The South African Republic, which existed from 1852 to 1877, 1881 to 1902, and 1914 to 1915, used two flags: (1) the so-called 'Vierkleur' (English: Four-colour) from 1857 to 1874, and again from 1875 to 1877 and 1881 to 1902, and (2) the so-called 'Burgers Flag' from 1874 to 1875. They were superseded by the flag of Transvaal. The Vierkleur was also used by the South African Republic declared in 1914 during the Maritz Rebellion, which lasted into February 1915.
In 1856, the Voortrekker territories north of the Vaal River agreed to unite as the "South African Republic". A constitution was drawn up and a flag designed. The flag, known as the Vierkleur (English: "Four colour") was raised in Potchefstroom on 6 January 1857, and was ratified by the Volksraad of the South African Republic (legislature) on 18 February 1858. [1] [2] The Vierkleur was flown until October 1874.
The new flag, introduced by state president Thomas François Burgers, was approved by the Volksraad on 24 October 1874. It was an improved version of a flag which some of the Voortrekkers are believed to have used in the 1830s and '40s. However, it was very unpopular, and on 10 May 1875, the Volksraad restored the Vierkleur as the official flag. [1] [2] [3]
The 'Vierkleur' was in abeyance during the British occupation of the Transvaal, from 12 April 1877 to 7 August 1881. It flew again until the republic came to a final end on 31 May 1902. It was later used by the Maritz Revolt rebels who declared a resurrection of the South African Republic in 1914 and later incorporated into the national flag of South Africa from 1928 to 1994.
After the adoption of the 1928 flag, the Vierkleur has been used by far-right groups opposed to societal reform and racial integration, [4] [5] [6] such as the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging. [7] [8]
The Anglo-Boer War Museum in Bloemfontein flies the Vierkleur (together with the flag of the Orange Free State and that of the present Republic of South Africa). The Vierkleur and the Burgers Flag figure among other flags of Boer republics on display in the Cenotaph Hall of the Voortrekker Monument near Pretoria.
Potchefstroom adopted the Burgers Flag as city flag.
Today the flag represents freedom under the Boer or Afrikaner people,[ citation needed ] and is often displayed in places like Orania and Kleinfontein which is known as Afrikaner cultural settlements and located in the Northern Cape and Pretoria respectively. The Vierkleur flag has also seen steady increases in sales to younger Afrikaner people who may feel displaced or marginalized under the current South African government. The Vierkleur will often be displayed as a longing to freedom and a right to self-determination rather than the negative connotation of the years prior to 1994.[ citation needed ]
The flag was simply the flag of the Netherlands with the addition of a green vertical band at the hoist. The Volksraad resolution of 18 February 1858 which confirmed the design stated that the motto 'Eendracht maakt macht' (cf. coat of arms of the Transvaal) should be placed on the flag, but this was never done. [1] [2]
The symbolism of the flag, according to Ds. Dirk van der Hoff (one of the designers), can be briefly summarized as follows:
The flag symbolises freedom, glory and divinity. The red colour represents freedom; the white colour represents purity and cleanliness; the blue colour shows the faith which the Republic placed in God and the green colour represents hope. [9]
| Scheme | Bright Vermillion | White | Cobalt Blue | Green |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RGB | (174,28,40) | (255,255,255) | (33,70,139) | (0,122,77) |
| Hexadecimal | #AE1C28 | #FFFFFF | #21468B | #007A4D |
The flag is blue, charged with a red saltire fimbriated in white.
| Scheme | Blue | White | Red |
|---|---|---|---|
| RGB | (0,35,149) | (255,255,255) | (222,56,49) |
| Hex | #002395 | #FFFFFF | #DE3831 |
Boers are the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled Dutch Cape Colony, but the United Kingdom incorporated it into the British Empire in 1806. The name of the group is derived from Trekboer then later "boer", which means "farmer" in Dutch and Afrikaans.
