82-809: The White Kei River or Wit-Kei River is a river in the Eastern Cape , South Africa . It originates north of Queenstown , beginning its course as the Grootvleispruit river and eventually joining the Black Kei River , to form the Great Kei River . The Xonxa Dam is located in the White Kei River. Presently this river is part of the Mzimvubu to Keiskama Water Management Area . This Eastern Cape location article
164-780: A German colony , except for Walvis Bay and the Offshore Islands which remained part of the Cape, outside of German control. Following the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the Union of South Africa occupied and annexed the German colony of German South West Africa . With the establishment of the League of Nations and cessation of the war, South Africa obtained a Class C Mandate to administer South West Africa "under
246-541: A Trusteeship agreement instead. 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
328-665: A "systemic failure in Eastern Cape education". The province is served by big medical centres such as Cecilia Makiwane Hospital which is a large, government-funded hospital near the city of East London that also serves as a tertiary teaching hospital. Frere Hospital is another large, provincial government-funded hospital near East London which also serves as a tertiary teaching hospital. These hospitals offer many specialty departments such as an ARV clinic for HIV/AIDS in adults and children. Both hospitals are affiliated with Lilitha Nursing College and Walter Sisulu University. While
410-417: A choice of both indigenous and imported talent. Every year for eleven days the town's population almost doubles, as over 50,000 people flock to the region for a feast of arts, crafts, music and entertainment. Jeffreys Bay is an area with wild coastline, which is backed by sub-tropical rainforest. The waters here are noted for having good waves for surfing. Aliwal North , lying on an agricultural plateau on
492-405: A lack of teachers leading to overcrowding; a lack of textbooks; a lack of basic facilities like toilets, electricity or water; and poor transport infrastructure which regularly absents and endangers learners. The problem is particularly acute in the former Transkei . By 2011, basic education had so deteriorated that the national Department of Basic Education intervened under section 100(1)(b) of
574-612: A separate colony and 40.6% in favour of joining the Union of South Africa. The inhospitable coast of what is now the Republic of Namibia remained uncolonised up until the end of the 19th century. From 1874, the leaders of several indigenous peoples, notably Maharero of the Herero nation, approached the Cape Parliament to the south. Anticipating invasion by a European power and already suffering Portuguese encroachment from
656-520: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a river in South Africa is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( Xhosa : iMpuma-Kapa ; Afrikaans : Oos-Kaap [ˈuəs.kɑːp] ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa . Its capital is Bhisho , and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it
738-582: Is a common location for tourists. It is also known for being home to many anti-apartheid activists, including Nelson Mandela . The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km ) after the Northern Cape , it was formed in 1994 out of the Xhosa homelands or bantustans of Transkei and Ciskei , together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province . The central and eastern part of
820-532: Is also known for its traditional Xhosa initiation schools, which perform coming-of-age ceremonies known as ulwaluko which involve circumcision. These ceremonies have been linked to numerous complications such as coma, illness and death. There have been numerous reports in South African newspapers investigating the poor practices which lead to the death of young men and boys during initiation rituals. In one case, an 18-year-old teenager named Yongama Boya
902-746: Is based in Bhisho , the provincial capital. The Eastern Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa is situated in Makhanda (Grahamstown), with local seats in Gqhebera (Port Elizabeth), East London, and Bhisho. Like South Africa's other provinces, the Eastern Cape has a parliamentary system of government, with the premier of the province elected by the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature . The premier then selects
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#1732780584014984-471: Is due to a number of conditions such as lack of healthcare resources, lack of means to access healthcare resources, high unemployment, and poverty. Illiteracy is also a problem in rural communities, which further limits positive health outcomes. HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis are also ongoing issues in the region. In 2017, the Eastern Cape had a TB incidence of 839/100,000 people, which was higher than South Africa's estimated prevalence of 737/100,000. Additionally,
1066-478: Is highly varied. The west is dry with sparse rain during winter or summer, with frosty winters and hot summers. The area Tsitsikamma to Grahamstown receives more precipitation, which is also relatively evenly distributed and temperatures are mild. Further east, rainfall becomes more plentiful and humidity increases, becoming more subtropical along the coast with summer rainfall. The interior can become very cold in winter, with heavy snowfalls occasionally occurring in
