -- 97 ) Natalia Republic ( 1839 -- 43 ) Natal Colony ( 1843 -- 1910 ) Orange Free State ( 1854 -- 1902 ) South African Republic ( 1856 -- 1902 ) Griqualand East ( 1861 -- 79 ) Griqualand West ( 1870 -- 73 ) Goshen ( 1882 -- 83 ) Stellaland ( 1882 -- 85 ) Nieuwe Republiek ( 1884 -- 88 ) Upingtonia ( 1885 -- 87 ) Klein Vrystaat ( 1886 -- 91 ) Orange River Colony ( 1902 -- 10 ) Transvaal Colony ( 1902 -- 10 ) Union of South Africa ( 1910 -- 61 ) Transkei ( 1976 -- 94 ) Bophuthatswana ( 1977 -- 94 ) Venda ( 1979 -- 94 ) Ciskei ( 1981 -- 94 ) Events 1652 -- 1815 Dutch settlement French Huguenot settlement Khoikhoi -- Dutch Wars Xhosa Wars Battle of Muizenberg Battle of Blaauwberg Anglo - Dutch Treaty of 1814 1815 -- 1910 Mfecane 1820 Settlers Great Trek Boer Republics Transvaal Civil War Mineral Revolution Witwatersrand Gold Rush South African Wars South Africa Act 1909 1910 -- 1948 Maritz Rebellion Rand Rebellion Great Depression 1946 African Mine Workers ' Union strike Bantustans Apartheid era 1948 general election Apartheid legislation Pass laws Internal resistance Coloured - vote constitutional crisis Defiance Campaign Congress of the People Freedom Charter Women 's March 1956 1957 Alexandra bus boycott Sharpeville massacre 1960 republic referendum International isolation Academic boycott Disinvestment Sporting boycott Olympics Rugby union Rivonia Trial Tar Baby Option Durban Moment Border War Israeli alliance Israel -- South Africa Agreement Soweto Uprising Weapons of mass destruction Project Coast Constructive engagement Church Street bombing 1983 constitutional reform referendum Rubicon speech Dakar Conference Third Force CODESA 1992 apartheid referendum Saint James Church massacre Bophuthatswana crisis Shell House massacre Post-apartheid 1994 general election Government of National Unity Reconstruction and Development Programme Truth and Reconciliation Commission Arms Deal Floor crossing Soweto bombings African Renaissance Xenophobia Marikana massacre 2012 Western Cape farm workers ' strike Nkandlagate 2014 platinum strike # RhodesMustFall protests # FeesMustFall student protests Tshwane riots Political culture African nationalism Afrikaner Calvinism Afrikaner nationalism Azania Baasskap Boerehaat Black Consciousness Movement Day of the Vow Greater South Africa Honorary whites Rooi gevaar Slavery Swart gevaar Uitlander Volkstaat Defunct organisations Civic and political organisations Afrikaner Bond Afrikaner Broederbond Afrikaner Party AITUP APO AVF BPC Black Sash CDA CTEG COD Congress Alliance COSG CP Dominion Party DP ( 1973 -- 1977 ) DP ( 1989 -- 2000 ) DPP ECC FA FD Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners GNP Het Volk HNP IDASA ID IP ISL Jeugkrag Johannesburg Reform Committee Labour Party ( 1910 -- 1958 ) Labour Party ( 1969 -- 1994 ) Liberal Party ( 1953 -- 1968 ) NA NCP NIC NLP NNP NP NPP NRP NUSAS PFP Progressive Party ( Cape Colony ) Progressive Party PRP Radio Freedom Reform Party SABP SADECO SAIC SASO SAYCO SAYRCO South African Party ( Cape Colony ) South African Party ( 1911 -- 1934 ) South African Party ( 1977 -- 1980 ) TNIP Torch Commando UFP United Party Unionist Party Volksparty Workers Party WOSA Trade unions and social movements