Editing Union of South Africa

{{Short description|1910–1961 Dominion of the British Empire}}
{{For|the steam locomotive|LNER Class A4 4488 Union of South Africa{{!}}LNER Class A4 4488 ''Union of South Africa''}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use South African English|date=July 2012}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Union of South Africa
| native_name            = {{native name|nl|Unie van Zuid-Afrika}}<br />{{native name|af|Unie van Suid-Afrika}}
| year_start             = 1910
| date_start             = 31 May
| event_start            = [[South Africa Act 1909|Union]]
| year_end               = 1961
| date_end               = 31 May
| event1                 = [[Status of the Union Act, 1934|Self-governance]]
| date_event1            = 22 August 1934
| event_end              = [[South African Constitution of 1961|Republic]]
| p1                     = Cape Colony
| p2                     = Colony of Natal{{!}}Natal Colony
| p3                     = Orange River Colony
| p4                     = Transvaal Colony
| flag_p1                = Flag of the Cape Colony 1876-1910.svg
| flag_p2                = Flag of the Natal Colony 1875-1910.svg
| flag_p3                = Flag of Orange River Colony.svg
| flag_p4                = Flag of the Transvaal Colony 1904–1910.svg
| s1                     = South African Constitution of 1961{{!}}Republic of South Africa
| flag_s1                = Flag_of_South_Africa_(1928–1994).svg
| largest_city           = [[Johannesburg]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqtwdzPV7XI| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/iqtwdzPV7XI| archive-date=2021-10-30|title=The Union of South Africa, 1956|last=travelfilmarchive|date=8 November 2012|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdAgUgrc4qg| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/pdAgUgrc4qg| archive-date=2021-10-30|title=British Empire: The British Colony of the Union Of South Africa 1956.|last=darren lennox|date=23 February 2017|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
| official_languages     = {{hlist |[[English language|English]]|[[Dutch language|Dutch]]|[[Afrikaans]]}}
| image_flag             = Flag of South Africa (1928–1994).svg
| flag_type              = [[Flag of South Africa (1928–1994)|Flag (from 1928)]]
| image_symbol           = Coat of arms of South Africa (1932–2000).svg
| symbol_type            = {{nowrap|[[Coat of arms of South Africa (1910–2000)|Coat of arms]]}}
| alt_coat               = Coat of arms of South Africa
| image_map              = South Africa (1915-1990) (orthographic projection).svg
| image_map_caption      = Union of South Africa with [[South West Africa]] shown in light green ([[History of Namibia#South African rule|occupied in 1915]] and administered as 5th province of the Union under a C-mandate from the [[League of Nations]])
| national_motto         = ''{{native phrase|la|[[Ex Unitate Vires]]}}''<br />("From Unity, Strength")
| anthem                 = "[[God Save the King#South Africa|God Save the King]]" (1910–52); "God Save the Queen" (1952–57){{efn|Remained the royal anthem until 1961}}<br />{{center|[[File:Rufst du, mein Vaterland (1938).oga|God Save the King / Queen]]}}<br />"[[Die Stem van Suid-Afrika]]" (1938–61)<ref name=NYT1938>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/06/03/archives/south-africa-will-play-two-anthems-hereafter.html|title=South Africa Will Play Two Anthems Hereafter|date=3 June 1938|work=The New York Times|location=New York|access-date=31 October 2018|page=10|archive-date=2 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502083934/https://www.nytimes.com/1938/06/03/archives/south-africa-will-play-two-anthems-hereafter.html|url-status=live}}</ref><br/>({{Langx|en|"The Call of South Africa"}})<br />{{center|[[File:"Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" performed by the South African Air Force Band.wav]]}}
| capital                = [[Cape Town]] (legislative)<br />[[Pretoria]] (administrative)<br />[[Bloemfontein]] (judicial)
| ethnic_groups          = {{unbulleted list | 68.3% [[Black people|Black]] | 19.2% [[White South Africans|White]] | &nbsp;9.4% [[Coloureds|Coloured]] | &nbsp;3.0% [[Indian South Africans|Indian]] }}
| ethnic_groups_year     = 1960
| government_type        = Unitary parliamentary [[constitutional monarchy]]
*under a [[herrenvolk democracy]] (1948&ndash;1961)
| title_leader           = [[Monarchy of South Africa|Monarch]]
| leader1                = [[George V]]
| leader2                = [[Edward VIII]]
| leader3                = [[George VI]]
| leader4                = [[Elizabeth II]]
| year_leader1           = {{nowrap|1910–1936}}
| year_leader2           = 1936
| year_leader3           = 1936–1952
| year_leader4           = 1952–1961
| title_representative   = {{nowrap|[[Governor-General of South Africa|Governor-General]]}}
| representative1        = {{nowrap|[[Herbert Gladstone, 1st Viscount Gladstone|The Viscount Gladstone]]}}
| representative2        = [[Charles Robberts Swart|C. R. Swart]]
| year_representative1   = 1910–1914 (first)
| year_representative2   = 1959–1961 (last)
| title_deputy           = [[Prime Minister of South Africa|Prime Minister]]
| deputy1                = [[Louis Botha]]
| deputy2                = [[Hendrik Verwoerd]]
| year_deputy1           = 1910–1919 (first)
| year_deputy2           = 1958–1961 (last)
| legislature            = [[Parliament of South Africa|Parliament]]
| area_km2               = 2,045,329
| population_census      = 15,994,000
| population_census_year = [[1960 South African census|1960]]
| house1                 = [[Senate of South Africa|Senate]]
| house2                 = [[House of Assembly of South Africa|House of Assembly]]
| currency               = [[South African pound]] (1910–61), [[South African rand]] (1961)
| today                  = [[Namibia]]<br />[[South Africa]]
}}