The South African Republic, also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it was annexed into the British Empire as a result of the Second Boer War.
The flag of South Africa was designed in March 1994 and adopted on 27 April 1994, during South Africa's 1994 general election, to replace the previous flag used from 1928–1994.
Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, better known as Paul Kruger, was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South Africa, and State President of the South African Republic from 1883 to 1900. Nicknamed Oom Paul, he came to international prominence as the face of the Boer cause—that of the Transvaal and its neighbour the Orange Free State—against Britain during the Second Boer War of 1899–1902. He has been called a personification of Afrikanerdom, and remains a controversial figure; admirers venerate him as a tragic folk hero.
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer 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.
The Boer republics were independent, self-governing republics formed by Dutch-speaking inhabitants of the Cape Colony and their descendants. The founders – variously named Trekboers, Boers, and Voortrekkers – settled mainly in the middle, northern, north-eastern and eastern parts of present-day South Africa. Two of the Boer republics achieved international recognition and complete independence: the South African Republic and the Orange Free State. The republics did not provide for the separation of church and state, initially allowing only the Dutch Reformed Church, and later also other Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition. The republics came to an end after the Second Boer War of 1899–1902, which resulted in British annexation and later incorporation of their lands into the Union of South Africa.
Marthinus Wessel Pretorius was a South African political leader. An Afrikaner, he helped establish the South African Republic, was the first president of the ZAR, and also compiled its constitution.
Andries Hendrik Potgieter, known as Hendrik Potgieter was a Voortrekker leader. He served as the first head of state of Potchefstroom from 1840 and 1845 and also as the first head of state of Zoutpansberg from 1845 to 1852.
The Volksraad of the South African Republic was the parliament of the former South African Republic (ZAR), it existed from 1840 to 1877, and from 1881 to 1902 in part of what is now South Africa. The body ceased to exist after the British Empire's victory in the Second Anglo-Boer War. The Volksraad sat in session in Ou Raadsaal in Church Square, Pretoria.
The flag of Cape Colony was the official flag of the Cape Colony from 1876 to 1910. It formed part of a system of colonial flags that was used throughout the British Empire.
Francis William Reitz, Jr. was a South African lawyer, politician, statesman, publicist, and poet who was a member of parliament of the Cape Colony, Chief Justice and fifth State President of the Orange Free State, State Secretary of the South African Republic at the time of the Second Boer War, and the first president of the Senate of the Union of South Africa.
Dirk Van der Hoff was minister of the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk, one of the Dutch Reformed Churches in South Africa.
The flag of the Natalia Republic was the official flag of this short-lived South African state, which existed from 1839 to 1843.
The flag of the Orange Free State was officially used from 1857 to 1902. It was superseded by the flag of the Orange River Colony.
The Flag of Transvaal was the official flag of the Transvaal colony in South Africa from circa 1903 to 1910. It formed part of a system of colonial flags that was used throughout the British Empire. It was superseded by the flag of the Union of South Africa.
The coat of arms of the Orange Free State was the official heraldic symbol of the Orange Free State as a republic from 1857 to 1902, and later, from 1937 to 1994, as a province of South Africa. It is now obsolete.
The coat of arms of the Transvaal was the official heraldic symbol of the South African Republic from 1866 to 1877 and again from 1881 to 1902, and later the symbol of the Transvaal Province from 1954 to 1994 in a simplified form. It is now obsolete.
The flag of the Nieuwe Republiek was the official flag of this short-lived South African state from 1884 to 1888.
The Paardekraal Monument is situated in Krugersdorp, South Africa. The monument commemorates the original site of vow made by Transvaal Boers on 13 December 1880, prior to the armed rebellion known as First Boer War, when they vowed to regain their independence from the British Empire. This earlier monument was a cairn made of thousands of stones representing the gathered burgers' vow. This official monument enclosed the original stone cairn and was built in 1890 by the South African Republic (ZAR) to commemorate their independence from Great Britain.
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