APF BCM BLATU CNETU CTSWU FCWU FNETU FOSATU ICU IWW MUSA NEUM NURHS PAWE SAAPAWU SACTU SAIF SARHU SATUC Die Spoorbund UDF Umkosi Wezintaba Paramilitary and terrorist organisations APLA ARM BBB Boeremag Greyshirts MK Ossewabrandwag Orde van die Dood SANF Histories of political parties African National Congress Democratic Alliance Pan Africanist Congress of Azania Administrative divisions of South Africa ( 1910 -- 1994 ) Provinces of South Africa Province of the Cape of Good Hope Province of the Orange Free State Province of the Transvaal Province of Natal Non-independent homelands Gazankulu KaNgwane KwaNdebele KwaZulu Lebowa Qwaqwa Independent homelands Transkei Bophuthatswana Venda Ciskei Dependent territories Mandate of South - West Africa Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei were originally part of South Africa ; they later declared independence with South African consent in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Their independence was recognized by the South African government but they were internationally recognized as part of South Africa. British Empire Legend Current territory Former territory * Now a Commonwealth realm Now a member of the Commonwealth of Nations Historical flags of the British Empire Europe 1542 -- 1800 Ireland ( integrated into UK ) 1708 -- 1757, 1763 -- 1782 and 1798 -- 1802 Minorca Since 1713 Gibraltar 1800 -- 1813 Malta ( Protectorate ) 1813 -- 1964 Malta ( Colony ) 1807 -- 1890 Heligoland 1809 -- 1864 Ionian Islands 1878 -- 1960 Cyprus 1921 -- 1937 Irish Free State North America 17th century and before 18th century 19th and 20th century 1579 New Albion 1583 -- 1907 Newfoundland 1605 -- 1979 * Saint Lucia 1607 -- 1776 Virginia Since 1619 Bermuda 1620 -- 1691 Plymouth 1623 -- 1883 Saint Kitts 1624 -- 1966 * Barbados 1625 -- 1650 Saint Croix 1627 -- 1979 * Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1628 -- 1883 Nevis 1629 -- 1691 Massachusetts Bay 1632 -- 1776 Maryland since 1632 Montserrat 1632 -- 1860 Antigua 1635 -- 1644 Saybrook 1636 -- 1776 Connecticut 1636 -- 1776 Rhode Island 1637 -- 1662 New Haven 1643 -- 1860 Bay Islands Since 1650 Anguilla 1655 -- 1850 Mosquito Coast 1655 -- 1962 * Jamaica 1663 -- 1712 Carolina 1664 -- 1776 New York 1665 -- 1674 and 1702 -- 1776 New Jersey Since 1666 Virgin Islands Since 1670 Cayman Islands 1670 -- 1973 * Bahamas 1670 -- 1870 Rupert 's Land 1671 -- 1816 Leeward Islands 1674 -- 1702 East Jersey 1674 -- 1702 West Jersey 1680 -- 1776 New Hampshire 1681 -- 1776 Pennsylvania 1686 -- 1689 New England 1691 -- 1776 Massachusetts Bay 1701 -- 1776 Delaware 1712 -- 1776 North Carolina 1712 -- 1776 South Carolina 1713 -- 1867 Nova Scotia 1733 -- 1776 Georgia 1754 -- 1820 Cape Breton Island 1762 -- 1974 * Grenada 1763 -- 1978 Dominica 1763 -- 1873 Prince Edward Island 1763 -- 1791 Quebec 1763 -- 1783 East Florida 1763 -- 1783 West Florida 1784 -- 1867 New Brunswick 1791 -- 1841 Lower Canada 1791 -- 1841 Upper Canada Since 1799 Turks and Caicos Islands 1818 -- 1846 Columbia District / Oregon Country 1833 -- 1960 Windward Islands 1833 -- 1960 Leeward Islands 1841 -- 1867 Canada 1849 -- 1866 Vancouver Island 1853 -- 1863 Queen Charlotte Islands 1858 -- 1866 British Columbia 1859 -- 1870 North - Western Territory 1860 -- 1981 * British Antigua and Barbuda 1862 -- 1863 Stickeen 1866 -- 1871 British Columbia 1867 -- 1931 * Dominion of Canada 1871 -- 1964 Honduras 1882 -- 1983 * Saint Kitts and Nevis 1889 -- 1962 Trinidad and Tobago 1907 -- 1949 Newfoundland 1958 -- 1962 West Indies Federation 1. Occupied jointly with the United States. 