The '''Union of South Africa''' ({{langx|nl|Unie van Zuid-Afrika}}; {{langx|af|Unie van Suid-Afrika}}, {{audio|Nl-Unie van Zuid-Afrika.oga|pronunciation}}) was the historical predecessor to the present-day [[South Africa|Republic of South Africa]]. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the [[British Cape Colony|Cape]], [[Colony of Natal|Natal]], [[Transvaal Colony|Transvaal]], and [[Orange River Colony|Orange River]] colonies.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Union of South Africa |url=https://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/southafrica.htm |access-date=2022-11-18 |website=www.britishempire.co.uk |archive-date=2 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221002024346/https://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/southafrica.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> It included the territories that were formerly part of the [[South African Republic]] and the [[Orange Free State]].

Following [[World War I]], the Union of South Africa was a signatory of the [[Treaty of Versailles]] and became one of the [[Member states of the League of Nations|founding members]] of the [[League of Nations]]. It was [[League of Nations mandate|mandated]] by the League with the administration of [[South West Africa]] (now known as [[Namibia]]). South West Africa became treated in most respects as another province of the Union, but it never was formally annexed.

The Union of South Africa was a self-governing [[dominion]] of the [[British Empire]]. Its full sovereignty was confirmed with the [[Balfour Declaration of 1926]] and the [[Statute of Westminster 1931]]. It was governed under a form of [[constitutional monarchy]], with the Crown being represented by a governor-general. The Union came to an end with the enactment of the [[South African Constitution of 1961|constitution of 1961]], by which it became a [[republic]] and left the [[Commonwealth of Nations]]. The [[Republic of South Africa]] rejoined the Commonwealth on 1 June 1994.

==Constitution==
{{Main|South Africa Act 1909}}

===Main features===
[[File:Map of the provinces of South Africa 1910-1976 with English labels.svg|thumb|The provinces of the Union]]

The Union of South Africa was a [[unitary state]], rather than a [[federation]] like Canada and Australia, with each colony's parliaments being abolished and replaced with [[provincial council (South Africa)|provincial council]]s.<ref>South Africa Act, 1909, Part V, sections 68 to 94.</ref> A [[bicameral]] parliament was created, consisting of the [[House of Assembly (South Africa)|House of Assembly]] and [[Senate (South Africa)|Senate]], with members of the parliament being elected mostly by the country's white minority.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://archive.org/details/jstor-2212266|title=The South Africa Act, 1909|date=1 January 1910|journal=The American Journal of International Law|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> During the course of the Union, the franchise changed on several occasions always to suit the needs of the government of the day.<ref>See Representation of Natives Act, No. 12 of 1936 and Separate Representation of Voters Act, No. 46 of 1951.</ref> [[Parliamentary sovereignty]] was a convention of the constitution, inherited from the United Kingdom; save for procedural safeguards in respect of the entrenched sections of franchise and language, the courts were unable to intervene in Parliament's decisions.<ref>Hahlo & Kahn, Union of South Africa, Stevens & Sons Limited, London, 1960, pp. 146 to 163.</ref>

===Capitals===

[[Pretoria]] was the seat of government,<ref>Section 18 of South Africa Act, 1909.</ref> while the [[Parliament (South Africa)|Parliament]] sat in [[Cape Town]]<ref>Section 23 of South Africa Act, 1909.</ref> and the [[Appellate Division (South Africa)|Appellate Division]] in [[Bloemfontein]].<ref>Section 109 of South Africa Act, 1909.</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://archive.org/details/jstor-2212266|title=The South Africa Act, 1909|date=1 January 1910|journal=The American Journal of International Law|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

