Transvaal - History, Geography

Former province in South Africa; settled by the Boers after the Great Trek of 1836; independence, 1852, recognized by Britain; known as the South African Republic; annexed by Britain, 1877; Boer rebellion in 1880–1 led to restoration of the republic; annexed as a British colony, 1900; self-government, 1906; joined Union of South Africa, 1910; in the 1994 constitution, divided into Northern Province and Mpumalanga.

The province no longer exists, and its territory now forms the provinces of Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga and part of the North West Province.

History

The Transvaal was colonized by Boer settlers who exited the British-dominated Cape Colony in the 1830s and 1840s in the Great Trek. The PWV (Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging) area in the Transvaal (now Gauteng Province) became South Africa's economic powerhouse, a position it still holds today.

In 1994, after the fall of apartheid, the former provinces and homelands were restructured, and a separate Transvaal province no longer exists. Parts of the old Transvaal now belong to the new Gauteng, North West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces.

The Transvaal is still used as a provincial division of the High Court of South Africa, as of 2006.

Even before 1994 the Transvaal province was split up for a number of reasons (sports for one reason), into Northern Transvaal (Limpopo province now), Eastern Transvaal (Mpumalanga province now), Western Transvaal (Northwest province now) and Southern Transvaal (Gauteng province now)

Geography

The Transvaal province lay between Vaal River in the south, and the Limpopo River in the north, roughly between 22 1/2 and 27 1/2 S, and 25 and 32 E. To its south it bordered with the Orange Free State and Natal provinces, to its west were the Cape Province and the Bechuanaland Protectorate (later Botswana), to its north Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe), and to its east Portuguese East Africa (later Mozambique) and Swaziland.

Several Bantustans were entirely inside the Transvaal: Venda, KwaNdebele, Gazankulu, KaNgwane and Lebowa. Parts of Bophuthatswana were also in the Transvaal, with other parts in Cape Province and Orange Free State.

Within the Transvaal lies the Waterberg Massif, a prominent ancient geological feature of the South African landscape.

Divisions:

Zoutpansberg

Cities in the Transvaal:

Heidelberg Johannesburg Messina Nelspruit Pietersburg Pretoria Vereeniging