2. In 1931, Canada and other British dominions obtained self - government through the Statute of Westminster. See Name of Canada. 3. Gave up self - rule in 1934, but remained a de jure Dominion until it joined Canada in 1949. South America 1631 -- 1641 Providence Island 1651 -- 1667 Willoughbyland 1670 -- 1688 Saint Andrew and Providence Islands 1831 -- 1966 Guiana Since 1833 Falkland Islands Since 1908 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands 4. Now a department of Colombia. 5. Occupied by Argentina during the Falklands War of April -- June 1982. Africa 17th and 18th centuries 19th century 20th century Since 1658 Saint Helena 1792 -- 1961 Sierra Leone 1795 -- 1803 Cape Colony Since 1815 Ascension Island Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha 1806 -- 1910 Cape of Good Hope 1807 -- 1808 Madeira 1810 -- 1968 Mauritius 1816 -- 1965 The Gambia 1856 -- 1910 Natal 1862 -- 1906 Lagos 1868 -- 1966 Basutoland 1874 -- 1957 Gold Coast 1882 -- 1922 Egypt 1884 -- 1900 Niger Coast 1884 -- 1966 Bechuanaland 1884 -- 1960 Somaliland 1887 -- 1897 Zululand 1890 -- 1962 Uganda 1890 -- 1963 Zanzibar 1891 -- 1964 Nyasaland 1891 -- 1907 Central Africa 1893 -- 1968 Swaziland 1895 -- 1920 East Africa 1899 -- 1956 Sudan 1900 -- 1914 Northern Nigeria 1900 -- 1914 Southern Nigeria 1900 -- 1910 Orange River 1900 -- 1910 Transvaal 1903 -- 1976 Seychelles 1910 -- 1931 South Africa 1914 -- 1960 Nigeria 1915 -- 1931 South - West Africa 1919 -- 1961 Cameroons 1920 -- 1963 Kenya 1922 -- 1961 Tanganyika 1923 -- 1965 and 1979 -- 1980 Southern Rhodesia 1924 -- 1964 Northern Rhodesia 6. League of Nations mandate. 7. Self - governing Southern Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence in 1965 ( as Rhodesia ) and continued as an unrecognised state until the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement. After recognised independence in 1980, Zimbabwe was a member of the Commonwealth until it withdrew in 2003. Asia 17th and 18th century 19th century 20th century 1685 -- 1824 Bencoolen 1702 -- 1705 Pulo Condore 1757 -- 1947 Bengal 1762 -- 1764 Manila and Cavite 1781 -- 1784 and 1795 -- 1819 Padang 1786 -- 1946 Penang 1795 -- 1948 Ceylon 1796 -- 1965 Maldives 1812 -- 1824 Banka and Billiton 1819 -- 1826 Malaya 1824 -- 1948 Burma 1826 -- 1946 Straits Settlements 1839 -- 1967 Aden 1839 -- 1842 Afghanistan 1841 -- 1997 Hong Kong 1841 -- 1946 Sarawak 1848 -- 1946 Labuan 1858 -- 1947 India 1874 -- 1963 Borneo 1879 -- 1919 Afghanistan ( protectorate ) 1882 -- 1963 North Borneo 1885 -- 1946 Unfederated Malay States 1888 -- 1984 Brunei 1891 -- 1971 Muscat and Oman 1892 -- 1971 Trucial States 1895 -- 1946 Federated Malay States 1898 -- 1930 Weihai 1878 -- 1960 Cyprus 1907 -- 1949 Bhutan ( protectorate ) 1918 -- 1961 Kuwait 1920 -- 1932 Mesopotamia 1921 -- 1946 Transjordan 1923 -- 1948 Palestine 