===Relationship to the Crown===

The Union initially remained under the [[British monarchy|British Crown]] as a self-governing [[dominion]] of the [[British Empire]]. With the passage of the [[Statute of Westminster (1931)|Statute of Westminster]] in 1931, the Union and other dominions became equal in status to the United Kingdom, and the Parliament of the United Kingdom could no longer legislate on behalf of them.<ref>Hahlo & Kahn, supra, p. 146 et seq.</ref> This had the effect of making the Union and the other dominions ''de jure'' sovereign nations. The [[Status of the Union Act, 1934|Status of the Union Act]], passed by the South African Parliament in 1934, incorporated the applicable portions of the Statute of Westminster into South African law, underscoring its status as a sovereign nation. It removed what remaining authority Whitehall had to legislate for South Africa, as well as any nominal role that the United Kingdom had in granting [[Royal Assent]]. The governor-general was now required to sign or veto bills passed by Parliament, without the option of seeking advice from London.

The monarch was represented in South Africa by a [[Governor-General of South Africa|governor-general]], while effective power was exercised by the Executive Council, headed by the [[Prime Minister (South Africa)|prime minister]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://archive.org/details/jstor-2212266|title=The South Africa Act, 1909|date=1 January 1910|journal=The American Journal of International Law|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> [[Louis Botha]], formerly a [[Boer]] general, was appointed the first prime minister of the Union, heading a coalition representing the white [[Afrikaner]] and English-speaking [[British diaspora in Africa|British diaspora]] communities.

Prosecutions before courts were instituted in the name of the Crown (cited in the format ''Rex / Regina v Accused'') and government officials served in the name of the Crown.

{{SouthAfrica state}}

===Languages===

An [[entrenched clause]] in the Constitution mentioned [[Dutch (language)|Dutch]] and English as [[official language]]s of the Union, but the meaning of Dutch was changed by the [[Official Languages of the Union Act, 1925]] to include both Dutch and Afrikaans.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://archive.org/details/jstor-2212266|title=The South Africa Act, 1909|date=1 January 1910|journal=The American Journal of International Law|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

===Final days of the South Africa Act and legacy===

Most English-speaking whites in South Africa supported the [[United Party (South Africa)|United Party]] of [[Jan Smuts]], which favoured close relations with the United Kingdom and the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]], unlike the Afrikaans-speaking [[National Party (South Africa)|National Party]], which had held anti-British sentiments and was opposed to South Africa's intervention in the [[Second World War]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=TIME |date=1960-09-12 |title=SOUTH AFRICA: R for Republiek |url=https://time.com/archive/6832537/south-africa-r-for-republiek/ |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=TIME |language=en}}</ref> Some Nationalist organisations, like the ''[[Ossewabrandwag]]'', were openly supportive of [[Nazi Germany]] during the [[Second World War]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mafolo |first=Karabo |date=2021-04-23 |title=The Ossewabrandwag and other tales of World War 2 Nazi spies in South Africa |url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-04-23-the-ossewabrandwag-and-other-tales-of-world-war-2-nazi-spies-in-south-africa/ |access-date=2025-03-30 |website=[[Daily Maverick]] |language=en}}</ref> Additionally, most English-speaking South Africans were opposed to the creation of a [[republic]], many of them voting "no" in the 5 October 1960 [[South African republic referendum, 1960|referendum]]. But due to the much larger number of Afrikaans-speaking voters, the referendum passed, leading to the establishment of a republic on 31 May 1961.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=October 11, 1960 |title=Secession Talked by Some Anti-Republicans |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WUVkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2W8NAAAAIBAJ&pg=5504,1422353&dq=natal+referendum+republic&hl=en |access-date=March 30, 2025 |work=[[Saskatoon Star-Phoenix]] |publisher= |location=Saskatoon, Saskatchewan |pages=17}}</ref> The government led by the National Party consequently withdrew South Africa from the Commonwealth.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title=Five Hundred Years: A History of South Africa |date=1984 |publisher=Academica |isbn=978-0-86874-199-4 |editor-last=Muller |editor-first=C. F. J. |edition=4th |location=Pretoria |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Following the results of the referendum, some whites in Natal, which had an English-speaking majority, called for secession from the Union.<ref name=":0" /> Five years earlier, some 33,000 Natalians had signed the [[Natal covenant|Natal Covenant]] in opposition to the plans for a republic.<ref name="Jeffery">{{cite book|last=Jeffery|first=Keith|title=An Irish Empire?: Aspects of Ireland and the British Empire|year=1996|publisher=Manchester University Press|pages=199–201|isbn=9780719038730|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WUTpAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA200}}</ref>