1148-521: Is largely arid Karoo , while the east is well-watered and green. The Eastern Cape offers a wide array of attractions, including 800 kilometres (500 mi) of untouched and pristine coastline along with beaches, and big-five game viewing in a malaria -free environment. The Addo Elephant National Park , situated 73 kilometres (45 mi) from Port Elizabeth , was proclaimed in 1931. Its 743 square kilometres (287 sq mi) offers sanctuary to 170 elephants, 400 Cape buffalo and 21 black rhino of
1230-464: Is slowly giving way to game farming on large scale. Eco-tourism is resulting in economic benefits, and there is lower risk needed to protect wild, native game against drought, and the natural elements. Habitat loss and poaching pose the greatest problems. The area around Stutterheim is being cultivated extensively with timber plantations. The basis of the province's fishing industry is squid , some recreational and commercial fishing for line fish,
1312-400: Is the second largest party and forms the official opposition . The results of the most recent provincial election in 2024 are as follows: The Eastern Cape Department of Education has been criticised for poor primary and secondary education resulting from dysfunction, special interests, and issues with the South Africa teachers union, SADTU . The province struggles with a lack of schools;
1394-441: The 2022 census , the Eastern Cape had a population of 7,230,204, an increase of 10.2% from the prior census in 2011 . It is the fourth-most populous of South Africa's nine provinces. The median age is 27, an increase of 5 years from 2011. In the 2022 census, 85.7% of the population described themselves as Black African , 7.6% as Coloured , 5.6% as White and 0.5% as Indian/Asian . A large majority of Black African people in
1476-706: The British Crown as a self-governing dominion of the British Empire . With the passage of the 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. This had the effect of making the Union and the other dominions de jure sovereign nations. The Status of
1558-774: 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
1640-488: The British Parliament 's adoption of the South Africa Act , which ratified the Union. The four colonies that would become South Africa were represented, along with a delegation from 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
1722-655: The Constitution of South Africa , taking control of the province's educational administration. The Eastern Cape has since been the worst-performing province educationally and especially in terms of matriculation ; matriculants' results averaged 51% in 2009, 58.3% in 2011, 64.9% in 2013, 65.4% in 2014, and 56.8% in 2015. In the 2015/2016 financial year, the province failed to spend R 530 million of its allocated R 1.5 billion budget for education, most of it intended for infrastructure development. Equal Education 's 2017 report, Planning to Fail, found
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#17327805840141804-819: The Kingdom of Portugal or the German Empire . In response, the Cape Parliament appointed a special Commission under William Palgrave , to travel to the territory between the Orange and Cunene rivers 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 and the Herero responded positively (October 1876), other reactions were mixed. Discussions regarding
1886-464: The KwaZulu-Natal border – a region known previously as Transkei – is lush grassland on rolling hills, punctuated by deep gorges with intermittent forest. Eastern Cape has a coast on its east which lines southward, creating shores leading to the south Indian Ocean. In the northeast, it borders the following districts of Lesotho : Domestically, it borders the following provinces: Climate
1968-799: The United Party of Jan Smuts , which favoured close relations with the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth , unlike the Afrikaans-speaking National Party , which had held anti-British sentiments and was opposed to South Africa's intervention in the Second World War . Some Nationalist organisations, like the Ossewabrandwag , were openly supportive of Nazi Germany during the Second World War . Most English-speaking South Africans were opposed to
2050-479: The founding members of the League of Nations . It was 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. Like Canada , Australia and New Zealand , the Union of South Africa was a self-governing dominion of the British Empire . Its full sovereignty
2132-513: The Boer republics. Numerous Boer soldiers refused to surrender and took to the countryside to carry out guerrilla operations against the British, who responded by implementing scorched earth tactics. These tactics included interning Afrikaner civilians from the Boer republics in concentration camps (in which roughly 28,000 people died) and destroying homesteads owned by Afrikaners to flush out
2214-551: The British government, become the South Africa Act. This was South Africa's constitution between 1910 and 1961, when the country became a republic under the Constitution of 1961 . In 1922 the colony of Southern Rhodesia had a chance (but ultimately rejected) to join the Union through a referendum . The referendum resulted from the fact that by 1920 British South Africa Company rule in Southern Rhodesia
2296-538: The British population in the area. From the early 1800s until the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, the Eastern Cape saw colonisation by British migrants . English settlers established most of the towns, naming them either for places in England or for the original founders. British colonisation saw schools, churches, hospitals, town centres and government buildings built to speed up development. Some of