1945 -- 1946 South Vietnam 1946 -- 1963 North Borneo 1946 -- 1963 Sarawak 1946 -- 1963 Singapore 1946 -- 1948 Malayan Union 1948 -- 1957 Federation of Malaya Since 1960 Akrotiri and Dhekelia ( before as part of Cyprus ) Since 1965 British Indian Ocean Territory ( before as part of Mauritius and the Seychelles ) League of Nations mandate. Iraq 's mandate was not enacted and replaced by the Anglo - Iraqi Treaty Oceania 18th and 19th centuries 20th century 1788 -- 1901 New South Wales 1803 -- 1901 Van Diemen 's Land / Tasmania 1807 -- 1863 Auckland Islands 1824 -- 1980 New Hebrides 1824 -- 1901 Queensland 1829 -- 1901 Swan River / Western Australia 1836 -- 1901 South Australia since 1838 Pitcairn Islands 1841 -- 1907 New Zealand 1851 -- 1901 Victoria 1874 -- 1970 Fiji 1877 -- 1976 Western Pacific Territories 1884 -- 1949 Papua 1888 -- 1901 Rarotonga / Cook Islands 1889 -- 1948 Union Islands 1892 -- 1979 Gilbert and Ellice Islands 1893 -- 1978 Solomon Islands 1900 -- 1970 Tonga 1900 -- 1974 Niue 1901 -- 1942 * Australia 1907 -- 1953 * New Zealand 1919 -- 1942 and 1945 -- 1968 Nauru 1919 -- 1949 New Guinea 1949 -- 1975 Papua and New Guinea 9. Now part of the * Realm of New Zealand. 10. Suspended member. 11. Now Kiribati and * Tuvalu. 12. Now the * Solomon Islands. 13. Now * Papua New Guinea. Antarctica and South Atlantic Since 1658 Saint Helena Since 1815 Ascension Island Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha Since 1908 British Antarctic Territory 1841 -- 1933 Australian Antarctic Territory ( transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia ) 1841 -- 1947 Ross Dependency ( transferred to the Realm of New Zealand ) 14. Since 2009 part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha ; Ascension Island ( 1922 -- ) and Tristan da Cunha ( 1938 -- ) were previously dependencies of Saint Helena. 15. Both claimed in 1908 ; territories formed in 1962 ( British Antarctic Territory ) and 1985 ( South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ). Commonwealth realms and dominions Current Antigua and Barbuda ( monarchy ) Australia ( monarchy ) Bahamas ( monarchy ) Barbados ( monarchy ) Belize ( monarchy ) Canada ( monarchy ) Grenada ( monarchy ) Jamaica ( monarchy ) Realm of New Zealand Cook Islands New Zealand Niue Papua New Guinea ( monarchy ) Saint Kitts and Nevis ( monarchy ) Saint Lucia ( monarchy ) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ( monarchy ) Solomon Islands ( monarchy ) Tuvalu ( monarchy ) United Kingdom ( monarchy ) Former Ceylon Fiji ( monarchy ) The Gambia Ghana Guyana India Ireland ( monarchy ) Kenya Malawi Malta Mauritius Newfoundland Nigeria Pakistan Rhodesia Sierra Leone South Africa ( monarchy ) Tanganyika Trinidad and Tobago Uganda Dominion, became republic before adoption of the term `` realm '' Dominion, never ratified Statute of Westminster 1931, London - based external government 1934 -- 1949, annexed by Canada in 1949 Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence as a realm in 1965, but this was not recognised internationally. Declared itself a republic in 1970. 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Question: when was the union of south africa formed
Answer: 31 May 1910