Subsequently, the National Party government had passed a [[Constitution]] that repealed the [[South Africa Act 1909|South Africa Act]]. The features of the Union were carried over with very little change to the newly formed Republic. The decision to transform from a Union to Republic was narrowly decided in the referendum. The decision together with the South African Government's insistence on adhering to its policy of [[apartheid]] resulted in South Africa's ''de facto'' expulsion from the [[Commonwealth of Nations]].<ref name=":1" />

===Segregation===

[[File:The Union of South Africa, Its Land and Its People (1956).webm|thumb|''Encyclopedia Britannica Films'' documentary about South Africa from 1956]]

The [[South Africa Act]] dealt with race in two specific provisions. First it entrenched the liberal (by South African standards) [[Cape Qualified Franchise]] system of the [[Cape Colony]] which operated free of any racial considerations (although due to socio-economic restrictions no real political expression of non-whites was possible).<ref>{{cite book|last=Robertson|first=Janet|title=Liberalism in South Africa: 1948–1963|year=1971|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eisa.org.za/WEP/soubg2.htm |title=EISA South Africa: Historical franchise arrangements |publisher=Eisa.org.za |access-date=2013-07-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509080718/http://www.eisa.org.za/WEP/soubg2.htm |archive-date=9 May 2013}}</ref> The Cape [[Prime Minister]] at the time, [[John X. Merriman]], fought hard, but ultimately unsuccessfully, to extend this system of multi-racial franchise to the rest of South Africa.

Second it made "native affairs" a matter for the national government. The practice therefore was to establish a [[Minister_of_Bantu_Administration_and_Development,_and_Bantu_Education|Minister of Native Affairs]].

According to Stephen Howe, "colonialism in some cases—most obviously among white minorities in South Africa—meant mainly that these violent settlers wanted to maintain more racial inequalities than the colonial empire found just".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Howe|first1=Stephen|title=Empire A very Short Introduction|date=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|pages=75}}</ref>

==Previous attempts at unification==

Several previous unsuccessful attempts to unite the colonies were made, with proposed political models ranging from [[unitary (state)|unitary]], to loosely [[confederation|federal]].

===Early unification attempt under Sir George Grey (1850s)===

Sir [[George Grey]], the [[Governor of Cape Colony]] from 1854 to 1861, decided that unifying the states of southern Africa would be mutually beneficial. The stated reasons were that he believed that political divisions between the white-controlled states "weakened them against the natives", threatened an ethnic divide between British and Boer, and left the Cape vulnerable to interference from other European powers. He believed that a united "South African Federation", under British control, would resolve all three of these concerns.<ref>V.C. Malherbe: ''What They Said. 1795–1910 History Documents''. Cape Town: Maskew Miller. 1971.</ref>

His idea was greeted with cautious optimism in southern Africa; the [[Orange Free State]] agreed to the idea in principle and the [[Transvaal (colony)|Transvaal]] may also eventually have agreed. However, he was overruled by the [[British Colonial Office]] which ordered him to desist from his plans. His refusal to abandon the idea eventually led to him being recalled.

===The imposition of confederation (1870s)===
[[File:Iziko sang Holiday Time in Cape Town.jpg|thumb|''[[Holiday Time in Cape Town in the Twentieth Century, in Honour of the Expected Arrival of a Governor-General of UNITED South Africa|Holiday Time in Cape Town]]'' (1891-1899) depicted an imagined future united South Africa at a time when the idea was being widely debated in the Cape Colony.]]
In the 1870s, the London Colonial Office, under [[Secretary of State for the Colonies|Secretary for the Colonies]] [[Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon|Lord Carnarvon]], decided to apply a system of [[confederation]] onto southern Africa. On this occasion, however, it was largely rejected by southern Africans, primarily due to its very bad timing. The various component states of [[southern Africa]] were still simmering after the last bout of British expansion, and inter-state tensions were high. The [[Orange Free State]] this time refused to even discuss the idea, and Prime Minister [[John Molteno]] of the [[Cape Colony]] called the idea badly informed and irresponsible. In addition, many local leaders resented the way it was imposed from outside without understanding of local issues.<ref>P.A. Molteno: ''A Federal South Africa''. Sampson Low, Marston & Co, 1896. {{ISBN|1-4367-2682-4}}</ref> The [[Confederation]] model was also seen as unsuitable for the disparate entities of [[southern Africa]], with their wildly different sizes, economies and political systems.<ref>Phyllis Lewsen (ed.). ''Selections from the correspondence of John X. Merriman, 1905–1924''. South Africa: [[Van Riebeeck Society]], 1969</ref>

