Orange River Sovereignty
Encyclopedia
The Orange River Sovereignty (1848–1854) 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
.
).
Sutton was succeeded as Resident on 16 January 1846 by Captain Henry Douglas Warden
, who bought the farm Bloemfontein
to establish the capital. Warden was soon promoted to Major, and in March 1849 he was succeeded at Bloemfontein as civil commissioner by Mr C. U. Stuart, but he remained British resident until July 1852.
Sir Harry Smith proclaimed British sovereignty over the Transorange on 3 February 1848. A nominated legislative council was created, a high court established and other steps taken for the orderly government of the country, which was officially styled the Orange River Sovereignty. In October 1849 Moshesh (King Moshoeshoe I, of present-day Lesotho
) was induced to sign a new arrangement considerably curtailing the boundaries of the Basuto reserve. The frontier towards the Sovereignty was thereafter known as the Warden line. A little later the reserves of other chieftains were precisely defined.
The British Resident had, however, no force sufficient to maintain his authority, and Moshesh and all the neighboring clans became involved in hostilities with one another and with the Europeans. In 1851 Moshesh joined the republican party in the Sovereignty in an invitation to Andries Pretorius
to recross the Vaal. The intervention of Pretorius resulted in the Sand River Convention
of 1852, which acknowledged the independence of the Transvaal
but left the status of the Sovereignty untouched.
The British government (the first Russell administration), which had reluctantly agreed to the annexation of the country, had, however, already repented its decision and had resolved to abandon the Sovereignty. Lord Grey (the 3rd earl), secretary of state for the colonies, in a dispatch to Sir Harry Smith dated the 21st of October 1851, declared, "The ultimate abandonment of the Orange Sovereignty should be a settled point in our policy." A meeting of representatives of all European inhabitants of the Sovereignty, elected on manhood suffrage, held at Bloemfontein in June 1852, nevertheless declared in favor of the retention of British rule.
Henry Green
was appointed British Resident on 3 July 1852 in place of Warden, who had been dismissed. At the close of that year a settlement was at length concluded with Moshesh, which left, perhaps, that chief in a stronger position than he had hitherto been. There had been ministerial changes in England and the ministry then in power — that of Lord Aberdeen — adhered to the determination to withdraw from the Sovereignty. Sir George Russell Clerk
was sent out in 1853 as special commissioner "for the settling and adjusting of the affairs" of the Sovereignty, and in August of that year he summoned a meeting of delegates to determine upon a form of self-governrnent.
At that time there were some 15,000 Europeans in the country, many of them recent emigrants from Cape Colony
. There were among them numbers of farmers and tradesmen of British blood. The majority of the whites still wished for the continuance of British rule provided that it was effective and the country guarded against its enemies. The representations of their delegates, who drew up a proposed constitution retaining British control, were unavailing. Sir George Clerk announced that, as the elected delegates were unwilling to take steps to form an independent government, he would enter into negotiations with other persons. "And then," writes Dr. Theal, "was seen forced the strange spectacle of an English commissioner addressing men who wished to be free of British control as the friendly and well-disposed inhabitants, while for those who desired to remain British subjects and who claimed that protection to which they believed themselves entitled he had no sympathizing word." While the elected delegates sent two members to England to try and induce the government to alter their decision Sir George Clerk speedily came to terms with a committee formed by the republican party and presided over by Mr J. H. Hoffman. Even before this committee met a royal proclamation had been signed (January 30, 1854) "abandoning and renouncing all dominion" in the Sovereignty.
On 23 February 1854 the Orange River Convention
(Bloemfontein Convention) was signed by Sir George Clerk and the republican committee recognizing the independence of the country. The British garrison left Bloemfontein on 11 March 1854. The Boer government then assumed office and the republican flag was hoisted establishing the Orange Free State
as a Republic
. Five days later the representatives of the elected delegates had an interview in London with the colonial secretary, the Duke of Newcastle, who informed them that it was now too late to discuss the question of the retention of British rule. The colonial secretary added that it was impossible for England to supply troops to constantly advancing outposts, "especially as Cape Town and the port of Table Bay were all she really required in South Africa." In withdrawing from the Sovereignty the British government declared that it had "no alliance with any native chief or tribes to the northward of the Orange River with the exception of the Griqua chief Captain Adam Kok." Kok was not formidable in a military sense, nor could he prevent individual Griquas from alienating their lands. Eventually, in 1861, he sold his sovereign rights to the Free State and removed with his followers to the Griqualand East
district.
Orange River
The Orange River , Gariep River, Groote River or Senqu River is the longest river in South Africa. It rises in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho, flowing westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean...
and Vaal rivers in southern Africa. In 1854, it became 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 is now the Free State
Free State
The Free State is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Orange Free State Boer republic and later Orange Free State Province. The current borders of the province date from 1994 when the Bantustans...
province of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
History
On 8 October 1845 Captain William Sutton was appointed "British Resident among the tribes living beyond the Frontier to the North-East" (of the Cape ColonyCape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
).
Sutton was succeeded as Resident on 16 January 1846 by Captain Henry Douglas Warden
Henry Douglas Warden
Henry Douglas Warden was the British Resident of the Orange River Sovereignty from 1848-1852, bought the farm Bloemfontein from Johannes Nicolaas Brits Bloemfontein.-Bibliography:...
, who bought the farm 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...
to establish the capital. Warden was soon promoted to Major, and in March 1849 he was succeeded at Bloemfontein as civil commissioner by Mr C. U. Stuart, but he remained British resident until July 1852.
