page_title: Ex Unitate Vires
section_title: Adoption
hierarchical_section_title: Ex Unitate Vires / Adoption
caption_attribution_description: English: cap badge worn by members of the 1st South African Infantry Brigade who served alongside the Allies on the Western Front during World War I. Motto Eendracht Maakt Macht still in Dutch. Later replaced by the Afrikaans version Eendrag Maak Mag.
context_page_description: Ex Unitate Vires is a Latin phrase formerly used as the national motto of South Africa. It was originally translated as "Union is Strength" but was later revised in 1961 to mean "Unity is Strength". Its Dutch version is "Eendracht maakt macht", itself a non-literal translation of "in concordia res parvae crescunt", originally the motto of the Dutch Republic. That translation, along with its French counterpart - "L'Union Fait la Force" - is also the current motto of Belgium. It was adopted in 1910 as the national motto but was replaced in 2000.
context_section_description: When the British Empire's colonies of Cape Colony, Transvaal Colony, Natal Colony, and the Orange River Colony joined together to form the Union of South Africa, a coat of arms was granted to them by King George V. On the arms was the motto "Ex Unitate Vires" as a symbol that the British and Afrikaner colonies were stronger within the Union. It was also chosen in Latin as a neutral language to avoid using either English or Afrikaans due to sensitivities after the Boer War. During the First World War, the 1st South African Infantry used the English and Dutch translation of the motto on their cap badge alongside the springbok. In 1947, King George VI toured South Africa. However, due to noticing the South African Police (whom the King referred to as "Gestapo") enforcing segregation in keeping blacks away from him and a request from the South African government to only shake hands with whites, the King noticed the motto on the tablecloth of his royal train and stated: "Huh, not much bloody Unitate about this place!"
caption: The motto in English and Dutch on the South African Infantry's cap badge
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