The Molteno Unification Plan (1877), put forward by the Cape government as a more feasible [[unitary (state)|unitary]] alternative to [[confederation]], largely anticipated the final act of Union in 1909. A crucial difference was that the Cape's liberal constitution and multiracial franchise were to be extended to the other states of the union. These smaller states would gradually accede to the much larger [[Cape Colony]] through a system of treaties, whilst simultaneously gaining elected seats in the [[Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope|Cape parliament]]. The entire process would be locally driven, with Britain's role restricted to policing any set-backs. While subsequently acknowledged to be more viable, this model was rejected at the time by London.<ref>Frank Richardson Cana: ''South Africa: From the Great Trek to the Union''. London: Chapman & Hall, ltd., 1909. Chapter VII "Molteno's Unification Plan". p.89</ref> At the other extreme, another powerful Cape politician at the time, [[Saul Solomon]], proposed an extremely loose system of federation, with the component states preserving their very different constitutions and systems of franchise.<ref>Solomon, W. E. C: ''Saul Solomon – the Member for Cape Town''. Cape Town: Oxford University Press, 1948.</ref>

Lord Carnarvon rejected the (more informed) local plans for unification, as he wished to have the process brought to a conclusion before the end of his tenure and, having little experience of southern Africa, he preferred to enforce the more familiar model of confederation used in Canada. He pushed ahead with his Confederation plan, which unraveled as predicted, leaving a string of destructive wars across southern Africa. These conflicts eventually fed into the first and second [[Anglo-Boer War]]s, with far-reaching consequences for the subcontinent.<ref>''Illustrated History of South Africa''. The Reader's Digest Association South Africa (Pty) Ltd, 1992. {{ISBN|0-947008-90-X}}. p.182, "Confederation from the Barrel of a Gun"</ref>

===Second Boer War (1899–1902)===

{{main|Second Boer War}}

After the discovery of gold in the 1880s, thousands of British immigrants flocked to the gold mines of the [[South African Republic|Transvaal Republic]] and the [[Orange Free State]]. The newly arrived miners, though needed for the mines, were distrusted by the politically dominant Afrikaners, who called them "[[uitlander]]s", imposed heavy taxes on them and granted them very limited civil rights, with no right to vote. The British government, interested in profiting from the gold and diamond mines there and highly protective of its own citizens, demanded reforms, which the Afrikaners rejected. A small-scale private British effort to overthrow Transvaal's President [[Paul Kruger]], the [[Jameson Raid]] of 1895, proved a fiasco, and presaged full-scale conflict as diplomatic efforts all failed.<ref>J.A.S.Grenville, ''Lord Salisbury, and Foreign Policy'' (1964) pp 235–64.</ref><ref>Iain R. Smith, ''The Origins of the South African War, 1899–1902'' (1996).</ref><ref>
William L. Langer, ''The Diplomacy of Imperialism'' (1950), pp. 605–28, 651–76
</ref>

The Second Boer War started on 11 October 1899 and ended on 31 May 1902. The United Kingdom gained the support of its Cape Colony, of its Colony of Natal and of some African allies. Volunteers from across the British Empire further supplemented the British war effort. All other nations remained neutral, but public opinion in them was largely hostile to Britain. Inside Britain and its Empire there was also significant [[opposition to the Second Boer War]], spearheaded by [[Anti-war movement|anti-war activists]] such as [[Emily Hobhouse]].<ref>
{{cite book
 | last1 = Judd
 | first1 = Denis
 | last2 = Surridge
 | first2 = Keith
 | year = 2002
 | title = The Boer War: A History
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wmGJDwAAQBAJ
 | edition = revised
 | location = London
 | publisher = Bloomsbury Publishing
 | publication-date = 2013
 | pages = 1–54
 | isbn = 9780857722317
 | access-date = 2019-12-19
 }}
</ref>

