Empire · 1852–1902 · Southern Africa
Boer Republics (Transvaal and Orange Free State)
Also known as Transvaal, Orange Free State
Dutch-speaking settlers at the Cape, known as Boers or Afrikaners, resented British rule and its abolition of slavery, and from 1835 thousands left on the Great Trek into the interior. After Britain annexed their short-lived republic of Natalia, they founded two independent states that Britain recognised: the South African Republic, or Transvaal, in 1852, and the Orange Free State in 1854.
Both had elected presidents and parliaments, but citizenship and land were reserved for white men, and African peoples were conquered or pushed off their lands. The Transvaal threw off a British annexation in the First Boer War of 1880–81, but the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand in 1886 drew a flood of foreigners and British ambitions. Britain won the Second Boer War of 1899–1902 and annexed both republics.
- Years
- 1852–1902
- Capital
- Pretoria (Transvaal) and Bloemfontein (Orange Free State)
- Greatest extent
- 1900, about 400,000 km²
- Region
- Southern Africa
Rough combined total, sources differ: the Transvaal about 190,000–290,000 km² and the Orange Free State about 130,000–180,000 km²
Legacy
The war's concentration camps, where many Boer and African civilians died, left deep bitterness, and Afrikaner nationalism later shaped apartheid.
Rulers
- Andries Pretorius 1838–1853
Voortrekker leader, victor at Blood River
- Marthinus Wessel Pretorius 1857–1871
First president of the South African Republic
- Johannes Brand 1864–1888
Long-serving president of the Orange Free State
- Paul Kruger 1883–1902
Transvaal president who led resistance to Britain
- Martinus Theunis Steyn 1896–1902
Last president of the Orange Free State
Realms on the map
- Natalia Republic 1840–1843
- South African Republic 1856–1899
- Free Orange State 1856–1899