South African Republic

The South African Republic (Dutch: Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, ZAR), often referred to as the Transvaal and sometimes as the Republic of Transvaal, was an independent and internationally recognised country in Southern Africa from 1852 to 1902. The country defeated the British in what is often referred to as the First Boer War and remained independent until the end of the Second Boer War on 31 May 1902, when it was forced to surrender to the British. The territory of the ZAR became known after this war as the Transvaal Colony. After the outbreak of the First World War a small number of Boers staged the Maritz Rebellion and aligned themselves with the Central Powers in a failed gambit to regain independence.

Name and etymology

Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR)

Constitutionally the name of the country was Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (South African Republic or ZAR). Many people also called the ZAR Transvaal, in reference to the area over (or trans) the Vaal River including the British press and the press in Europe. In fact the name "Transvaal" was later so often used that later the British objected to the use of the real name (The South African Republic). The British pointed out that the Convention of Pretoria of 3 August 1881 referred to the 'Transvaal Territory' and that the Transvaal and the South African Republic did not have the same boundaries. However, in the London Convention dated 27 February 1884, a subsequent treaty between Britain and the ZAR, Britain acquiesced and reverted to the use of the true name, "The South African Republic".