At the onset of the war, the British were both overconfident about the chances of success in a military confrontation with the Boer republics and underprepared for a long-term conflict. British Prime Minister [[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury|Lord Salisbury]] and members of [[Unionist government, 1895–1905|his cabinet]], in particular [[Secretary of State for the Colonies|Colonial Secretary]] [[Joseph Chamberlain]], ignored repeated warnings that Boer forces were more powerful than previous reports had suggested. In the last months of 1899, Boer forces launched the first attacks of the war, besieging the British-held settlements of [[Siege of Ladysmith|Ladysmith]], [[Siege of Kimberley|Kimberley]] and [[Siege of Mafeking|Mafeking]], and [[Black Week|winning several engagements]] against British troops at [[Battle of Colenso|Colenso]], [[Battle of Magersfontein|Magersfontein]] and [[Battle of Stormberg|Stormberg]]. However, by the next year the British soon organised an effective response to these attacks, lifting the three sieges and winning several battles against Boer forces. The British, now deploying approximately 400,000 soldiers from across their colonial empire, successfully invaded and occupied the Boer republics. Numerous [[Boer Commando|Boer soldiers]] refused to surrender and [[Bittereinder|took to the countryside]] to carry out [[Guerrilla warfare|guerrilla operations]] against the British, who responded by implementing [[scorched earth]] tactics. These tactics included interning Afrikaner civilians from the Boer republics in [[Second Boer War concentration camps|concentration camps]] (in which roughly 28,000 people died) and destroying homesteads owned by Afrikaners to flush out the guerillas and deny them a base of civilian support. Using these tactics combined with a system of blockhouses and barriers to seal off Boer holdouts, the British were able to gradually track down and defeat the guerillas. In the 1902 [[Treaty of Vereeniging]], the British formally annexed the Boer republics into the [[Cape Colony]], ending the war.<ref>
{{cite book
 | last1 = Judd
 | first1 = Denis
 | last2 = Surridge
 | first2 = Keith
 | year = 2002
 | title = The Boer War: A History
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wmGJDwAAQBAJ
 | edition = revised
 | location = London
 | publisher = Bloomsbury Publishing
 | publication-date = 2013
 | pages = 55–302
 | isbn = 9780857722317
 | access-date = 2019-12-19
 }}
</ref>

=== Impact of the Bhambatha Rebellion ===
{{Main|Bambatha Rebellion}}
The [[Bhambatha Rebellion]] was a rebellion by the [[Zulu people|Zulu]] against colonial rule in the [[Colony of Natal]] in 1906. It saw around 3000-4000 Zulus killed by the British, and popularised the thought among colonisers that the unification of the colonies was necessary to maintain [[white supremacy]].<ref name=":8">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Bhambatha Rebellion, 1906 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of African History |publisher=[[Fitzroy Dearborn]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=umyHqvAErOAC&pg=PA636 |last=Mahoney |first=Michael |date=2005 |editor-last1=Shillington |editor-first1=Kevin |pages= |isbn=1-57958-245-1 |last1= |first1=}}</ref>

== History of the Union of South Africa ==

{{main|History of South Africa (1910–1948)}}

[[File:Botha gouvernment 1910.jpg|right|thumb|The first Union cabinet, 1910]]

===National Convention===

The [[National Convention (South Africa)|National Convention]] was a [[Constitutional convention (political custom)|constitutional convention]] held between 1908 and 1909 in [[Durban]] (12 October to 5 November 1908), [[Cape Town]] (23 November to 18 December 1908, 11 January to 3 February 1909) and [[Bloemfontein]] (3 to 11 May 1909).<ref>{{Cite book|title=Minutes of Proceedings with Annexures (Selected) of the South African National Convention held at Durban, Cape Town and Bloemfontein, 12th October, 1908, to 11th May, 1909|publisher=Cape Times Limited Government Printers|year=1910|location=Cape Town}}</ref> This convention led to the [[British parliament|British Parliament]]'s adoption of the [[South Africa Act 1909|South Africa Act]], which ratified the Union. The four colonies that would become South Africa were represented, along with a delegation from [[Company rule in Rhodesia|Rhodesia]]. The 33 delegates assembled behind closed doors, in the fear that a public affair would lead delegates to refuse compromising on contentious areas. The delegates drew up a constitution that would, subject to some amendments by the British government, become the South Africa Act. This was South Africa's constitution between 1910 and 1961, when the country became a [[South Africa|republic]] under the [[South African Constitution of 1961|Constitution of 1961]].

===Union of South Africa and Southern Rhodesia===

In 1922 the colony of [[Southern Rhodesia]] had a chance (but ultimately rejected) to join the Union through a [[Southern Rhodesia government referendum, 1922|referendum]]. The referendum resulted from the fact that by 1920 [[British South Africa Company]] rule in Southern Rhodesia was no longer practical with many favouring some form of '[[responsible government]]'. Some favoured responsible government within Southern Rhodesia while others (especially in [[Matabeleland]]) favoured membership of the Union of South Africa. Politician [[Charles Coghlan (politician)|Sir Charles Coghlan]] claimed that such membership with the Union would make Southern Rhodesia the "[[Ulster]] of South Africa".<ref>{{cite book | first =Keith | last =Jeffrey | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WUTpAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA196 | title =An Irish Empire?: Aspects of Ireland and the British Empire| publisher = Manchester University Press | year = 1996 | isbn =	0719038731 | page =196 }}</ref>

