Editing Bloemfontein (section)

===Early history===
Though historically a [[Khoekhoe|!Orana]] and [[Barolong]] settlement, and then a [[Afrikaner|Boer]] settlement, Bloemfontein was officially founded in 1846 as a fort by [[British Army]] major [[Henry Douglas Warden]] as a British outpost in the Transoranje region, at that stage occupied by various groups of peoples including !Orana (so-called "Korana" of the ǀHõaǁʼaes, ǀHũdiǁʼaes, Einiǁʼaes, and others), [[Cape Colony]] [[Trekboers]], [[Griqua people|Griqua]] (at that time known as "Baasters") and [[Barolong]].

Warden initially chose the site primarily because of its proximity to the main route to [[Winburg]], the spacious open country, and the absence of [[African horse sickness|horse sickness]]. Bloemfontein was the original farm of Johannes Nicolaas Brits, born on 21 February 1790, owner and first inhabitant of Bloemfontein. Johann – as he was known – sold the farm to Major Warden.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.bloemfonteinguide.co.za/about-bloemfontein/history/|title=History of Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa|newspaper=Bloemfontein Guide|language=en-US|access-date=2017-01-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121041821/http://www.bloemfonteinguide.co.za/about-bloemfontein/history/|archive-date=21 January 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

With colonial policy shifts, the region changed into the [[Orange River Sovereignty]] (1848–1854) and eventually the [[Orange Free State]] Republic (1854–1902). From 1902 to 1910, it served as the capital of the [[Orange River Colony]] and since that time as the provincial capital of the [[Free State (province)|Free State]]. In 1910, it became the Judicial capital of the [[Union of South Africa]]. A possible etymology for the city's name is that it is called Bloemfontein {{lit}} "Bloem's fountain", after Jan Bloem II, a Griqua leader.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/prehistory-bloemfontein-area|title=Prehistory of the Bloemfontein area &#124; South African History Online|website=www.sahistory.org.za|accessdate=11 March 2023}}</ref>