Sir Harry Smith proclaimed British sovereignty over the Transorange on 3 February 1848. A nominated legislative council was created, a high court established and other steps taken for the orderly government of the country, which was officially styled the Orange River Sovereignty. In October 1849 Moshesh (King Moshoeshoe I, of present-day Lesotho
Lesotho
Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...
) was induced to sign a new arrangement considerably curtailing the boundaries of the Basuto reserve. The frontier towards the Sovereignty was thereafter known as the Warden line. A little later the reserves of other chieftains were precisely defined.
The British Resident had, however, no force sufficient to maintain his authority, and Moshesh and all the neighboring clans became involved in hostilities with one another and with the Europeans. In 1851 Moshesh joined the republican party in the Sovereignty in an invitation to Andries Pretorius
Andries Pretorius
Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus Pretorius was a leader of the Boers who was instrumental in the creation of the Transvaal Republic, as well as the earlier but short-lived Natalia Republic, in present-day South Africa....
to recross the Vaal. The intervention of Pretorius resulted in the Sand River Convention
Sand River Convention
The Sand River Convention was a convention whereby Great Britain formally recognised the independence of the Boers living beyond the Vaal River. In return, the Boers promised that slavery would be outlawed in the Transvaal and that they would not interfere in the Orange River Sovereignty's affairs...
of 1852, which acknowledged the independence of the Transvaal
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
but left the status of the Sovereignty untouched.
The British government (the first Russell administration), which had reluctantly agreed to the annexation of the country, had, however, already repented its decision and had resolved to abandon the Sovereignty. Lord Grey (the 3rd earl), secretary of state for the colonies, in a dispatch to Sir Harry Smith dated the 21st of October 1851, declared, "The ultimate abandonment of the Orange Sovereignty should be a settled point in our policy." A meeting of representatives of all European inhabitants of the Sovereignty, elected on manhood suffrage, held at Bloemfontein in June 1852, nevertheless declared in favor of the retention of British rule.
Henry Green
Henry Green (British Resident)
Henry Green was British Resident of the Orange River Sovereignty, a civil servant and a diamond miner in Griqualand West....
was appointed British Resident on 3 July 1852 in place of Warden, who had been dismissed. At the close of that year a settlement was at length concluded with Moshesh, which left, perhaps, that chief in a stronger position than he had hitherto been. There had been ministerial changes in England and the ministry then in power — that of Lord Aberdeen — adhered to the determination to withdraw from the Sovereignty. Sir George Russell Clerk
George Russell Clerk
Sir George Russell Clerk, GCSI, KCB was a British civil servant in India.Like all civil servants until the introduction of Competitive examinations in the 1850s, Clerk had studied at Haileybury in Hertfordshire, being posted to Bengal as a writer in 1817.Early in his career he worked in the...
was sent out in 1853 as special commissioner "for the settling and adjusting of the affairs" of the Sovereignty, and in August of that year he summoned a meeting of delegates to determine upon a form of self-governrnent.
At that time there were some 15,000 Europeans in the country, many of them recent emigrants from Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
. There were among them numbers of farmers and tradesmen of British blood. The majority of the whites still wished for the continuance of British rule provided that it was effective and the country guarded against its enemies. The representations of their delegates, who drew up a proposed constitution retaining British control, were unavailing. Sir George Clerk announced that, as the elected delegates were unwilling to take steps to form an independent government, he would enter into negotiations with other persons. "And then," writes Dr. Theal, "was seen forced the strange spectacle of an English commissioner addressing men who wished to be free of British control as the friendly and well-disposed inhabitants, while for those who desired to remain British subjects and who claimed that protection to which they believed themselves entitled he had no sympathizing word." While the elected delegates sent two members to England to try and induce the government to alter their decision Sir George Clerk speedily came to terms with a committee formed by the republican party and presided over by Mr J. H. Hoffman. Even before this committee met a royal proclamation had been signed (January 30, 1854) "abandoning and renouncing all dominion" in the Sovereignty.
On 23 February 1854 the Orange River Convention
Orange River Convention
The Orange River Convention was a convention whereby Great Britain formally recognised the independence of the Boers in the area between the Orange and Vaal rivers, which had previously been known as the Orange River Sovereignty...
(Bloemfontein Convention) was signed by Sir George Clerk and the republican committee recognizing the independence of the country. The British garrison left Bloemfontein on 11 March 1854. The Boer government then assumed office and the republican flag was hoisted establishing 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...
as a Republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
. Five days later the representatives of the elected delegates had an interview in London with the colonial secretary, the Duke of Newcastle, who informed them that it was now too late to discuss the question of the retention of British rule. The colonial secretary added that it was impossible for England to supply troops to constantly advancing outposts, "especially as Cape Town and the port of Table Bay were all she really required in South Africa." In withdrawing from the Sovereignty the British government declared that it had "no alliance with any native chief or tribes to the northward of the Orange River with the exception of the Griqua chief Captain Adam Kok." Kok was not formidable in a military sense, nor could he prevent individual Griquas from alienating their lands. Eventually, in 1861, he sold his sovereign rights to the Free State and removed with his followers to the Griqualand East
Griqualand East
Griqualand East was one of four short-lived Griqua states in Southern Africa from the early 1860s until the late 1870s and was located between the Umzimkulu and Kinira Rivers, south of the Sotho Kingdom.Griqualand East's capital, Kokstad, was the final place of...
district.