Prior to the referendum, representatives of Southern Rhodesia visited Cape Town where the Prime Minister of South Africa, [[Jan Smuts]], eventually offered terms he considered reasonable and which the United Kingdom government found acceptable. Although opinion among the United Kingdom government, the South African government and the British South Africa Company favoured the union option (and none tried to interfere in the referendum), when the referendum was held the results saw 59.4% in favour of responsible government for a separate colony and 40.6% in favour of joining the Union of South Africa.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

===Union of South Africa and South West Africa===

====Background====

{{main|Palgrave Commission}}

The inhospitable coast of what is now [[Namibia]] remained uncolonised up until the end of the 19th century.

From 1874, the leaders of several Indigenous peoples, notably [[Maharero]] of the [[Herero people|Herero]] nation, approached the [[Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope|Cape Parliament]] to the south. Anticipating invasion by a European power and already suffering [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese encroachment]] from the north and [[Afrikaners|Afrikaner encroachment]] from the south, these leaders approached the [[Cape Colony]] government to discuss the possibility of accession and the political representation it would entail. Accession to the Cape Colony, a self-governing state with a [[Cape Qualified Franchise|system of multi-racial franchise]] and legal protection for traditional land rights, was at the time considered marginally preferable to annexation by either the [[Kingdom of Portugal]] or the [[German Empire]].

In response, the [[Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope|Cape Parliament]] appointed a special Commission under [[Palgrave Commission|William Palgrave]], to travel to the territory between the [[Orange (river)|Orange]] and [[Cunene river]]s and to confer with these leaders regarding accession to the Cape. In the negotiations with the [[Palgrave Commission]], some indigenous nations such as the [[Damara (people)|Damara]] and the Herero responded positively (October 1876), other reactions were mixed. Discussions regarding the magisterial structure for the area's political integration into the Cape dragged on until, from 1876, it was blocked by Britain. Britain relented, insofar as allowing the Cape to incorporate [[Walvis Bay]] as an exclave, which was brought under the magisterial district of [[Cape Town]], but when the Germans established a protectorate over the area in 1884, South West Africa was predominantly autonomous.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.ukzn.ac.za/files/theses/david%20mccarney.pdf |title=Smuts, South West Africa and the League of Nations, 1919 - 1924. |first1=David |last1=Mccarney |date=1978|access-date=12 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209150334/http://www.history.ukzn.ac.za/files/theses/david%20mccarney.pdf |archive-date=9 February 2014 }}</ref><ref>P. A. Molteno: ''The life and times of Sir John Charles Molteno, K. C. M. G., First Premier of Cape Colony, Comprising a History of Representative Institutions and Responsible Government at the Cape''. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1900. Vol.I. p.284.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.ukzn.ac.za/files/theses/hartman-honours.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=14 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209154519/http://www.history.ukzn.ac.za/files/theses/hartman-honours.pdf |archive-date=9 February 2014 }}</ref>

Thereafter, [[South West Africa]] became a [[German colonial empire|German colony]], except for [[Walvis Bay]] and the [[Penguin Islands|Offshore Islands]] which remained part of the Cape, outside of German control.

====South African occupation====

{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2022}}

[[File:SWA sur AfSud filles royales 1947.jpg|thumb|South West Africa stamp: Princesses [[Elizabeth II|Elizabeth]] and [[Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon|Margaret]] on the [[1947 Royal Tour of South Africa]]]]

Following the outbreak of the [[First World War]] in 1914, the Union of South Africa occupied and annexed<ref>{{Cite web |title=German South West Africa |url=https://awayfromthewesternfront.org/campaigns/africa/german-south-west-africa/ |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=Away from the Western Front |language=en-GB}}</ref> the German colony of [[German South West Africa]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The South West Africa Campaign 1914–1915 |url=https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/south_west_africa_campaign_1914-1915 |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=1914-1918 Online International Encyclopedia of the First World War}}</ref> With the establishment of the [[League of Nations]] and cessation of the war, South Africa obtained a [[Class C mandate|Class C Mandate]] to administer South West Africa "under the laws of the mandatory (South Africa) as integral portions of its territory".<ref>{{Cite web |title=South-West Africa. |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/a22000969/ |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}</ref> Subsequently, the Union of South Africa generally regarded South West Africa as a fifth province, although this was never an official status. 