2378-559: The Coega IDZ near Port Elizabeth. Coega is the largest infrastructure development in post- apartheid South Africa. The construction of the deepwater Port of Ngqura was completed and the first commercial ship anchored in October 2009. Other sectors include finance, real estate, business services, wholesale and retail trade, eco-tourism (nature reserves and game ranches) and hotels and restaurants. The Eastern Cape provincial government
2460-447: The Eastern Cape has a high overall HIV prevalence rate (25.2%) as of 2017. In 2018, HIV/AIDS was the second leading underlying natural cause of death in the Eastern Cape with a 5.9% prevalence rate. Since 2017, there has been an increase in the level of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which disproportionately affects poorer communities. Furthermore, obesity and undiagnosed hypertension are major concerns in rural areas. The Eastern Cape
2542-412: The Eastern Cape has many hospitals and private clinics, the province has some of the worst health outcomes and service indicators in South Africa. Some of this can be attributed to staff shortages, with a report indicating that 67% of the 27 monitored facilities have insufficient staff. Rural residents in the Eastern Cape face worse health outcomes than those who reside in the larger towns or cities. This
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2624-541: The Karoo there is widespread sheep farming. The Alexandria-Makhanda area produces pineapples, chicory and dairy products, while coffee and tea are cultivated at Magwa. People in the former Transkei region are dependent on cattle, maize and sorghum-farming. An olive nursery has been developed in collaboration with the University of Fort Hare to form a nucleus of olive production in the Eastern Cape. Domestic stock farming
2706-589: 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
2788-514: The South African Parliament to ignore the entrenched clauses of its constitution (the 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. The military of the Union of South Africa was the Union Defence Force (UDF) until 1957, when it became
2870-566: The South African parliament. Walvis Bay , which is now in Namibia , was originally a part of the Union of South Africa as an 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. The Statute of Westminster passed by
2952-527: The Tsitsikamma region. The coast is generally rugged with interspersed beaches. Most of the province is hilly to very mountainous between Graaff-Reinet and Rhodes including the Sneeuberge (English: Snow Mountains), Stormberge , Winterberge and Drakensberg (English: Dragon Mountains). The highest point in the province is Ben Macdhui at 3001 m. The east from East London and Queenstown towards
3034-568: 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
3116-541: The Union. Five years earlier, some 33,000 Natalians had signed the Natal Covenant in opposition to the plans for a republic. Subsequently, the National Party government had passed a Constitution that repealed the 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
3198-536: The Xhosa Kingdom as Paramouncy became Xhosa, practiced Xhosa culture and used isiXhosa as their main language. Some of the tribes that fall under the category of Xhosa people include: AmaMpondo, AbaThembu, AmaMpondomise, AmaHlubi, AmaBhaca, AmaXesibe, AmaBomvana and more. In the late 18th century the Dutch Cape Colony slowly expanded eastwards from its original centre around Cape Town. This led to
3280-748: The automotive industry. General Motors and Volkswagen both have major assembly lines in the Port Elizabeth area, while East London is dominated by the large DaimlerChrysler plant, now known as Mercedes-Benz South Africa. Environmental-friendly projects include the Fish River Spatial Development Initiative, the Wild Coast SDI, and two industrial development zones, the East London Industrial Development Zone and
3362-826: The best colonial architecture of the 19th century in the province. The two major cities lining the coast are East London and Port Elizabeth. The Eastern Cape has been home to many major anti-apartheid leaders such as Robert Sobukwe , Oliver Tambo , Nelson Mandela , Walter Sisulu , Winnie Mandela , Govan Mbeki , Alfred Xuma , Cecilia Makiwane , Noni Jabavu , Thabo Mbeki , Chris Hani , Bantu Holomisa , Steve Biko , musicians Miriam Makeba , Madosini , Nathi , Dali Mpofu , Vusi Nova and Zahara , as well as historical figures such as Rev. Tiyo Soga , Samuel Mqhayi , Mongezi Sifika wa Nkomo , Enoch Sontonga and Jotello Festiri Soga . Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( Dutch : Unie van Zuid-Afrika ; Afrikaans : Unie van Suid-Afrika ; pronunciation )
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3444-438: The collection of marine resources, and access to line-catches of hake . With three import/export harbours and three airports offering direct flights to the main centres, and an excellent road and rail infrastructure, the province has been earmarked as a key area for growth and economic development in modern South Africa. The two major industrial centres, Port Elizabeth and East London have well-developed economies based on
3526-465: The colonial empire found just". Several previous unsuccessful attempts to unite the colonies were made, with proposed political models ranging from unitary , to loosely federal . 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
3608-577: The creation of a republic , many of them voting "no" in the 5 October 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. The government led by the National Party consequently withdrew South Africa from the Commonwealth. Following the results of the referendum, some whites in Natal, which had an English-speaking majority, called for secession from
3690-452: 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 Wars , with far-reaching consequences for
