Orange River Colony
Encyclopedia
The Orange River Colony was the British
colony created after this nation first occupied (1900) and then annexed (1902) the independent Orange Free State
in the Second Boer War
. The colony ceased to exist in 1910, when it was absorbed into the Union of South Africa
as Orange Free State Province
.
the British forces entered the territory of the Orange Free State
and occupied the capital Bloemfontein
on 13 March 1900. Five months later, on 6 October 1900 the British government declared an official annexation of the full territory of the Orange Free State, despite the fact that the British had not yet occupied the full territory of the state, nor defeated the Free State forces.
The Orange Free State government had moved to Kroonstad
during the first months of the war and would subsequently convene in the field until the end of the war. From the perspective of the Orange Free State, independence was only lost with the ratification of the Treaty of Vereeniging
on 31 May 1902.
Therefore there existed an ambiguous constitutional situation between 6 October 1900 and 31 May 1902, with two constitutional entities and two governments. On the Boer side the government was led by state president Martinus Theunis Steyn
(1857 – 1916) until 30 May 1902, when he went on sick-leave and was replaced by general Christiaan de Wet
as acting state president.
On the British side Sir Alfred Milner was appointed the first governor of the Orange River Colony on 4 January 1901, with Hamilton John Goold-Adams as lieutenant-governor, in office till 23 June 1902. From 1902 to 1910 the colony was governed by a single governor:
, had been formed by the Transvaal Boers in January 1905. Both unions had constitutions almost identical with that of the Afrikaner Bond
, a former pan-Afrikaner political movement, and their aims were also similar – to secure the position of the Afrikaners in state and society. The chairman of the Orangia Unie was Abraham Fischer
, leading politician of the pre-Boer War period and top diplomat of the Boer republics during the Second Boer War
. Among the other prominent members were J.B.M. Hertzog, C.R. de Wet
and M.T. Steyn
.
A second political party, the Constitutional Party was formed by a group of burghers content with British rule. Chairman of the party was Sir John G. Fraser
, before the Second Boer War a prominent (pro-British) member of the Volksraad
of the Orange Free State
. The Constitutional Party had a strong following in Bloemfontein
, but not outside of the capital. It is noteworthy that the political programmes of the two parties were very similar, the real difference between them being the attitude towards British annexation and Afrikaner influence.
In 1905 Lord Selborne, formerly First Lord of the Admiralty, replaced Viscount Milner as high commissioner for South Africa and governor of the Transvaal and Orange River colonies. Selborne had come to South Africa with a brief to guide the former Boer republics from crown colony government towards self-government. When Liberal Party
came into office in Britain
in December 1905 the process was speeded up, with the decision to give both the Transvaal and Orange River colonies self-government without delay. Selborne accepted the changed situation, and the experiment proved successful. He ceased to be governor of the Orange River Colony on its assumption of self-government in June 1907, but retained his other posts until May 1910, retiring on the eve of the establishment of the Union of South Africa
.
On 7 January 1907 Selborne released a despatch, known as the Selborne Memorandum. It reviewed the situation in South Africa in all its economic and political aspects and was a masterly and comprehensive statement of the dangers inherent in the existing political system and of the advantages a political union offered. The document had a marked influence on the course of events and together with Selborne's conciliatory approach assisted in reconciling the Dutch and British communities of South Africa.
After the elections of 1907, the colony received self-government on 27 November 1907. Abraham Fischer
became the first (and only) prime minister of the colony (in office 27 November 1907 – 31 May 1910). The first Legislative Assembly consisted of twenty-nine members of the Orangia Unie, five Constitutionalists and four independents. Fischer's cabinet consisted of:
Fischer, besides the premiership, held the portfolio of colonial secretary. The first Legislative Council counted five members from the Orangia Unie, five Constitutionalists, and one independent member, in effect holding the balance.
and Cape Town
, and determined to renew the existing customs convention and to make no alteration in railway rates. These decisions were the result of an agreement to bring before the parliaments of the various colonies a resolution advocating the closer union of the South African states and the appointment of delegates to a national convention to frame a draft constitution.
In this convention former state president M.T. Steyn
took a leading and conciliatory part, and subsequently the Orange River legislature agreed to the terms drawn up by the convention for the unification of the four self-governing colonies in the Union of South Africa
. Under the imperial act by which unification was established (31 May 1910) the colony entered the Union under the style of the Orange Free State Province
. Fischer and Hertzog became members of the first Union government, while A.E.W. Ramsbottom became the first administrator of the Orange Free State as a province of the Union.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
colony created after this nation first occupied (1900) and then annexed (1902) the independent Orange Free State
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
in the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
. The colony ceased to exist in 1910, when it was absorbed into the Union of South Africa
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
as Orange Free State Province
Orange Free State Province
Orange Free State Province was one of the four provinces of South Africa from 1910-1994.Its predecessor was the Orange River Colony.In 1994 it was dissolved. Its borders were largely conterminous with those of the modern Free State Province...