With the creation of the [[United Nations]], the Union applied for the incorporation of South West Africa, but its application was rejected by the U.N., which invited South Africa to prepare a [[Trusteeship (United Nations)|Trusteeship]] agreement instead.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mandates and Trusteeship System |url=https://www.un.org/en/about-us/trusteeship-council |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=United Nations}}</ref> This invitation was in turn rejected by the Union, which subsequently did not modify the administration of South West Africa and continued to adhere to the original mandate. This caused a complex set of legal wranglings that were not finalised when the Union was replaced with the Republic of South Africa. In 1949, the Union passed a law bringing South West Africa into closer association with it including giving South West Africa representation in the South African parliament.<ref>{{cite web |title=South West Africa Affairs Amendment Act, 1949 |url=https://omalley.nelsonmandela.org/index.php/site/q/03lv01538/04lv01828/05lv01829/06lv01835.htm |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=The O’Malley Archives}}</ref>

[[Walvis Bay]], which is now in [[Namibia]], was originally a part of the Union of South Africa as an [[Enclave and exclave|exclave]] as it was a part of the Cape Colony at the time of Unification. In 1921, Walvis Bay was integrated with the Class C Mandate over South West Africa for the rest of the Union's duration and for part of the republican era.

===Statute of Westminster===

The [[Statute of Westminster 1931|Statute of Westminster]] passed by the [[British Parliament]] in December 1931, which repealed the [[Colonial Laws Validity Act]] and implemented the [[Balfour Declaration 1926]], had a profound impact on the constitutional structure and status of the Union. The most notable effect was that the South African Parliament was released from many restrictions concerning the handling of the so-called "native question". However, the repeal was not sufficient to enable the South African Parliament to ignore the entrenched clauses of its constitution (the [[South Africa Act 1909|South Africa Act]]) which led to the [[coloured-vote constitutional crisis]] of the 1950s wherein the right of coloureds to vote in the main South African Parliament was removed and replaced with a separate, segregated, and largely powerless assembly.
{{Cn|date=May 2022}}

==Military==

{{main|Union Defence Force (South Africa)}}

The military of the Union of South Africa was the [[Union Defence Force (South Africa)|Union Defence Force]] (UDF) until 1957, when it became the [[South African Defence Force]] (SADF).

==Flags and coats of arms==

{{main|South Africa Red Ensign|Flag of South Africa (1928–1994)|Coat of arms of South Africa (1910–2000)}}
<gallery>
File:Red Ensign of South Africa (1910–1912).svg|De facto flag<br>(1910–1912)
File:Red Ensign of South Africa (1912–1951).svg|Red ensign<br>(1912–1951, de facto flag until 1928)
File:Blue Ensign of South Africa (1910–1928).svg|Blue ensign  (1910–1928)                                                             
File:Flag of South Africa (1928–1994).svg|Flag<br>(1928–1994) 
</gallery>
<gallery>
Coat of arms of South Africa (1910–1930).svg|Coat of arms<br>(1910–1930)
Coat of arms of South Africa (1930–1932).svg|Coat of arms<br>(1930–1932)
Coat of arms of South Africa (1932–2000).svg|Coat of arms<br>(1932–2000)
</gallery>

==See also==

{{Portal|Monarchy|South Africa}}
* [[Basutoland]]
* [[Bechuanaland Protectorate|Bechuanaland]]
* [[South West Africa]]
* [[Southern Rhodesia]]
* [[Swaziland Protectorate]]

==Notes==

{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==

{{wikiatlas|Union of South Africa}}
* Beck, Roger B. ''The History of South Africa'' (Greenwood, 2000).
* Davenport, Thomas, and Christopher Saunders. ''South Africa: A modern history'' (Springer, 2000).
* Eze, M. ''Intellectual history in contemporary South Africa'' (Springer, 2016).
* {{cite book |title=The Empire and the century |first=G. G.|last=Robinson|author-link=Geoffrey Dawson|date=1905 |publisher=John Murray |location=London |pages=521–538 |language=en |chapter=[[s:The Empire and the century/The Prospects of a United South Africa|The Prospects of a United South Africa]]}}
* Ross, Robert. ''A Concise History of South Africa'' (2009)
* Thompson, Leonard, and Lynn Berat. ''A History of South Africa'' (4th ed. 2014)
* Thompson, Leonard. ''The Unification of South Africa 1902 – 1910'' (Oxford UP, 1960).
* Welsh, Frank. ''A History of South Africa'' (2000).

==External links==

{{wikisourcecat}}
{{commons category|Union of South Africa}}
*{{commons category-inline|History of South Africa}}<!--re: numerous / relevant 1910-1961 images not filed under [Commons category:Union of South Africa]-->

{{Political history of South Africa}}
{{SA1910Provinces}}
{{British overseas territories}}
{{Commonwealth realms}}
{{Former Monarchies}}
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