Union of South Africa
South Africa, 1910–1961. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Union of South Africa was a British Dominion and, later, a Commonwealth realm in southern Africa from 1910 to 1961. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange River colonies. 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.
Seat of power: Cape Town
Rulers
George V
monarch, 1931–1936
The 1931 Statute of Westminster recognised the Empire's Dominions as separate, independent states within the British Commonwealth of Nations. He was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Portrait of George V: Bassano Ltd, Public domain, file
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Edward VIII
monarch of the Union of South Africa, 1936–1936
He was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 20 January 1936 until his abdication in December of the same year. As required by the Statute of Westminster, all the Dominions had already consented to the abdication.
Portrait of Edward VIII: Freeland Studio, Public domain, file
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Elizabeth II
monarch of the Union of South Africa, 1952–1961
She was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. On 31 May 1961 the country became a republic, and Elizabeth II lost the title Queen of South Africa.
Portrait of Elizabeth II: Donald McKague, Public domain, file
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Culture
- Pretoria was the seat of government, while the Parliament sat in Cape Town and the Appellate Division in Bloemfontein.
- Its full sovereignty was confirmed with the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westminster 1931.
- The Natives Land Act of 1913 severely restricted the ownership of land by black South Africans, who at that stage controlled only 7% of the country.
- In 1948, the National Party was elected to power. The white-led minoritarian government instituted a policy of legally institutionalised segregation which came to be known as apartheid.
Picture
The Union Buildings form the official seat of the South African Government.
Image: Davinci77, CC BY-SA 3.0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.