Transvaal (province)

The Transvaal, officially the South African Republic (Dutch: Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek or ZAR) from 1852 to 1902, was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994. It was named after its location north (trans) of the Vaal River.

Originally inhabited by various Bantu-speaking groups and indigenous Khoisan peoples, the area was gradually settled by European Voortrekkers during the Great Trek in the 1830s and 1840s. These Dutch-speaking settlers established independent republics, eventually merging into the South African Republic under President Marthinus Wessel Pretorius in 1860.

The discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand in 1886 transformed the Transvaal into a major economic power, attracting a large influx of foreign workers (Uitlanders) and increasing tensions with the British Empire. This led to the First Boer War (1880–1881), in which the Boers successfully defended their independence. However, these tensions resurfaced, culminating in the Second Boer War (1899–1902).

The Second Boer War resulted in British victory and the annexation of the Transvaal as a Crown Colony. In 1910, the Transvaal became one of the four provinces of the Union of South Africa.

During the apartheid era, the Transvaal was the location of significant racial segregation and oppression. Many of the policies of the apartheid regime were implemented and enforced within the province.

In 1994, following the end of apartheid and the adoption of a new constitution, the Transvaal province was dissolved and divided into several new provinces: Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and parts of North West and KwaZulu-Natal. The name "Transvaal" is now primarily used in a historical context.