Griqualand West

Griqualand West
Griqualand
Griekwaland-Wes
1800–1880
Flag of Griqualand West
Griqua Flag
Location of Griqualand West within the Cape Colony
Location of Griqualand West within the Cape Colony
StatusBritish Colony (1871–1880)
CapitalKimberley
Common languagesDutch (written)
proto-Afrikaans (spoken)
English
Demonym(s)Griqua
GovernmentKapteinskap
Kaptijn 
• 1800–1820
Adam Kok I
• 1820–1852
Andries Waterboer
• 1852–1871
Nicolaas Waterboer
History 
• Established
1800
• British rule imposed
1871
• Destablished
1880
Area
Estimate40,000 km2 (15,000 sq mi)
Succeeded by
Cape Colony
† The Griqua flag is a vertically flipped version of the "Vierkleur" used by the South African Republic. A single source dates its origin to 1903; whether or not Griqualand West actually deployed it is uncertain.[1]
Boer Republics and Griqua States in Southern Africa, 19th century.
A one penny 1879 revenue stamp of Griqualand West.
Griqualand West (in the centre of the map) in South Africa, July 1885.

Griqualand West is an area of central South Africa with an area of 40,000 km2 that now forms part of the Northern Cape Province. It was inhabited by the Griqua people – a semi-nomadic, Afrikaans-speaking nation of mixed-race origin, who established several states outside the expanding frontier of the Cape Colony. It was also ancestral home to the Tswana and Khoisan peoples.

In 1873 it was proclaimed as a British colony, with its capital at Kimberley, and in 1880 it was annexed by the Cape Colony. When the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, Griqualand West was part of the Cape Province but continued to have its own "provincial" sports teams.

  1. ^ Griqualand (South Africa) on flagspot.net; Accessed 2009-07-31