3772-650: The establishment in 1786 of the Dutch settlement of Graaff-Reinet – named for the Governor of the Cape Colony Cornelius Jacob van de Graaff (in office: 1785–1791) and for his wife Hester Cornelia van de Graaff (née Reynet). Later, during the Napoleonic wars of 1803–1815, Britain took control of the Cape Colony (1806) and encouraged British citizens to migrate there as a means to boost
3854-609: The fact that the Province has four supreme courts (in Makhanda (Grahamstown), Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Bhisho and Mthatha , and had enclaves of KwaZulu-Natal in the province. The latter anomaly has fallen away with amendments to municipal and provincial boundaries. The Xhosa Kingdom was one of the most powerful kingdoms in Africa, and had all states in the Eastern Cape as tributaries. Any group, people, or tribe that recognised
3936-564: 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 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
4018-546: 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. The Second Boer War started on 11 October 1899 and ended on 31 May 1902. The United Kingdom gained
4100-677: 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. The National Convention was a 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). This convention led to
4182-723: The idea in principle and the 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. In the 1870s, the London Colonial Office, under Secretary for the Colonies Lord Carnarvon , decided to apply a system of confederation onto southern Africa. On this occasion, however, it
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#17327805840144264-617: The last months of 1899, Boer forces launched the first attacks of the war, besieging the British-held settlements of Ladysmith , Kimberley and Mafeking , and winning several engagements against British troops at Colenso , Magersfontein and 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
4346-415: The laws of the mandatory (South Africa) as integral portions of its territory". 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
4428-450: 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. Thereafter, South West Africa became
4510-445: The members of the Executive Council (cabinet). The current premier is Oscar Mabuyane of the African National Congress (ANC). The provincial legislature is elected every five years by a system of party-list proportional representation . The most recent provincial election was held in 2024 , which was won by the ANC, which has governed the province continuously since the end of Apartheid in 1994 . The Democratic Alliance (DA)
4592-425: The mountainous regions between Molteno and Rhodes . The Eastern Cape Province is divided into two metropolitan municipalities and six district municipalities . The district municipalities are in turn divided into 27 local municipalities . Major cities and towns include the following (in the case of places that have been renamed , the traditional name is listed first followed by the new official name): As of
4674-422: The name of the Crown (cited in the format Rex / Regina v Accused ) and government officials served in the name of the Crown. An entrenched clause in the Constitution mentioned Dutch and English as official languages 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. Most English-speaking whites in South Africa supported
4756-473: The needs of the government of the day. 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. Pretoria was the seat of government, while the Parliament sat in Cape Town and the Appellate Division in Bloemfontein . The Union initially remained under
4838-416: The north and 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 system of multi-racial franchise and legal protection for traditional land rights, was at the time considered marginally preferable to annexation by either
4920-417: The older European settlements include Fort Beaufort (1814), Grahamstown (1812), Port Elizabeth (1820), Salem (1820), Bathurst (1820), East London (1836), Paterson (1879), Cradock (1814), Fort Beaufort (1816) and King William's Town (1836). The Eastern Cape gets progressively wetter from west to east. The west is mostly semiarid Karoo , except in the far south, which is temperate rainforest in
5002-411: 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 Lord Salisbury and members of his cabinet , in particular Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain , ignored repeated warnings that Boer forces were more powerful than previous reports had suggested. In
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#17327805840145084-454: The option of seeking advice from London. The monarch was represented in South Africa by a governor-general , while effective power was exercised by the Executive Council, headed by the prime minister . Louis Botha , formerly a Boer general, was appointed first prime minister of the Union, heading a coalition representing the white Afrikaner and English-speaking British diaspora communities. Prosecutions before courts were instituted in
5166-495: The other being KwaZulu-Natal . In the 2022 census, 81.8% of the population reported their first language as Xhosa , 9.6% as Afrikaans , 4.8% as English , and 2.4% as Sotho . The Eastern Cape is the only province in which native Xhosa-speakers form a majority of the population. As of the 2022 census, 86.1% of the population described themselves as Christians , 11.0% stated that they practiced Traditional African religions, and 0.6% described themselves as Muslim . 1.5% of