.
Constitutional history
During the Second Boer WarSecond Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
the British forces entered the territory of the Orange Free State
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
and occupied the capital Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein is the capital city of the Free State Province of South Africa; and, as the judicial capital of the nation, one of South Africa's three national capitals – the other two being Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital.Bloemfontein is popularly and...
on 13 March 1900. Five months later, on 6 October 1900 the British government declared an official annexation of the full territory of the Orange Free State, despite the fact that the British had not yet occupied the full territory of the state, nor defeated the Free State forces.
The Orange Free State government had moved to Kroonstad
Kroonstad
Kroonstad is the third-largest town in the Free State province of South Africa, and lies two hours drive from Gauteng. In the 1991 census it had a population of 110,963...
during the first months of the war and would subsequently convene in the field until the end of the war. From the perspective of the Orange Free State, independence was only lost with the ratification of the Treaty of Vereeniging
Treaty of Vereeniging
The Treaty of Vereeniging was the peace treaty, signed on 31 May 1902, that ended the South African War between the South African Republic and the Republic of the Orange Free State, on the one side, and the British Empire on the other.This settlement provided for the end of hostilities and...
on 31 May 1902.
Therefore there existed an ambiguous constitutional situation between 6 October 1900 and 31 May 1902, with two constitutional entities and two governments. On the Boer side the government was led by state president Martinus Theunis Steyn
Martinus Theunis Steyn
Martinus Theunis Steyn was a South African lawyer, politician, and statesman, sixth and last president of the independent Orange Free State from 1896 to 1902....
(1857 – 1916) until 30 May 1902, when he went on sick-leave and was replaced by general Christiaan de Wet
Christiaan De Wet
Christiaan Rudolf de Wet was a Boer general, rebel leader and politician.He was born on the Leeuwkop farm, in the district of Smithfield in the Boer Republic of the Orange Free State...
as acting state president.
On the British side Sir Alfred Milner was appointed the first governor of the Orange River Colony on 4 January 1901, with Hamilton John Goold-Adams as lieutenant-governor, in office till 23 June 1902. From 1902 to 1910 the colony was governed by a single governor:
- Alfred Milner, Viscount Milner, in office 21 June 1902 – 1 April 1905;
- William Palmer, 2nd Earl of SelborneWilliam Palmer, 2nd Earl of SelborneWilliam Waldegrave Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne KG, GCMG, PC , styled Viscount Wolmer between 1882 and 1895, was a British politician and colonial administrator.-Background and education:...
, in office 2 April 1905 – 7 June 1907; - Sir Hamilton John Goold-Adams, in office 7 June 1907 – 31 May 1910
Self-government
By 1904 sentiment was growing for some form of self-government. The Orangia Unie (Orange Union Party) was formally constituted in May 1906, after several months of preparation. A similar organisation, called Het VolkHet Volk (political party)
Het Volk was a Transvaal political party, established in May 1904 under the leadership of Louis Botha and his deputy Jan Smuts. Upon the creation of the Union of South Africa in May 1910, it merged with Afrikaner Bond and the Orangia Unie, the dominant political parties of the Cape Colony and...
, had been formed by the Transvaal Boers in January 1905. Both unions had constitutions almost identical with that of the Afrikaner Bond
Afrikaner Bond
The Afrikaner Bond was a political party in the Cape Colony. It was formed by the union in 1881 of the Genootskap vir Regte Afrikaners of Rev S.J...
, a former pan-Afrikaner political movement, and their aims were also similar – to secure the position of the Afrikaners in state and society. The chairman of the Orangia Unie was Abraham Fischer
Abraham Fischer
Abraham Fischer was a South African statesman. He was the sole Prime Minister of the Orange River Colony in South Africa, and when that ceased to exist joined the cabinet of the newly formed Union of South Africa.-Biography:...
, leading politician of the pre-Boer War period and top diplomat of the Boer republics during the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
. Among the other prominent members were J.B.M. Hertzog, C.R. de Wet
Christiaan De Wet
Christiaan Rudolf de Wet was a Boer general, rebel leader and politician.He was born on the Leeuwkop farm, in the district of Smithfield in the Boer Republic of the Orange Free State...
and M.T. Steyn
Martinus Theunis Steyn
Martinus Theunis Steyn was a South African lawyer, politician, and statesman, sixth and last president of the independent Orange Free State from 1896 to 1902....
.
A second political party, the Constitutional Party was formed by a group of burghers content with British rule. Chairman of the party was Sir John G. Fraser
John G. Fraser
John George Fraser, was a prominent Orange Free State politician, statesman and member of the Volksraad. His first names were derived from those of his maternal grandfather, namely Johann Georg Sieberhagen. He was the son of a Presbyterian minister, Rev. Colin Fraser, who had acted as a minister in...
