Union of South Africa

The Union of South Africa is the country that came before the current Republic of South Africa. It was formed on May 31st, 1910 when the British Cape Colony and the Natal Colony unified with the defeated Boer republics of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State. The provinces of the union were called, respectively, as the Cape Province, the Natal Province, the Transvaal Province, and the Orange Free State Province. After World War I, the former German colony of German South West Africa was put under administration of the Union of South Africa as a League of Nations mandate and was treated like another province. It was a Commonwealth realm, which means that it was a constitutional monarchy with the British monarch (king or queen) as the head of state.

The Union of South Africa ended on 31 May 1961, when a new constitution came into effect, transforming the Union of South Africa into a republic, under the name "Republic of South Africa". The South Africa's membership of the Commonwealth of Nations also ended, when it became a republic.

Category:History of South Africa

Category:1910 establishments
Category:1961 disestablishments in Africa
Category:1910s establishments in Africa
Category:Former British colonies
Category:Former colonies in Africa