5248-493: The population described themselves as being atheist, agnostic, or having no religious affiliation. The Eastern Cape is the poorest province in South Africa and has the highest expanded and official unemployment rate in the country. Subsistence agriculture predominates in the former homelands, resulting in widespread poverty. A multi billion Rand industrial development zone and deep water port are being developed in Coega to boost investment in export-oriented industries. Overall
5330-480: The province are Xhosa , with 78.8% of residents in Eastern Cape identifying as Xhosa as of 2011. Unlike most of South Africa , a substantial proportion of the White population is of British descent . Roughly half of White South Africans in Eastern Cape are English-speakers of British descent while the other half are of Boer / Afrikaner ancestry. Eastern Cape is one of only two provinces in South Africa where Whites of British descent outnumber Boers/Afrikaners,
5412-465: The province is the traditional home of the indigenous Xhosa people . In 1820 this area, which was known as the Xhosa Kingdom , began to be settled by Europeans who originally came from England , Scotland and Ireland . The Eastern Cape province was formed in 1994, incorporating areas from the former Xhosa homelands of the Transkei and Ciskei , together with what was previously part of the Cape Province . This resulted in several anomalies, including
5494-437: The province only contributes 8% to the national GDP despite making 13.5% of the population. The real GDP of Eastern Cape stands at an estimated R230.3billion in 2017, making the province the fourth largest regional economy in SA ahead of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. There is much fertile land in the Eastern Cape, and agriculture remains important. The fertile Langkloof Valley in the southwest has large deciduous fruit orchards . In
5576-531: 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 . 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
5658-438: The southern bank of the Orange River , is an inland resort known for its hot springs . The rugged and unspoiled Wild Coast is a place of spectacular scenery. The coastal areas have been a graveyard for many vessels. Whittlesea, Eastern Cape , situated in the Amatola Mountains , is known for the first wine estate in the province. King William's Town, Alice, Queenstown, Grahamstown, Cradock and Fort Beaufort offer some of
5740-468: The subcontinent. After the discovery of gold in the 1880s, thousands of British immigrants flocked to the gold mines of the 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 " uitlanders ", imposed heavy taxes on them and granted them very limited civil rights, with no right to vote. The British government, interested in profiting from
5822-426: 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 activists such as Emily Hobhouse . At
5904-557: The very scarce Kenyan sub-species. The province is the location of Tiffindell , South Africa's only snow skiing resort, which is situated near the hamlet of Rhodes in the Southern Drakensberg . It is on the slopes of Ben Macdhui , the highest mountain peak in the Eastern Cape 3,001 metres (9,846 ft). The National Arts Festival , held annually in Grahamstown , is Africa's largest cultural event, offering
5986-402: The way it was imposed from outside without understanding of local issues. The Confederation model was also seen as unsuitable for the disparate entities of southern Africa , with their wildly different sizes, economies and political systems. The Molteno Unification Plan (1877), put forward by the Cape government as a more feasible unitary alternative to confederation , largely anticipated
6068-479: 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. His idea was greeted with cautious optimism in southern Africa; the Orange Free State agreed to
6150-484: Was a unitary state , rather than a federation like Canada and Australia, with each colony's parliaments being abolished and replaced with provincial councils . A bicameral parliament was created, consisting of the House of Assembly and Senate , with members of the parliament being elected mostly by the country's white minority. During the course of the Union, the franchise changed on several occasions always to suit
6232-506: 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 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. The Union of South Africa
6314-443: 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
6396-527: 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 Sir Charles Coghlan claimed that such membership with the Union would make Southern Rhodesia the " Ulster of South Africa". Prior to the referendum, representatives of Southern Rhodesia visited Cape Town where
6478-542: Was possible). 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 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
6560-408: Was rejected at the time by London. 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. Lord Carnarvon rejected the (more informed) local plans for unification, as he wished to have the process brought to a conclusion before
6642-547: Was sent to the hospital to be circumcised, as his parents believed this would be the safer option. Then, he was sent to complete the rest of his initiation ritual in a traditional initiation school in the Qumbu area of the Transkei. There, the nurse refused to accept the validity of his prior circumcision at the hospital, and she circumcised him again, resulting in his death. The landscape is extremely diverse. The western interior
6724-559: Was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa . It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape , Natal , Transvaal , and Orange River colonies. 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
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