Orange+Free+State


 * Orange Free State**

Before the Europeans arrived, the area known as the Orange-Free State was home to Bantu-speaking people, such as the Tswana. Once the Europeans crossed the Orange River, the Tswana were dispersed by the Zulu military. The place was taken over by Sotho and Griqua people. Then, pastoral Dutch farmers came to the area. In 1836 came the Great Trek, where more Dutch Boer farmers started moving into the area. In 1848, the British claimed the land, however, by 1854, they withdrew due to conflicts with the Sotho. That's when the Boer people created their own independent state.

This state featured a mixed political structure of Boer institutions with Dutch and American constitutional thinking. The members of the state were part of a legislative assembly called the Volksraad or "People's Council". These members were elected by white males only. At the beginning, they were attacked by the Sotho people, but eventually the Orange Free State conquered the Sotho land. This gain was made possible by J.H. Brand, who then became president of the state from 1864 to 1888.

In 1895, L.S. Jameson raided into the Transvaal. After this, the Orange Free State was drawn into the tension between the Boers and the British. As a result, they became involved in 1899-1902 war referred to as the South African (Boer) War. During this war, the Orange Free State fought against Britain alongside it's sister state, the South African Republic. While the Orange Free State was able to win some fights again Britain, the Boers could not, and in 1902, the Orange Free State lost its independence.

In 1907, self-government was restored, and by 1910 the colony became the Orange Free State Province within the Union of South Africa. The province was unchanged when the Union of South Africa became the Republic of South Africa in 1961. However, in 1993-1994 when apartheid was abolished, the Orange Free State was renamed "Free State."