, before the Second Boer War a prominent (pro-British) member of the Volksraad
Volksraad
The Volksraad was the parliament of the former South African Republic , which existed from 1857 to 1902 in part of what is now the South Africa. The body ceased to exist after the British victory in the Second Anglo-Boer War. The Volksraad sat in session in Ou Raadsaal in Church Square, Pretoria...
of the Orange Free State
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
. The Constitutional Party had a strong following in Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein is the capital city of the Free State Province of South Africa; and, as the judicial capital of the nation, one of South Africa's three national capitals – the other two being Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital.Bloemfontein is popularly and...
, but not outside of the capital. It is noteworthy that the political programmes of the two parties were very similar, the real difference between them being the attitude towards British annexation and Afrikaner influence.
In 1905 Lord Selborne, formerly First Lord of the Admiralty, replaced Viscount Milner as high commissioner for South Africa and governor of the Transvaal and Orange River colonies. Selborne had come to South Africa with a brief to guide the former Boer republics from crown colony government towards self-government. When Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
came into office in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in December 1905 the process was speeded up, with the decision to give both the Transvaal and Orange River colonies self-government without delay. Selborne accepted the changed situation, and the experiment proved successful. He ceased to be governor of the Orange River Colony on its assumption of self-government in June 1907, but retained his other posts until May 1910, retiring on the eve of the establishment of the Union of South Africa
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
.
On 7 January 1907 Selborne released a despatch, known as the Selborne Memorandum. It reviewed the situation in South Africa in all its economic and political aspects and was a masterly and comprehensive statement of the dangers inherent in the existing political system and of the advantages a political union offered. The document had a marked influence on the course of events and together with Selborne's conciliatory approach assisted in reconciling the Dutch and British communities of South Africa.
After the elections of 1907, the colony received self-government on 27 November 1907. Abraham Fischer
Abraham Fischer
Abraham Fischer was a South African statesman. He was the sole Prime Minister of the Orange River Colony in South Africa, and when that ceased to exist joined the cabinet of the newly formed Union of South Africa.-Biography:...
became the first (and only) prime minister of the colony (in office 27 November 1907 – 31 May 1910). The first Legislative Assembly consisted of twenty-nine members of the Orangia Unie, five Constitutionalists and four independents. Fischer's cabinet consisted of:
- J.B.M. Hertzog, attorney-general and director of education;
- A.E.W. Ramsbottom, treasurer;
- C.R. de WetChristiaan De WetChristiaan Rudolf de Wet was a Boer general, rebel leader and politician.He was born on the Leeuwkop farm, in the district of Smithfield in the Boer Republic of the Orange Free State...
, minister of agriculture; - C.H. WesselsCornelius Hermanus WesselsSir Cornelius Hermanus Wessels was a South African politician and statesman....
, minister of public works
Fischer, besides the premiership, held the portfolio of colonial secretary. The first Legislative Council counted five members from the Orangia Unie, five Constitutionalists, and one independent member, in effect holding the balance.
Policies
In May 1908, the Orange River Colony took part in an inter-state conference which met at PretoriaPretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
and Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, and determined to renew the existing customs convention and to make no alteration in railway rates. These decisions were the result of an agreement to bring before the parliaments of the various colonies a resolution advocating the closer union of the South African states and the appointment of delegates to a national convention to frame a draft constitution.
In this convention former state president M.T. Steyn
Martinus Theunis Steyn
Martinus Theunis Steyn was a South African lawyer, politician, and statesman, sixth and last president of the independent Orange Free State from 1896 to 1902....
took a leading and conciliatory part, and subsequently the Orange River legislature agreed to the terms drawn up by the convention for the unification of the four self-governing colonies in the Union of South Africa
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa is the historic predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into being on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the previously separate colonies of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State...
. Under the imperial act by which unification was established (31 May 1910) the colony entered the Union under the style of the Orange Free State Province
Orange Free State Province
Orange Free State Province was one of the four provinces of South Africa from 1910-1994.Its predecessor was the Orange River Colony.In 1994 it was dissolved. Its borders were largely conterminous with those of the modern Free State Province...
. Fischer and Hertzog became members of the first Union government, while A.E.W. Ramsbottom became the first administrator of the Orange Free State as a province of the Union.
See also
- Orange River SovereigntyOrange River SovereigntyThe Orange River Sovereignty was a short-lived political entity between the Orange and Vaal rivers in southern Africa. In 1854, it became the Orange Free State, and is now the Free State province of South Africa.-History:...
- Orange Free StateOrange Free StateThe Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
- Free State Province
- Vicariate Apostolic of Orange River for the Catholic missionary history