Orange Free State

Orange Free State
Oranje Vrijstaat (Dutch)
Oranje Vrystaat (Afrikaans)
1854–1902
Motto: "Geduld en Moed"
Patience and Courage
Anthem: Vrystaatse Volkslied
National seal
  • Great Seal of the Orange Free State
Location of the Orange Free State c. 1890
Location of the Orange Free State c. 1890
CapitalBloemfontein
Common languagesDutch (official), Afrikaans, English, Sesotho, Setswana
Religion
Dutch Reformed
Dutch Reformed dissenters
GovernmentRepublic under British suzerainty
State President 
• 1854–1855
Josias P Hoffman
• 1855–1859
J N Boshoff
• 1860–1863
Marthinus Wessel Pretorius1
• 1864–1888
Jan H Brand
• 1889–1895
Francis William Reitz
• 1896–1902
Marthinus Theunis Steyn
• 30 to 31 May 1902
Christiaan de Wet
LegislatureVolksraad
History 
23 February 1854
16 December 1838
• Start of 2nd Boer War
11 October 1899
31 May 1902
Area
1875[1]181,299 km2 (70,000 sq mi)
Population
• 1875[1]
100,000 (Whites and coloureds)
CurrencyOrange Free State pound
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Orange River Sovereignty
Orange River Colony
Today part ofSouth Africa
Lesotho
1 Also State President of the Transvaal Republic

The Orange Free State (Dutch: Oranje Vrijstaat [oːˈrɑɲə ˈvrɛistaːt]; Afrikaans: Oranje-Vrystaat [uəˈraɲə ˈfrɛistɑːt]) was an independent Boer-ruled sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeated and surrendered to the British Empire at the end of the Second Boer War in 1902. It is one of the three historical precursors to the present-day Free State province.[2]

Extending between the Orange and Vaal rivers, its borders were determined by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1848 when the region was proclaimed as the Orange River Sovereignty, with a British Resident based in Bloemfontein.[3] Bloemfontein and the southern parts of the Sovereignty had previously been settled by Griqua and by Trekboere from the Cape Colony.

The Voortrekker Republic of Natalia, founded in 1837, administered the northern part of the territory through a landdrost based at Winburg. This northern area was later in federation with the Republic of Potchefstroom which eventually formed part of the South African Republic (Transvaal).[3]

Following the granting of sovereignty to the Transvaal Republic, the British sought to drop their defensive and administrative responsibilities between the Orange and Vaal rivers, while local European residents wanted the British to remain. This led to the British recognising the independence of the Orange River Sovereignty and the country officially became independent as the Orange Free State on 23 February 1854, with the signing of the Orange River Convention. The new republic incorporated the Orange River Sovereignty and continued the traditions of the Winburg-Potchefstroom Republic.[3]

The Orange Free State was annexed as the Orange River Colony in 1900. It ceased to exist as an independent Boer republic on 31 May 1902 with the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging at the conclusion of the Second Boer War. Following a period of direct rule by the British, it attained self-government in 1907 and joined the Union of South Africa in 1910 as the Orange Free State Province, along with the Cape Province, Natal, and the Transvaal.[3] In 1961, the Union of South Africa became the Republic of South Africa.[2]

The Republic's name derives partly from the Orange River, which was named by the Dutch explorer Robert Jacob Gordon in honour of the Dutch ruling family, the House of Orange, whose name in turn derived from its partial origins in the Principality of Orange in French Provence.[4] The official language in the Orange Free State was Dutch.[3]

  1. ^ Sketch of the Orange Free State of South Africa. Bloemfontein: Orange Free State. Commission at the International Exhibition, Philadelphia, 1876. 1876. p. 10. Archived from the original on 29 May 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Free State". Encyclopædia Britannica. 6 November 2009. Archived from the original on 14 March 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference eb1911-cite was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Introduction to the Orange River basin". Department of Water and Sanitation, South Africa. Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2017.