Original: Independence After four years of negotiating , the Union of South Africa was created from the Cape and Natal colonies , as well as the republics of Orange Free State and Transvaal , on 31 May 1910 , exactly eight years after the end of the Second Boer War .
Simplified: On May 31 , 1910 the Union of South Africa was created from the Cape and Natal colonies , as well as the Orange Free State and the Transvaal , the two Boer Republics .